I used to be a clumsy person and I often slipped and fell – a lot – most of the time on slippery parking lots, stairs, and on basement floor tiles. Now that I’m a mom however, I think my “clumsiness” has subsided as I take more care of myself and I practice more precautionary measures. I guess my stubbornness has also subsided because I realized that my kids rely on me a lot – and that means that if I get into accidents, it is not just me who will suffer. My kids would also be terribly affected and I wouldn’t want that to happen.

Now aside from the fact that I’m a mom, I recently just stumbled upon another reason why we should be very careful when taking our steps. I came across the webpage of UK’s Health and Safety Executive organization and I saw this feature on a woman who had two slip accidents – and then she lost her leg: Woman loses leg after two slip accidents. My father also had a mild stroke after he slipped and fell on his back while he was in our bathroom a few years back.

So, to help you avoid such accidents, I’m sharing a number of tips from the Canadian Center of Occupational Health and Safety:

• Clean all spills immediately
• Mark spills and wet areas and stay away from them
• Mop or sweep debris from floors
• Remove walkway obstacles and keep them free of clutter
• Secure mats, rugs and carpets that do not lay flat
• Close file cabinet or storage drawers
• Cover cables that cross walkways
• Keep working areas and walkways well lit
• Replace used light bulbs and faulty switches

Tags: avoiding household accidents, avoiding slip accidents