Parents are warned about the dangers of using socket covers

A lot of parents put socket covers on their sockets to avoid little hands poking at them. Well, one electrician, who is also a dad, is urging people to be very careful when using them.

In fact, he reckons we should be throwing them out. Steve Palmers filmed his two young sons playing with the safety covers on the plugs in their house and demonstrated a potential hazard. One child, who was only one years of old, managed to remove it and put it back in. But, before successfully putting it back in the socket, he put it in upside down. This is where the potential danger occurs. Putting it in upside down opens up the voltage in the bottom pins of the socket. Once the cover is in the top pin of the socket, it leaves the other two open for poking and prodding and if a child happens to put something metal inside this could have disastrous results. Along with the video, he shared online he said:

"Please take a look at this video that I prepared with two of my children which helps show the dangers of using Electrical Socket Covers. If you have any doubts about the safety of your home, please contact your local electrician who will be more than happy to help you further. We teach our children that sharing is caring so be sure to share this video so that it is seen by those that have children, look after children or have children present on their premises. Let's keep children safe together."