Lifestyle

Tips on Childproofing Your Home

Tips on Childproofing Your Home Everything changes when you have a baby, including your priorities. The child’s safety becomes the most important issue. This means your home will have to undergo some changes as well, because from the kids’ perspective it’s a pretty dangerous place. Before you start childproofing your home it might be a good idea to inspect all rooms and to try looking at them, the way your child does. That way you may spot a dangerous area you didn’t think about before.

Here are a few tips on how to make your home as child friendly as possible:

Kitchen

Kitchen knives and forks come to mind as the most obvious safety hazard for kids. You’ll definitely have to keep those locked up or at least somewhere where they can’t be reached, but the dangers don’t stop there. Kitchen range for instance is dangerous even when it’s turned off, because it usually has a very heavy door which can really hurt a child if they fall over. Add anti trip brackets or try to get a stove with a sliding door.

Bathroom

Store medicine and other dangerous chemicals usually found in the bathroom away from the reach of children. If you don’t have high shelves in the bathroom invest in safety latches for all the cabinets. The toilet itself is also a safety hazard – children can lean into them and fall in (and drown in a small amount of water). Get the specially made locks for keeping the lid on. Make sure all electronic devices (like hair dryers and electric rollers) are turned off and unplugged when you leave the bathroom. In the end remember that child can get burned much easier than an adult person, so think about getting an anti-scalding device for all the faucets.

Tips on Childproofing Your Home

Furniture

Depending on how mobile (and crawling becomes standing up pretty fast) your kid is furniture – especially larger pieces – can be pretty hazardous. It’s a good idea to put on protection on the edges of a dining table and not to put pots, especially with something hot in the near the edge. Also make sure that heavy furniture like bookshelves are properly weighted down, so a child can’t flip them over on to themselves.

Gates

If you want to designate whole areas of the house to be restricted zones for children – installing gates is the way to go. They’re mostly used to keep kids away from stairs, kitchens or swimming pools. Be careful when you get gates, because they themselves can pose a danger if not installed correctly. If there is a chance that a gate can be tipped over,

don’t get it. Also accordion style gates are a good place for a kid to get stuck. When choosing a safety lock for your gate make sure it’s something a child can’t open, but you can without too much trouble. If a gate is too difficult for an adult to open, you might get tempted to leave them unlocked when you’re in a hurry.

High tech

There is an app for everything and childproofing isn’t an exception. Technology can be of great assistance when it comes to childproofing. There are baby monitors with cameras which stream directly to your phone. Motion sensors are not that hard to find as well. Also most kitchen appliances are now programmed to turn off as soon as problem emerges. Never the less all this gadget aren’t a substitute for keeping your eyes open.

Nothing is more important than the safety of your children. When you’re childproofing your home – be methodical, take every precaution and make sure your kids can run around care free.

One thought on “Tips on Childproofing Your Home

  1. These are helpful tips in identifying hazardous areas inside the house. Pointy objects such as knives and forks may be dangerous for children, that is why it is a good idea to lock these up or move them to places that kids can’t reach.

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