Safety is an important consideration for all parents and sadly large numbers of children are injured in the home every single year. The good news is that there are measures you can take to help to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries and this process should start when your baby becomes mobile.
Follow these tips to make sure your home is a safer environment for your baby / toddler.
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How to Baby Proof your Home
1. How to Baby Proof your Home
A step by step guide...
2. How to Baby-Proof your home
Safety is an important consideration for all parents and sadly
large numbers of children are injured in the home every
single year.
The good news is that there are measures you can take to
help to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries and this
process should start when your baby becomes mobile.
Here are some tips for you to follow...
3. Baby Proofing - Stairs
Stairs are an attractive proposition for a
crawling baby and it seems few can resist the
challenge of climbing up them.
Whilst this is all part of learning, stairs
represent a real danger to an unaccompanied
crawling baby or toddler and you should seek
to fit safety gates as soon as your baby
becomes mobile.
Look to install safety gates at both the top and bottom of your stairs; Lindam
recommend fitting screw fix gates at the top of the stairs because they offer
additional strength and safety, whilst also not having a bottom support rail which
can present a trip hazard.
4. Baby Proofing - Doorways
Whilst you will want to offer your baby the
freedom to crawl and explore there are
certain rooms that should be off-limits
including the kitchen and bathroom.
To keep your baby out of these rooms you
should again consider fitting safety gates.
Pressure fit gates are a popular choice for
doorways as they require no drilling
(therefore leaving no marks in or on the
doorframe).
5. Baby Proofing - Kitchen
There are lots of hazards in the kitchen;
many which are obvious and some which
are less so. Keep your baby / toddler away
from the oven and teach them that this area
is hot. When possible always use the back
rings of the hob and never allow your pan
handles to point out over the floor- they are
really attractive to children who may try to
reach up and grab them.
Cupboards containing hazardous products such as bleach and other cleaning fluids
should have a cupboard safety latch installed on them so that little fingers cannot
gain easy access. Always remember to close cupboard doors behind you and where
possible store these hazardous materials in high cupboards and ensure you lock the
caps in the closed position.
6. Baby Proofing - Bathroom
Did you know that children can drown in as
little as 1 inch of water? With this in mind
never leave your baby/toddler unsupervised
in the bathroom when you are running a
bath. The bathroom is home to many
poisonous materials and liquids (again, think
bleach, cleaning fluids, shampoo etc) so keep
everything in a locked cupboard (install
cupboard latches if your cupboard does not
have a lock) and ideally high up and out of
reach.
The toilet is another great attraction to a child and many parents will admit to having
found toys, valuables, pencils etc in the toilet at some point in their child’s life. You
can prevent the risk of this happening in your home by fitting a toilet lid lock.
7. Baby Proofing – Bath Water
Always check the temperature of the bath before
placing your baby / toddler into the water using a
thermometer. A baby can scald in just 3 seconds when
placed in water with a temperature of 60 degrees C.
Run the cold water first, then top the bath up with hot.
An alternative to a hot water thermometer
could be the Munchkin White Hot Safety
Duck, which displays the word HOT when the
water temperature exceeds 40 degrees c.
8. Baby Proofing – Living Room
Whilst your living room may be the hub of your
home it can also be a room with lots of hidden
dangers!
Have a look at your coffee table? Does it have
sharp corner edges that are at the perfect height
to hurt your child’s eyes, face or body if he were
to fall? One option would be to remove the table
from the room altogether, but if this is not
possible you should consider fitting corner safety
cushions to each corner.
Bookcases and display cabinets are another potential problem area, as toddlers love
to explore what’s on their shelves. Is your bookshelf or cabinet secure, or could it be
pulled over by your child, posing a topple risk?
9. Baby Proofing - Fireplace
The fireplace is an obvious danger area, so
much like with the oven do not allow your
child to get close to the fire. Teach them that
this area is “HOT” and install a Fire Guard as
soon as your baby starts to move around (or
before).
10. Baby Proofing – Wires and Cables
Wires and plug sockets are another big
hazard in the living room. Make sure all
wires are neat and tidy (avoiding the risk
of trips and falls) and use socket covers
on all empty plug sockets so your child
cannot push anything inside.
11. Baby Proofing – Nursery / Bedroom
Once your child moves into his/her own room
you may want to offer them the freedom to
play and explore.
Make the bedroom a safe haven and consider
fitting another safety gate over the bedroom
door so they cannot crawl or walk into another
room unsupervised. This becomes more
important at night as you may be asleep when
they wake and try to leave their room.
Listen out for unexpected (or expected) disturbances during the night using an
audio baby monitor. If your little one is awake you need to be aware!
12. Baby Proofing – Nursery / Bedroom
The transition from cot to bed is a big milestone in your child's life, but it can also
be a stressful time. Leave it too late and you may discover your child trying to
climb out of the cot, which poses a big fall risk. Do it too early and your child may
repeatedly fall out of bed.
When you do make the change consider fitting bed rails to the side of the bed.
These help to prevent your child rolling out of the bed when they are asleep.
13. Baby Proofing – Blind Cords
Blind cords pose a real risk to children, who can easily become entangled in the
cord if they are allowed to sit or climb onto a window sill.
Learn more about blind cord safety in this video, which has been produced by
ROSPA:
14. Baby Proofing - General
A great tip that we like to share with all parents who are baby proofing is to get
down onto their hands and knees and see the world from the eyes of their
children.
It is amazing how many potential hazards you can spot when doing this!
Remember though that baby proofing your home will never make it 100% risk
free; close supervision at all times is always paramount.
15. For further information...
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