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IMPORTANT: Information provided is intended for UK residents only.

How do you protect your child from electric shock?

“Safety Socket Covers” - a help or a hazard?

For more than 60 years the United Kingdom has used electrical power sockets which are probably the safest in the world. One of the main safety features is the use of shutters to cover the power contacts when there is no plug present, these sockets must conform to the BS 1363 standard. This was first introduced in 1947 as:
   British Standard 1363 : 1947  FUSED PLUGS AND SHUTTERED SOCKET OUTLETS
Do not be misled into thinking that your sockets may not have shutters by references to “modern 13A sockets” and later versions of the standard such as “BS 1363 : 1995”,
 ALL 13 Amp BS 1363 sockets have internal shutters.

Many parents and other responsible adults are unaware of the design features of the 13A sockets which they use on a daily basis, through ignorance they often decide to use socket covers (also known as “plug covers”) in an attempt to improve child safety. There is a common belief that children can poke items into the socket holes if they are not prevented from doing so, but little understanding that the method of prevention is already built-in to the socket!

Even when people are informed of the inherent safety of the 13A socket there still tends be a belief that additional “safety” measures must be a good idea - BUT IS THIS TRUE?

New - watch our VIDEO

The so-called “safety socket cover” usually takes the form of a dummy 13A plug, most of these devices are designed in a way which allows a curious child to insert them (upside down) into the earth pin only, this has the effect of opening the safety shutters and allowing children access to the power sockets! Normally it is quite difficult to find an object which will do that, so why make it easy to defeat the safety measures you start with?

Although very small children may find it difficult to remove properly inserted covers (but check our video), they usually have capabilities beyond our expectations. Children also rapidly learn to use tools, and may take advantage of anything which comes to hand to lever out the cover, such tools could include table knives and safety scissors! Because plug-in socket covers usually have shorter pins than real plugs they can be impossible to fit securely into some sockets, see our video for more on this. Older children are probably going to be more adept at removing covers than are adults, and we have experience of a five year old removing a cover, experimenting with how it can be reinserted, and leaving it as shown above. When a younger sibling comes along the exposed terminals are waiting to do their worst. We have yet to find a plug in cover which can not be removed with the hand alone. What about the possibility that an unused cover is left within reach of a child who then plays with it and uses it to open the shutters?

See our Photo Gallery for more pictures of dangerous covers. Do you wish to take this risk? 

Now that you know about these dangers, how comfortable do you feel about leaving your child in a nursery that uses “safety socket covers”?

Do you have any idea if “safety socket covers” conform to any standards? What does it say on the packet or on the cover itself?

All 13A electrical sockets which are installed in your home must conform to BS 1363, which means that they must also have been properly tested for correct insulation. Have you asked the manufacturers of covers that you may use if they have been properly tested for insulation? 

Why do you think it is that manufacturers of BS 1363 plugs and sockets do not provide “safety socket covers”?

To learn more please see our Photo Gallery, Our Videos, and our list of Frequently Asked Questions. 

Our References page includes a brief history of BS 1363, and additional technical details including references to source documents and background to the tests we carry out.

Please do contact us to tell us of your own experiences, and raise any other questions.

There are various child safety issues regarding electricity which parents and other carers need to be aware of, and good advice is available from a number of organisations, including those listed on our Safety Sites links page. This site is specifically concerned with protecting children from exposure to electric shock from power sockets. See About Us to for our qualifications.

Do YOU still think “safety socket covers” are a good idea?

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