While we all endeavour to keep our fatigue-fighting tea, coffee or hot chocolate out of reach of tiny fingers, the reality is, accidents can - and do - happen. The question is, do you know what to do if your little one is accidentally burnt?
New Australian research suggests that many of us are, in fact, unaware of appropriate first aid for hot drink scalds in young children, which most often occur in the home.
Less than a third of children burnt by hot beverages, received proper treatment after their accident, despite many mums and dads having completed first aid training during the twelve months prior. In addition, most accidents occurred while parents were close by, suggesting that supervision in and of itself, isn't enough to prevent what is the leading cause of burns in young kids.
As part of the study, published in the journal Burns, researchers from the University of Queensland surveyed parents of 54 little ones aged 0-3 years who were treated for a hot drink burn injury, (over a 12 month period), at Lady Cilento Children's Hospital.
Participants aged between six months and two years old had the highest incidence of burns - and most accidents occurred when children pulled a hot drink down and over themselves. Only 28 per cent received correct first aid straight after the accident - applying 20 minutes of cool running water to the burn - with a further 18 per cent treated within three hours, usually at an emergency department.
According to lead author Jacquii Burgess of the Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research, applying cool water to the scald, reduces pain, scarring and hospital stays.
"The most common reason parents reported applying water for shorter periods of time was that they thought it was adequate or the child was too distressed," she said in a statement.
First aid for scalds and burns.Image/Raising Children Network.
Injury prevention, however, is not as simple as providing adequate supervision. In "almost all" cases, parents and caregivers were present when these accidents occurred.
"Lack of supervision is often cited as a primary contributor to childhood injuries but for these scalds it appears that attention and continuity of supervision play a more important role than just being close to your child to keep them safe," says Ms Burgess.
The findings, she explains, may reflect the "competing demands" parents and caregivers face in busy households. "It's about putting your cup of hot coffee or tea to the back of the bench or out of reach of your toddler to give yourself those few extra seconds to intervene."
The team hopes their study will inform prevention campaigns, to help decrease the number of children presenting with hot drink injuries.
"By incorporating the findings from this study and other research into a hot beverage scald prevention campaign," they write, "we hope to see a change in knowledge and behaviour in parents and caregivers of young children, and ultimately a reduction in the incidence of hot beverage scalds."