When we bring our new little ones home we will do anything to be sure they are safe and sound at all times. Yet it can be hard to determine the small things that might be dangerous to a baby. Each year there’s a surprising number of avoidable accidents involving children within the home. That explains why it’s so vital to take a good, in depth, look around before the small one arrives and adopt some preventive measures.
Here we have provided a list of 18 things to do to make a childproof home, a safer environment for your new additions.
1 The very first thing you need to do when setting out to get rid of dangers to your baby is to get their point of view. As daft as it sounds, try crawling around your house to get an infant’s view. This is going to help you to notice harmful objects in reach of baby, that you may not have otherwise have noticed.
2 When combing through your house look for any pointed edges. Remove any objects or furniture your child might come into contact with sharpened edges. If you can’t remove the object you can cover it. You can pick up convenient to use corner and edge cushions from your local hardware store.
3 Identify possible choking hazards. Any little objects within the reach of a kid represents a choking risk. Keep them beyond reach. Look for loose knobs on drawers or cabinets and tighten, remove or replace.
4 Look for cords longer than 7 inches. These are often found on window treatments. This is a sadly typical cause of household deaths among babies. Tie them up, cut or remove them altogether.
5 Keep your floors clean and clutter free. Anything in reach of baby could wind up in baby’s mouth.
6 If you’ve got a water heater, ensure the outside is not hot enough to burn on touch. Turn down the temperature and/or block the area.
7 Likewise keep fans and space heaters, anything that can cause cuts or burns on contact, out of baby?s reach.
8 Repair or replace any unsteady, wobbly furniture from baby’s environment. If at all possible, secure furniture and televisions to the wall so they may not topple onto baby.
9 Place screw-fitted baby gates soundly at the tops of steps or anywhere a fall could happen. Always use gates that are hardware-mounted into the walls and not pressure-fitted gates at the tops of stairs.
10 Lock all windows and install guards on all windows above the 1st floor.
11 Put safety catches on cupboard doors that contain potentially risky items.
12 Lock damaging items like medication, chemicals, cleaners, anything that could be harmful to baby, in a secure and safe location.
13 Keep doors locked and ensure there’s no gaps, holes, anything baby could reach through or put their body parts through.
14 Watch out for any freestanding water. Put a latch on the toilet lid, or keep the lavatory door locked. Babies can drown in toilet bowls. If you have a pool or any other water feature in your house/yard special attention is wanted to secure these areas from babies.
15 Cover all electric outlets in the house to stop shocks and burns. You can buy covers and safety plugs from any department store. Also keep electric cords beyond reach.
16 Garbage could be a safety risk to your child. Keep all waste secured and out of reach.
17 Put up smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors outside of bedrooms and on each floor of the house. Ensure batteries are replaced regularly.
18 It is always a great idea to program local emergency service numbers into your house telephone, and/or post in a visible location. Include 911 (or equivalent), your pediatrician, and poison control in addition to any other numbers that might be employed in an emergency.
Pamela Noble enjoys writing about useful household topics for BabyandPetGates.com. You can go there for more info about the different kinds of baby and pet gates available