Tips For Childproofing Your Home

Childproofing your home gives you peace of mind. Here are some tips for keeping your home safe.

I am always amazed by what my little ones do. And there are times when I think to myself, “How did they know that?” or, “How did they figure that out?” It is no trick. The answer is that their minds are always going. It is true that they don’t have to think about big stuff like balancing the budget. But their minds are sponges. Soaking up all they can. So curiosity is king in their lives. And unfortunately, this could get them hurt. Therefore protecting little ones from themselves is a major part of being a parent.

One of the best ways to protect your little ones is childproofing your home. And before tackling this task, it is best to start by seeing things through your little one’s perspective. So get down on the floor and look around your home from your child’s eye level. Remember that babies (and toddlers too) love to chew on things. They also like to stick objects and their fingers in openings. Therefore it is a good idea to cover or tape down cords and buy outlet covers. Here are some more tips for childproofing your home. Let’s start with the kitchen.

KITCHEN

• Keep hazardous things up high and out of reach of little ones. Before I had kids I never thought about childproofing my home. And I used to put my cleaning chemicals under the sink. However once my oldest child was born, I felt like he would be curious and may try to get into it. I put safety latches on the doors, but I still felt uncomfortable about it. Therefore I put ALL of my hazardous stuff in 2 cabinets that are up high and closest to the sink.

• Make sure your little ones cannot reach sharp knives. One day my 3 year old son got his step stool and got one of my chef’s knives, which I store in a butcher block. I ALWAYS have it tucked away in a certain corner on my kitchen counter. I always make sure it is pushed back and nestled in that corner so my son can’t get to it. However my son really wanted to open a UPS package that was delivered earlier that day. When I came out of the bathroom, I was shocked to see my son on the floor with the knife in his hand and an opened package. He did not cut himself, but at that moment I put all of my prep knives up high and out of reach of my little ones.

• Use the stove's back burners and turn pot handles toward the back of the stove to keep hot pots and pans out of reach of children.

The living room and/or family room is a place where family members love to gather. Keeping it safe is another part of successfully childproofing your home.

LIVING ROOM

• TV sets and other large items should be well secured so that they don't fall on children.

• Put a safety latch on your fireplace door handles.

• Install padding around the fireplace hearth.

• Keep all plants out of reach from little ones. Some plants are poisonous or toxic to children and animals.

• Keep the key to the gas starting fireplace out of reach of children.

Another dangerous room is the bathroom. Let’s take a look at how to make a safe bathroom, which is a part of childproofing your home.

A bathroom can be a dangerous room for babies an toddlers because they can topple into the toilet or tub and drown. They also can turn on the water faucet and burn themselves. And we moms also store things like nail polish remover under the sink, and this is poisonous. So to make the bathroom safer, we can do the following:

• Keep hazardous things up high and out of reach of little ones. If it is not possible, then safety latches on the cabinets where these items are will work too.

• Install safety latches on all toilets. Little ones can drown in as little as 2 inches of water.

• Keep water temperatures to no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Little ones’ skin can easily burn.

• Never leave your child alone in the bathtub.

GARAGE AND LAUNDRY AREAS

Organization is the key when creating a safe garage and laundry area. It will cut down the risk of fire and injury. It will also make it easy to find things and know where to put them back. So here are some things to do to organize and keep these areas safe.

• Throw out garage junk! Get rid of any items that you no longer need, or serves a purpose. If it doesn't work, throw it out. Let’s face it. It will not be fixed, because you would have fixed it by now.

  Donate what's usable. Then sell what you can. After that, throw out what's left!

• Do not pile objects. Children may climb on and play on these piles. Instead, hang shovels, rakes, lawn chairs, bikes and other sharp objects securely from pegs on a sidewall. Make sure to hang the sharp edges toward the wall.

• Do not store balls, toys or other kid objects near potentially dangerous areas. Instead, designate a specific area for children's things.

• Install ceiling mounted storage grids to keep seldom-used or seasonal items out of the way. Have a place for everything. Never leave things (except the car) on the garage floor because someone could trip on these. Make sure to put items in a cabinet or shelf. And hazardous materials should be kept in a place that little ones can’t get to.

• Always keep the washer lid and dryer door closed.

• Never leave the iron sitting on top of the ironing board. And always unplug it after using it.

• Before ironing, wait until your child is napping, happy in a playpen, or otherwise unlikely to disturb you. All it takes is one small bump on the ironing board to send the heavy, hot iron tumbling down.

• Put a lock on the laundry-room door or use safety doorknob cover.

BEDROOMS

A lot of time is spent in the bedroom. It is sometimes a sanctuary. Sometimes it is a place to send your child when he/she is misbehaving. Whatever the reason you are spending time in there, it needs to be safe. And the main things to do to keep it safe are to make sure there are outlet covers on all electrical sockets. Another is to secure all furniture that can topple over to the wall. Little ones love to climb so never put a toy on a high shelf. This can encourage him/her to climb. An open drawer can also be used to climb so close all drawers when you are finished.

Window treatments should be out of reach of little ones. So avoid curtains that can be pulled down, tie or remove dangling window-shade and window-blind cords, and install a window guard at the bottom of the window.

There are a lot of things to consider when dealing with childproofing your home. So to make childproofing your home convenient, I have 2 checklists that you can use. My Nursery Room checklist will help you get your newborn’s room ready. And the Child Safety in the Home list is a detailed list to help you get your whole house safe for your little ones to roam.

Click here to get your very own Personlized Home Safety Checklist!

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