We invite people with experience of “safety socket covers” to contact us with their stories. Please send to the address listed on the contacts page.

“We have a 9 month old baby. Our first child is nearly six. There is one double socket in the house that is accessible to the crawling 9-month-old, which my wife decided last week to put a pair of safety socket covers on (she’d received these in a pack from some baby group). When I got home from work, the 6-year-old had taken one of the safety socket covers out, and put it in "upside down", opening the shutters and leaving direct access to the live terminals for small objects – lucky I noticed before the baby put something in. The covers are now in the bin and we are contacting the baby group involved.”
         Grahame Kenyon CEng MIEE MIET, Chartered Electrical Engineer and parent (Lancashire)

“I witness on a daily basis children’s inquisitiveness and their underestimated strength and ability. I have encountered incidents where children have proved that their strength far outweighs the strength we may credit them with. We may consider it too tough, too tricky, for a small child to remove these socket covers, however, I have observed children employ a number of innovative schemes and techniques in order to move, reach or release things which then allow for their further experimentation.”
“Think of all those early learning toys which encourage children to try to fit different shaped objects into different shaped holes, boxes with holes in them, peg and hammer games and jigsaws. Children are actively encouraged to experiment with the different ways round things can go. What then might seem more appealing to a child encountering a covered socket than to experiment with sticking the pins of a plug socket cover into the socket in different ways.”
         Caroline, Qualified Nursery Nurse. (Scotland)

“On enquiring with a reputable highstreet outlet, who provided socket outlet covers under their own brand-name, what CE-mark had been applied for, I was told it was the Toy Safety Directive, that the covers contain nothing toxic for children, and that no tests of the electrical insulating properties or fire-retardance were carried out. Clearly, it’s expected that children will lick socket outlet covers!”
         Grahame Kenyon CEng MIEE MIET, Chartered Electrical Engineer and parent (Lancashire)

“As a domestic cleaner I often find plug covers on floors below unused sockets. On occasions a young child will volunteer their 'help' with the housework which usually involves dusting and tidying! Realising that this may lead to a child attempting to return a plug cover into a socket, has alerted me to the potential danger that this child would be in. I will now be advising my clients and co-workers of this website.”
          Rosemary Kerr, Professional Charwoman, Edinburgh

“I have an autistic son and he can really easily remove these covers and has done from a very early age.”
               “I have never used them with my 2 because friends have had children as young as 5 months pick them off, and find them an attractive toy.”
        Two quotes taken from a discussion of this site on a parenting forum.

Take a look at this video on YouTube showing how easily a crawling baby removes a socket cover. (This shows a cover on an un-shuttered American socket , so unlike in the UK a socket cover has some merit, however, the point about ease of removal is still valid.)

The bottom line is:
Safety is designed into UK sockets - plug in covers reduce safety!