ChildProofing Your Home Doesn’t Have to be Hard

When you take your child out with you, you are naturally careful and keep him under close supervision. When the child is at home the natural tendency is to let the baby crawl while you go about your daily chores. What new parents fail to realize is that there are dangerous places within the house as well from which we need to protect children.

The Basic Questions You Need to Ask Yourself

Childproofing your home is a matter of common sense and you can prepare a plan simply by asking yourself some questions.

• What can the child get in to?

• Which are the places or areas that can harm the child?

• How can the child be protected from getting in harm’s way?

Things that appear obvious to you are not necessarily safe for the child. Take a round of the house like a child and bring yourself to crawl and you will be able to identify potentially dangerous areas and objects.

Areas around the Home That Require Your Special Attention

There are so many places in the home where kids can get into and harm themselves. Pay special attention to the following:

• Bathrooms
• Kitchen
• Laundry room
• Stairs
• Garage
• Door leading to outside
• Swimming Pool

Some Useful Child Proofing Suggestions

Safety Gates : Install child safety gates at the bottom as well as top of the stairs. Ensure that you use wall mounted gates for the top.

Safety Locks : Ensure that doors leading to all rooms have safety locks. See to it that door-knob covers or slide latches are out of reach of the child. When childproofing your home remember that children learn very quickly and will be able to open doors after seeing you do that a number of times.

Bathroom Door : Be more careful of the bathroom door. Wet bathrooms are slippery and your child can fall and get hurt. Keep the non-bathing area always dry for your as well as your child’s safety.

Garage and Laundry Rooms : The garage and the laundry room should always remain locked. You might have stored insecticides and garden supplies in the garage while the washing machine and dryer are potential hazardous equipments. Children are naturally inquisitive and like to explore things and always looking for new places to hide.

Pay attention to places that kids can get caught in : The first on the list are the pickets on stairs that may be too far apart and the child can get stuck in them. Next in line are low hanging cords like curtain and electric cords. Cover the gaps between pickets with a fine wire mesh and make sure that cords are high enough for the child to reach.

Electric Outlets : Cover all electric outlets with plastic covers that fit tight enough for preventing kids from pulling them off.

Your home is supposed to be safe place for your little one - Childproofing your home doesn’t have to be a difficult task and shouldn’t take too much of your time once you know the areas and things that have the potential to harm your child.

Photo Credit: Nate Grigg