Childproofing Your Home

Every year, Children get killed and injured in the home. Tragedies occur, even in the homes of the most diligent parents. Many of these deaths and injuries are preventable. While no one can 100% childproof their home, there are lots of things you do to make your home safer.

Children of all ages are curious. Toddlers will climb furniture to see what’s on a shelf. Babies will put small items in their mouths to learn more about them. Older kids may want to experiment with things like fire. Kids of all ages have one thing in common. They are not as aware of danger as adults are.

Keeping kids safe in the home is all about safety awareness. Spotting potential dangers and protecting your children from them. Supervising young children is, of course, essential. But you can’t have your eyes on them twenty-four hours a day.

In this post, we look at some of the common dangers for kids in the home. We look at child proofing the home, room by room. We have also included some of the Childproofing products that are available. Products that can help you make your home safer for kids. None of these childproofing products are fail proof though. There never will be an alternative to proper parental care!

We have not included childproofing kid’s rooms in this post. We will cover that in another post. This post concentrates on childproofing the other main rooms in the home.

Childproofing Your Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most dangerous places in the home for kids. There are sharp knives, a hot stove, and a floor that could get slippery. There is also the temptation of all that delicious food that is in a kitchen. Food that may tempt a child to climb up furniture to reach into cupboards.

The most basic of ways to childproof your kitchen is to put everything away after use. Don’t leave knives and appliances out after use. Put food ingredients back in cupboards when you have finished cooking. If you have very young children, keep the kids out of the kitchen with a baby gate. Especially when you are cooking anything on the stove. Here’s a checklist of steps you can take to childproof the kitchen:

• Cover sharp table and counter corners with furniture corner protectors
• Keep the floor dry and skid free.
• Dispose of plastic bags and wrapping carefully
• Install child safety latches on all drawers, cupboards and cabinets
• Be careful of serrated edges on things like plastic wrap and aluminium foil dispensers
• Store alcohol out of reach and out of sight
• Cover electrical outlets with outlet safety plugs
• Keep spices out of reach of children – they can be poisonous
• Be aware of choking hazards – e.g. nuts and grapes
• Keep the trash can out of reach of kids
• Install child safety knobs on the stove
• Use the backburners on the stove when possible
• Remove refrigerator magnets – they are a choking hazard
• Move glass bottles and jars to a high shelf
• Don’t leave sharp objects like knives in the dishwasher
• Use cord shorteners to prevent appliances being pulled from countertops
• Don’t leave small appliances like toasters out and plugged in
• Don’t have a cloth on the dining table – it can be pulled off
• Install childproof latches on refrigerators, dishwashers and other large appliances

Childproofing Your Bathroom

The bathroom is a room filled with dangers for children as well. Some of those dangers aren’t obvious. There are, of course, razors, clippers and other sharp objects in a bathroom. Even things like cosmetics, mouthwash and vitamins can be dangerous to children.

Once again, like the kitchen, you could have a baby gate to keep very young kids out of the bathroom. But when kids get older, they will need to go in the bathroom. So, here’s a checklist to help you childproof your bathroom.

• Keep the toilet lid down and use a toilet lid safety latch.
• Put all sharp objects out of reach of children
• Put all cosmetics and hygiene products out of reach of children
• Install child safety latches on the bathroom cabinets
• Keep all medicines, vitamins, and supplements locked away
• Keep the water heater on a low setting to prevent scalding
• Use a child faucet cover to prevent kids banging their heads when in the bath
• Never leave a baby or very young alone in the bathtub
• Never leave appliances plugged in in the bathroom
• Use a nonslip bath mat in the tub

Childproofing Your Living Room

The living room or the family room is the room in the home that are most likely to leave things lying around. For that reason, it’s a good idea to do a double check of the room anytime you leave your kids in there.

Dangers to be aware of in a living room include furniture that may topple over. Watch out for sharp corners on tables and breakable ornaments as well. You also need to be aware of anything kids could climb. A bookcase can look like a very tempting ladder for kids! Here’s a few ideas on how to childproof a living room.

• Check your living room daily for any dangerous objects that have been left out
• Secure loose standing furniture and TVs with furniture safety straps
• Keep house plants out of reach of children – they can be poisonous
• Arrange furniture to make climbing more difficult
• Cover sharp corners of furniture with corner protectors
• Don’t leave small items out like beads and coins
• Don’t use tablecloths that could get pulled off
• Use a fireguard in front of the fireplace
• Place safety stickers on glass doors
• Shorten drapery
• Use cord shorteners on electrical cords and blind cords
• Put away all appliances after use
• Keep any snack food out of reach, especially nuts and grapes
• Cover all unused electrical outlets with outlet safety plugs
• Avoid having polished hard floors that kids could slip on
• Place cords on table lamps where kids can’t pull them
• Install soft protectors on fireplace hearth

Conclusion

We hope that this post has given you some ideas on how to childproof your home. If you did find the article useful, please do share on your social media accounts. There might be some parents who haven’t thought about all these safety hazards around the home. You may also be interested in our post about home items that are dangerous for kids.

We will be publishing more home safety tips very soon. You can keep up to date with what’s new on Best Panic Alarm by subscribing to our mailing list.

Many thanks for reading our post about childproofing your home. Have a wonderful and a safe day!

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