Guest Post - Child Proofing your Home

~ Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 5:49 PM ~

Once your babies are on the go and crawling around the home it is essential that you ensure your home is as safe as possible to prevent any accidents and of course your toddler getting into the cupboards and emptying the contents! I am sure you have encountered this before!

There are an array of different pieces of safety equipment on the market, some of which should be considered an essential, others of course are dependent on the layout of your own home and may not be necessary.

Stair gates for example should be fitted on the top and bottom of every set of stairs in the home and should be considered an essential in this respect. However, the safety gates don’t just need to be used for stairs they can be useful in order to prevent children entering other rooms which may pose a risk such as the kitchen or utility room where you typically find hazards such as washing machines and cleaning products.

Once your toddler moves from a cot to a junior or single bed a bed rail would be recommended especially if your child moves around a lot whilst sleeping.

Smaller pieces of safety equipment can come in ‘starter packs’ and these typically contain everything you will need for a standard home, if you have a bigger house then you may need to double up on the packs to ensure you have enough pieces. These safety packs typically include cupboard door locks to be attached to the inside of the cupboard door in order to prevent your child opening the door, foam door stoppers to prevent trapped fingers, fridge locks, corner cushions if you have any furniture with sharp edges and socket covers to stop your child sticking fingers or anything else into them.

If you have a fireplace in your home it will also be important to invest in a fire guard to keep your child a safe distance away from the heat, preventing any burns.

Do you have any other home safety tips?


Comments (5) -

md kennedy

We don't have chicldren of our own, but I do have a step-grandson who is two.  We live in a condo, so stairs are not an issue, but boy-o-boy that little one likes to get into cupboard and drawers!  We have locks on most of our cupboards, but are still trying to come up with something that will keep him out of the cupboards that don't have handles, just edges that you pull out.  

Amy L. Norman

I need solutions to keep my daughter out of our laundry area, and that space between the TV stand/wall; the couch/end table; and behind her glider rocker in her nursery. She is an inquisitive toddler, and she keeps me on my toes.

desiree

we use the lock on the door and then we put the higher lock on the door so the kid can not wlk out

margaret peg m

margaret peg m says:

I raised 5 children and have 2 lil' granddaughters.  we would put blankets over coffee table and end tables when it was playtime, and taught them early words that were key.  HOT, STOP, NO, PLEASE, THANK YOU, all made a difference.  And nightly prayers and talks were calming, peaceful ways to go over the days trials and/or positive things.

Maria Iemma

I had three kids and now have grandchildren that visit often so I have removed anything that is breakable or dangerous in any way and I will wait to display my nice knick-knacks when everyone is older.

Comments are closed