You’re having a baby? Congratulations! Your life is about to change forever, and in ways you can’t even imagine. But don’t worry. As the father of three beautiful children I assure you it’s all worth it. I can also tell you that children can be even more mischievous that you would ever imagine. Remember, kids are naturally curious and they’ll get into all sorts of things as they start to explore the world around them. As a responsible parent you’ll need to childproof your home to keep your baby from getting hurt.
Making your home is childproof doesn’t mean you have to line the walls with bubble wrap and hover over your baby like a helicopter. It just means taking some simple steps to give them a safe environment where they can explore and learn.
If you’re just bringing home a newborn you have some time before you have to worry about him getting into trouble. But don’t wait too long to start childproofing your home because once your baby learns to crawl and then walk…all bets are off! So let’s talk about a few simple and inexpensive ways to make your home safer for your new addition.
6 Ways to Childproof Your Home
The first thing I want you to do get down on your hands and knees. I’m serious! It may sound silly but your little one is much lower to the ground and has a completely different point of view than you do. By taking a few minutes to crawl around on the floor you can get a better idea of how your baby will see the world. And it might help you spot a dangerous situation that you otherwise would have missed.
Poisonous cleaners, medications, and sharp objects should be stored where baby cannot get to them. That also goes for small objects which could pose a choking hazard. Remember, many babies have a tendency to put pretty much anything in their mouth.
Cabinets and drawers that contain cleaners, small appliances, or anything else that could harm your little one should be kept locked. There are many different styles of childproof latches and locks that will fit just about any type of cabinet or drawer. They only cost a few dollars at Home Depot or Babies R Us and they are very easy to install.
Electrical outlets must also be childproofed. Babies don’t understand the dangers of electricity, they just see a hole in the wall that they can stick things into. There are small plastic inserts that you can plug into the outlet but I don’t find them very effective. They are easy to pull out and once removed they become a choking hazard. Instead, look for the type that screws in and replaces the faceplate. As soon as a plug is removed from the outlet, a built-in mechanism drops down and prevents anything else from being inserted.
Baby gates are useful for keeping your little one away from the stairs or out of the kitchen while you’re cooking. Pressure mounted gates are fine for most areas, but if you are placing a gate at the top of a stairway you need to get one that comes with hardware that will mount it to the wall.
Last but not least, consider taking a first aid and CPR course. No matter how much you childproof your home you do there is always the chance that your little one will get hurt and if that does happen you’ll want to know what to do.
What other suggests do you have to childproof your home?
This is an article written by Mike Collins of SavingMoneyToday.net
I really like your idea about getting down on your hands and knees. This really is the only way you will know what it is like to be a small child and what is within their reach and not. I am definitely going to use this tip when we start a family.
I would also recommend turning down your hot water heater. You would never want a child to accidentally turn the tap on and burn themselves. Sadly, this happens a lot.
Not having a kid — Lord willing — for awhile. However, these are some great tips. I hear faucet protectors are great. I don’t think they protect the kid against the temperature of the water, but I think it protects them from bumping their head against the hard metal. I think you just place it over your faucet in the bathtub. http://www.target.com/p/Skip-Hop-Moby-Bath-Spout-Cover/-/A-11316301?reco=Rec_pdp_11316301_ClickCP_Adjacency
Getting down to your hands and knees is a great idea! It never even occured to me that we look at everything from our own height and don’t see the obvious. Great post!
Our kids are 9, 8, and 5 and we’re always learning of things we should have thought of to protect both the house and the children.
I installed a metal landscaping garden surround a few years ago. It looks great but is very dangerouse when kids are running and playing outside. My son tripped and landed on it and it sliced his elbow open. It’s impossible to think of everything.
Miss T, great tip about the hot water heater. It only takes a second for a child to get scalded with hot water.
Aloysa, getting on your hands will give you a whole new perspective. You’ll spot all sorts of things that you otherwise wouldn’t have thought of.
Hunter, you’re right. No matter how well prepared you think you are, your kids will always find something new to get into! When my daughter was about 2, she figured out how to stack a bunch of stuffed animals next to the baby gate and use them to climb over. Then she squeezed her little body between the entertainment center and the wall so she could get to the stairs. She was one determined kid!
Our baby just learned how to crawl and it’s a huge adjustment. He’s getting into everything and we really need to baby proof our home now. We’ve been putting it off. :)
Yup our 8 mo. old just became very mobile and we had to scramble to babyproof - we bought a couple sets of $17 floor mats from home depot to make one room a playroom and protect her from the hardwood floors.
One other thing I didn’t expect - I have to clean a lot more! She’s always finding her way into some dusty corner that I never would’ve noticed…
We don’t have kids so no real experience there. Getting down on hands and knees sounds like a great idea. One of my coworker does this part time. Her business is just to child proof the house. I might get help from people like her for our first kid (esp. because I didn’t grow up in the US).
I think many parents start to childproof their home only after their child gets into accident. I think that’s what happened to us. We childproofed one by one as our child bumped into things and try to open doors that he should not be touching etc… You made some very good points that are useful.
Great article! Definitely the time to child proof your home is before the little one gets to moving around - They do get into stuff so quickly. A few things I didn’t see mentioned already are toilet latch lids (my kids were always fascinated with the toilet), door knob covers (so they can’t open up the front door and run outside), appliance locking strap (don’t want the stove to be pulled over), and furniture safety brackets (yes, I did have one child climb a bookcase and tip it over ( - thankfully he was okay but scared the living daylights out of us).
@Retire by 40, you get spoiled in the beginning because they just sit or lay there…but once they start crawling and walking that’s it!
@Frugal Vegan Mom, I wish I could say the cleaning gets better but it only gets worse as they get more and more toys.
@Suba, that’s a neat idea. I bet your friend will be able to come up with lots of suggestions tailored specifically to your house.
@UltimateSmartMoney, True. There are always those things that you miss and of course those are the ones your child will go after!
@Dana, those are all great suggestions. Especially the furniture straps for bookshelves and other pieces that could get knocked over. And don’t forget those big screen tvs that could tip over and crush a little person.
Window covering cords. Get those babyproofed, don’t let cords hang down to the ground. There are risks that these could wrap around a baby’s neck. I recall a news story where this was discussed, and it was tragic.
I remember those stories as well. Great tip.
I feel like this is great advice for anyone. Not just those having kids, but anyone who would have kids over to their house. My wife and I would have occasional kids over to our houses and I would always fear that they would hit their head on a sharp corner or something like that. Some of our friends had plastic covers for door handles, so that children who could not grab the door handles in the right spot, would not be able to open the doors.
Thanks for this article. I work in-home with families daily and child-proofing often comes up. Baby gates are definitely a must have whether for babies or puppies!
Yes- puppies too! We have 110lb Newfoundland and we had to make sure she didn’t go flying down the stairs as a puppy as to avoid joint issues later in life.