Home Baby Proofing Tips: Important Steps to Take Throughout Your Home

Whether you are expecting a child in the near future, or your little one is getting ready to start moving about the house, it is important that you take the time to properly baby-proof your house. Baby proofing your house before your baby is even able to crawl will ensure that you are not caught off guard when they start walking sooner than expected. Considering unintentional accidents are the leading cause of death in toddlers, it is critical that parents do as much as they can to safeguard their house against potential accidents. To help get you started, here is a look at a few steps that you can take in each room of your home to get you started as you begin baby proofing.

Bathroom

• A great place to start when baby proofing your home is the bathroom. Using a safety latch on your toilet can be critical in not only ensuring your child’s safety, but it can also prevent a messy situation should they try to throw their toys into this fun “pool”.
• Make sure to get in the habit of keeping curling irons and hair dryers away from the edge of the counter, and do not leave cords hanging over the counter where a toddler may be tempted to pull on them. Additionally, do not leave these items plugged in or turned on unattended.

Living Room

• A critical step to take in the living room, as well as any bedrooms that your baby may have access to, is to mount larger furniture such as bookcases, dressers, video cabinets, and entertainment units to the wall. As your little one starts to walk, they may try to pull themselves up using this furniture, and unless it is properly mounted, they could pull it onto themselves.
• If you have hard surface flooring and have rugs in your living room, or in other areas throughout your home, make sure that they have a non-skid material under them. This can help to prevent potentially dangerous falls as rugs can be prone to slipping on hard surfaces.

Laundry Room

• The most important thing to do in your laundry room when baby proofing is to make sure that all laundry detergents, cleaning products, and other chemicals are on high shelves and out of a child’s reach. These products can be extremely toxic, so it is important that you make a point to not leave them lying around and put them back up on a high shelf unless you are actively using them.

Kitchen

• Kitchenware can be particularly dangerous, so it is important that you make sure that sharp cooking utensils such as knives, scissors, graters, and peelers are kept in drawers with locks or latches, or in high cabinets so that a child cannot get to them.
• If you currently use a tablecloth, consider switching to placemats instead. Tablecloths are easy to pull and can send glasses, plates, and cutlery falling to the floor, creating a potentially dangerous situation.
• If your stove allows for it, consider removing knobs and placing them out of a child’s reach when you are not cooking. This can prevent your baby from accidentally turning on one of the burners should they become curious about the knobs.

Miscellaneous 

Small steps that you can take throughout the house can go a long way in helping to protect your child. Things that you can do in every room for added baby proofing include:

• Covering electrical outlets to prevent potential electrocutions.
• Blocking off/locking any rooms that you do not want your baby exploring and/or that have not been baby proofed so that they can not go where they shouldn’t unattended.
• Cords for blinds and other window treatments can potentially present a choking hazard. Make sure that you tie up these cords so that they are out of reach, or consider switching to cordless window treatments.
• Cushion corners of tables and other sharp edges to prevent head injuries.

Taking small steps now to baby proof your home can go a long way in helping to ensure that your baby has safe places to explore as they begin to crawl and walk on their own.  Contact us for more ideas on things that you can do to baby proof your home.