Tamper-Resistant Child Safety Devices

Located in practically every room in every house throughout the United States, electrical outlets and receptacles also represent a constant and real danger wherever young children are found.

Prevent Shocks And Burns

Every year in the United States, more than 2,400 children under the age of 10 are treated in emergency rooms for electrical shock or burns caused by tampering with a wall outlet around the home-that is nearly seven children a day.  Nearly one third of these injuries are the result of small children placing ordinary household objects, such as keys, pins, and paperclips into outlets with disastrous consequences.

Located in practically every room in every house throughout the United States, electrical outlets and receptacles also represent a constant and real danger wherever young children are found.

By now, new technology called temper resistant receptacles, or TRRs, can provide a simple , affordable, reliable and permanent solution to help prevent these kind of accidents before they occur.

Automatic Protection

TRRs, or tamper resistant receptacles, look just like ordinary outlets, but are designed with spring-loaded receptacle cover plates that close off the receptacle openings, or slots.

When equal pressure is simultaneously applied to both sides, the receptacle cover plates open to allow the standard plug to make contact with the receptacle contact points.  Without this simultaneous pressure, the cover plates remain closed, preventing the insertion of foreign objects and protecting your children from painful, traumatic electrical injuries.

Although not widely used in home until recently, tamper resistant receptacles have been required in hospital pediatric care facilities for more than 20 years.  In fact, TRRs have proven to be so effective that the 2008 National Electrical Code (NEC) now requires them to be installed in all new home construction.  Existing homes can be easily retrofitted with tamper resistant receptacles using the same installation guidelines that apply to standard receptacles, but should only be installed by a licensed electrician.

Though some small interest groups have voiced objections to the code revision because of concerns about the added costs, these specialized outlets cost about 50 cents more than a traditional receptacle.  In a newly constructed home, TRRs would add as little as $50 to the total cost of the home.  In existing homes, standard electrical receptacles can be replaced with TRRs for as little as two dollars per outlet-a small price to pay to ensure that your children are protected against electrical shocks and burns from electrical outlets.

(Credits Attributed to Electrical Safety Foundation International, 2012)