Having a kid in your home is an exciting and fun moment. Unfortunately, your home has a lot of dangers lurking in every corner – from electrical sockets, kitchen tops, cleaning products, or a cabinet. When your little one starts crawling and exploring the house, this is when it is most vital to babyproof your home. Toddlers will pull, climb drawers and bump into things. But before you worry yourself crazy, there are a lot of ways you protect your child from harm. Read on to know how to babyproof your home.
Why Babyproof Your Home?
Recently, IKEA made a lot of news because of their dressers tipping over children. About every 30 minutes, a child in the U.S. is injured as a result of a TV or furniture tip-over incident. Aside from furniture tipping over, there are children accidentally ingesting small toys and a lot more. These safety issues should be more than enough for you to babyproof your home. By babyproofing your home, you avoid accidents as well as money for hospital/doctor visits.
Easy Ways to Babyproof Your Home
Safety tips might come as common sense, but it never hurts to be sure and double-check. Here are some ways how you can protect your baby from accidents and keep them safe in your own home:
Nursery
Your child will spend a lot of his/her time in their nursery, so it should be a place where they can be safe.
- Always make sure that your changing area is clean. Keep items like wipes, diapers, or creams in an unused drawer.
- For dressers in your nursery, drill them in the wall so that they won’t tip over once your toddler climbs or pulls them.
- Toy chests should be without lids or always open, this way, you won’t have to worry about the cover falling over your kid.
- Cribs should meet the current safety standards, so don’t bother using old cribs that didn’t pass the current safety standards.
Kitchen
Some of the most serious accidents happen in the kitchen, so take extra time for meticulously baby proofing your kitchen.
- Keep away all sharp objects/knives from your children. Place them inside a locked drawer or somewhere where they can’t reach them.
- Put guards or protectors on the edges of tables or countertops.
- Lock your drawers or put safety locks like a magnetic key cabinet, a tension rod, or even velcro.
- Make sure to place your cleaning supplies in a high cabinet rather than under the sink. On the occasion that you put cleaning supplies under the sink, lock the drawer or place a child lock.
Bathroom
Once your child learns how to crawl or walk, they will explore every nook and cranny of your house. Thus one of these places may be your bathroom.
- Keep all your medicines inside a tightly locked cupboard as well as your razor blades or any sharp materials. For your beauty products or cleaning products, put them on a high shelf or a locked drawer.
- Lower the toilet seat as well as the lid when you are not using them.
- Don’t leave your toddler unattended in the bathroom.
- If you’re going to use the bathtub to bathe your child, install a non-slip mat in your bathtub or use bathing tubs.
Living Areas
According to the the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the largest number of accidents happen in the living/dining room.
- The first thing you need to do in your living areas is replace sockets with childproof sockets.
- Keep your electrical cords tied up or away from sight.
- Place safety gates for areas you don’t want your child to get access to, especially the stairs.
- All your furniture should be secured and stable to prevent them from falling over.
These are some just easy ways to babyproof your home. With this guide, you’ll surely be ready and prevent accidents in your home. Do you have any babyproofing tips to share? Leave a comment below.