Don't start the job if there are children running amok, it makes it dangerous for them and you.
Politely talk to the parents and arrange for the children to be removed whilst you are working.
Hi Dave,
This is the difference between being onsite assessing the situation moment by moment and trying to describe the situation to others after.
I put my hopup up across a kitchen entrance to create a physical barrier and the initial investigation is to check the bulb and light fitting for any obvious problem. The light fitting is an easy reach for me, but out of reach to the kids, so that gives a chance to assess if the children will say behind the barrier or ignore it without creating any danger to them or me.
Actually, the kids stayed behind the hopup, and by the time I had had eliminated the bulb as the problem and had a look at the fitting, the kids had got bored watching me and went back to the TV.
Mum was around but could not stay with the kids all the time.
Now I have to decide whether to proceed or not, and since the problem is likely to be:
1) Faulty switch
2) Damaged cable in voids
3) Loose connection (most likely).
Since loose connections create heat and there is a fire risk, and the kids have not crossed the barrier and now wandered off, I began investigation.
The kids did not cross the barrier at any time and were never close to me while I was working.
Had the situation been a fault in the living room light, that would have been a completely different matter and required different actions to keep the kids and me safe.
