New parents always face the challenge of properly baby proofing their house before the little one arrives. While the real risk of injury does not start until they start crawling and walking, some sharp corners and harmful objects can still be injurious to your newborn. Hence, it is always ideal to baby proof your home before the birth of the child as you might not always have the time or the chance once they are in the house. In this regard, we offer a comprehensive checklist to begin the process of childproofing your house.
Baby Proofing Your House
The essential point to remember while baby proofing your home is to consider all things that can pose a risk – not just sharp objects and corners, but even those that can harm the child when in your arms, like broken furniture or slippery floors/floor mats. Therefore, we recommend you do a safety audit of your house to make a list of potential risks and injury-prone areas.
For the Living Room
- Start with the TV, hide all the wires, and ideally wall mount the TV at a height;
- Next comes the electrical sockets – you can easily install covers for electrical sockets so your kid doesn’t put their finger or objects inside;
- If you have stairs within your house, install baby gates at the top and bottom, so they don’t fall off easily;
- If you have a fireplace, install blinders and screens around it;
- Push all moveable lights and lamps to non-reachable areas like behind furniture or inaccessible corners;
- Keep an eye out for heavy furniture and objects that can easily fall and break. We recommended keeping them at a height so your kids can’t reach them or push them easily;
- Sharp corners are a risk not only for kids but for adults too, you can easily get guards to fix on them;
- Check for furniture damage so no screws, springs, or wood are sticking out of your sofa or chairs.
For the Bathrooms
- It is ideally recommended beginning with hot water taps and hot water temperature. Curious children tend to play with door knobs, handles, and taps once they begin to walk and learn to turn objects. If you are unaware of your hot water situation, your child can get injured very easily;
- Get doorknobs on the bathroom door that only you and other adults in the house can open;
- Most important of all, children love to play with the toilet cover and cabinets. You can easily get childproof locks online to install on them;
- If your bathroom stores laundry and washing machines, you might want to seal off that area with baby gates or locks, so they don’t play with dirty laundry or mess with the washing machine – especially when the machine is on!
For the Kitchen
- Avoid using open trashcans and get a child lock for the lids of the trash bins, so they can’t be opened easily;
- Get guards and knobs to seal off all draws and doors in the kitchen. Be it storage or electrical appliance, this step is essential to ensure your baby has absolutely no access to knives, forks, breakable dish wears, oven and the fridge;
- If you have a table with a cloth on it, ideally remove it. One, your baby will make a mess of the table that will require cleaning often. And, two, tablecloths that hang lose tend to be a hazard as kids can pull it down along with objects kept on them;
- Keep dishes and utensils at a height in overhead cabinets;
- Seal all wires of small electrical appliances.
For the Nursery
- Secure all moveable furniture like wardrobes and shelves to the wall;
- Keep all furniture at a distance from each other so there is enough space to move without bumping into something;
- If you are getting floor mats, be sure it is non-skid mats, so they don’t move or slip easily;
- Keep the baby crib away from electrical sockets, windows, and other objects that can fall off easily.
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