‘How safe is our house’ is one of the most crucial questions all parents ask themselves at some point. For the first few months, parents rarely worry about baby-proofing every inch of their home since their baby spends most of its day in the crib or someone’s arms. However, when the baby starts crawling, that’s a different story altogether. When your child begins to crawl, you start looking at everything from a new angle. Sometimes quite literally (more on that later). So, to keep your child safe, you need to take specific steps to baby-proof your house. If you’ve just moved in with your kid into a new home, that’s all the more reason to baby-proof – your child isn’t yet familiar with the space and could more easily injure themselves. To prevent that, follow our simple guide on how to baby-proof your new home.
Take Precautions
Before you start baby-proofing your furniture and walls, you should do a couple of things. For starters, get carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. If you’ve bought a new home, chances are the house doesn’t already come with these detectors, but they’re crucial for your entire family’s safety.
Secondly, buy a first aid kit. Make sure it’s always well-stocked with bandages, antibiotics, and pain relievers. At first glance, it might seem like you don’t need this, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst.
Look Around Your Home from the Baby’s Perspective
The next stage after moving in is to view your residence through the eyes of a toddler who’s just learned to crawl. Believe it or not, one of the best ways to detect potential threats to your child is to crawl around on the floor. When doing this, you should watch out for dog bowls, protruding nails, exposed wires, and other small things you could miss from your regular point of view. To baby-proof your new home the right way, you should take out anything you don’t want your toddler to touch or trip over.
Limit Access to Risky Areas of Your House
Let’s say your new home has stairs. Undoubtedly, you’ll need a baby gate to block off access to the stairs. You can get a couple of different versions, but most suggest getting a ‘hard-mounted’ one. This is because, if your toddler is determined enough, they can force open a pressure-mounted gate.
Furthermore, make sure the bathroom doors are always closed and locked. Sometimes babies and toddlers like playing in the bathroom and opening the cupboards, which are frequently stocked with dangerous chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Child-proof locks are the best way to keep toddlers out of the bathroom.
Most importantly, you need to ensure your curious child cannot go outside when adults aren’t watching. Aside from securing the doors and windows, you might want to have a friendly chat with the people living next-door. Meeting new neighbors after the move will help you and your family feel safer and you might even make a friend or two!
Secure the Crib
The safest crib is an empty one, so avoid using a bumper, cover, cushions, or even stuffed animals. The baby doesn’t need any of those things to fall asleep and get through the night. Also, remember to slide the mattress to the lowest position when your baby starts to pull up. This way, you can ensure your baby won’t fall out of the crib head-first.
Cover All Sharp Edges
Furniture with sharp corners and clumsy infants learning to stand or walk do not go well together. Because of this, you should swap out your square or rectangle coffee table with a circular one. Or, if you want to allow your baby more room to move about on the floor, get rid of it completely. Alternatively, you can also purchase safety shields to soften sharp corners. Although they aren’t stylish, you’ll have to get accustomed to them while your children are still small.
Furthermore, when you’re getting your kid a toy box to put all its educational toys, puzzles, and toy cars, don’t forget to pick the suitable model. For example, a round toy box with no lid is much better than a rectangular box with sharp edges and a lid that can pinch your child’s hand.
Secure All Electrical Outlets
All floor-level electrical outlets should be covered and secured. This is the only safe approach to stop your kid from messing with the plugs. However, if you’re moving into a new home, you should take care of this before the moving day. By doing so, you can ensure that every outlet is covered and that your outlets won’t be exposed if you move any furniture.
Mount Furniture to the Wall
To prevent furniture from tipping over and falling onto your child due to an earthquake or your child pulling it, you should mount heavy furniture to the walls. This is especially important when it comes to the furniture in the baby’s room. In case of an earthquake, your baby’s dresser will stay in place, and all the cute toddler clothes in it will be safe.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t an exhaustive list if you’re searching for ways to baby-proof your new home. You might need to perform extra baby-proofing depending on your child’s habits and behavior and the furnishings in your home. For instance, you should remove all delicate items from the table and shelves if your child has a history of reaching for things there. Additionally, you should probably ensure the TV is securely affixed to the wall if it is within your child’s reach. The best way to avoid your child getting injured is to picture yourself as an inquisitive infant and see what stands out to you the most.
Meta description: Have you got a toddler running around your new house? Continue reading to find out how to baby-proof your new home.
Photos used:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-toddler-playing-with-puzzle-pieces-on-the-floor-8910477/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-baby-crawling-on-wooden-floor-6209327/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/overhead-shot-of-a-baby-in-a-crib-11369156/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-white-wooden-crib-near-white-wall-4713256/
