We all know being a parent is hard work. Rewarding work ...but hard. Your child's safety must be one of your top priorities, and no matter how old your child gets, that never goes away.

The bath time ritual, when your children are young can be stressful, or bonding, and sometimes fun but many do not think safety when drawing the water for the bath. Not only is it cleaning the day off your fast moving child, but this nightly ritual allows bonding time and relaxes them before bedtime. But a scalding water mishap can change all that.

With January being National Bath Safety Month now is a great time to discuss the risks of scalding water. When bathing your child you need to make sure the water is the right temperature and there is no risk of burning your child's sensitive skin. Scalding water is blamed for about 3,800 injuries & 34 deaths yearly, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

While we see it on the news and read about it in the paper, it is hard to imagine it could happen to us. It only takes seconds for a child to suffer third-degree burns - whether it's simply turning on a faucet and stepping into the bathtub without checking the water temperature. Do you know at what temperatureyour water heater thermostat is set? If you don't, you should find out.

There are plumbing precautions you can take to help keep this from happening to your children. For starters, lower your water heater thermostats to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Added bonus - you can save three to five percent in energy costs by lowering the temperature of your water heaters by 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure to follow the manual or have a plumber do it for you!

Another option is to install anti-scald devices on individual taps. If the water gets too hot, these devices slow the water down to a trickle. Anti-scald products are available at home improvement stores. Homes built within the last 25 years should be equipped with fixtures that prevent changes in water temperature due to water pressure variances within the home. However, if your home is not equipped with a temperature-pressure balancing valve, be sure no one in the home flushes a toilet or uses cold water while a shower is in use. Someone using other plumbing fixtures could steal the cold water from the shower, making the water too hot.

Here's wishing you a safe and world class day!