Protect family, home office from one another

Working at home is a viable option for more people than ever, but working in a domestic setting brings special challenges, especially for parents.

As more parents make the shift to working from a home office all or part of the time, there are safety issues to consider, as well as the all-important issue of how to protect valuable home office equipment from little hands.

The general safety of the home office should be addressed the same way experts recommend that parents look for hazards in other parts of the home on their hands and knees.

For parents of small children, getting down on the floor and looking for dangerous situations power cords within reach, furniture that can topple down on a toddler can solve many potential safety problems before they start.

File cabinets should have safety latches on drawers within reach of small children, to avoid pinched fingers, as well as the chance that the unit could be pulled over.

Minimize the number of power cords used in the office, if possible, and keep cords behind furniture and out of reach.

Electrical outlets that are not in use should be plugged with plastic outlet covers.

Computer central processing units, or CPUs, can be tipped over by a crawling child or a walking toddler, so avoid locating the CPU on the floor of the home office.

Plastic doorknob covers, which make the doorknob hard to open for small hands, can help prevent a small child from entering the home office.

In addition, dangerous and potentially mess-provoking supplies, such as scissors, staplers, pens and markers, should be kept out of reach of small hands.

Once the basic issues of home office safety are addressed, parents who do all or part of their work from a home office have another concern how to protect vital equipment and important papers and resources from child-driven mishaps.

The personal computer is particularly vulnerable to accidental damage by children, according to Carl Anderson, repair technician for PC Doctor.

While Anderson said the computer itself is fairly damage-resistant (the technician recalls that he once extracted a piece of toast from the CD-ROM of a home computer, placed there by a child), the information it contains can be lost if children young or old are left to their own devices.

"As long as they keep the screws on the back of the computer and keep the case on, there's not much they can do with it," he said. "There's nothing they can hurt that you can't put back, but it could involve a lot of rebuilding."

Retrieving lost computer files and recovering missing information could cost those who make their living from their home office dearly in terms of down time and lost pay.

Parents who have children old enough to use the family computer on their own might be concerned that graphics-intensive computer games could lead to a crash.

A crash can cause the loss of precious work-related information.

"As long as they stay within the level of the game, it shouldn't hurt anything," Anderson said. "But the more software you put on the computer, the more likely you are to have a crash," he added.

If there is another computer available for game playing, Anderson said it is always best to reserve one computer for work only and keep the games on the other computer.

Ken Deel, repair technician with Computer Ambulance, said the location of the CPU is another important part of protecting the computer from damage.

"People need to put the CPU where it can't be kicked while the kids are sitting there playing games," Deel said. "That jars the hard drive and can cause them to lose information, as well as other damage."

Also, drinks, children and computers can be a disastrous combination, he said.

"It's recommended that you don't have liquids anywhere near the computer," Deel said. "But using a plastic keyboard cover can minimize the potential damage if a drink is spilled on the keyboard."

Above all, teach children that your office space must be respected just as a traditional office would be. A hands-off message could prevent injury to the child or damage to important equipment.