Whether this is your first kid or your tenth kid it is always important to childproof your house, cabin, shouse, apartment, or whatever place you call home. When childproofing your house you want to do it as soon as a child is born, if not before if you wait to do it until they are crawling or walking you are asking for accidents to happen. As a parent, it is your job to teach your children right from wrong and to teach them about safety. Childproofing is a safe way to teach your children about safety, in a safe environment.
How you childproof your home depends entirely on you. Some people do everything they read about in books and magazines, while others just do the basics. Another thing to keep in mind is the type of child you have, more active children might require additional childproofing techniques. But regardless of how you are going to childproof your home here are some ideas to get you started.
Contents
1. Plug covers
Place plug covers in all of your electric sockets. This will prevent your child from being able to stick a foreign object into the sockets. There are a few different types of plug cover; you need to decide what is best for your house.
One type of cover is the plastic plug that simply slides into the open sockets. Another type is a swivel outlet cover, when a plug is removed the outlet cover swivels to block access from the plug. You also will want to put a cover on your surge protectors.
2. Safety latches and locks
These are used on drawers and cabinets typically in the kitchen and bathrooms. Most often we have pet supplies, cleaning supplies, knives, etc in cabinets and drawers that could cause serious injury to our children. Safety latches and locks are not just used on cabinets and drawers that can hold potential hazards they can also be used to keep your kids out of your pots and pans so you do not have a huge mess to clean up.
3. Use corner and edge bumpers
Corner edges and bumpers are great if you have furniture with sharp edges.
It is also a great idea to place these around fireplace hearths. If your child does fall by these objects the bumpers will help to cushion the impact.
4. Cleaning Supplies
Place all cleaning chemicals, pet chemicals, and anything else hazardous in a cupboard that is out of children’s reach. The perfect cupboard is one above your fridge or above your washer and dryer.
5. Safety Gates
Safety gates are great to use to keep children in one area or out of dangerous areas.
If you have stairs you definitely should have a safety gate at the top of the stairs to prevent falls.
6. Blinds
If you have blinds you can either cut the blind cords or use safety tassels and inner cord tassels. This will help to prevent your child from getting stuck in the blind cords and possibly strangling in the blind cords.
7. Stove knob covers
These are placed on top of your stove knobs and prevent the child from accidentally turning on the stove and burning down the house or burning themselves.
8. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors should be placed in or near every bedroom in the house. Be sure to check the battery at least once a month to ensure that the system is still working.
9. Water heater
Set your water heater temperature to one hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns. You can also use anti-scald devices on your faucets and showerheads, but you still need to turn down your water heater.
These are just a few basic ideas to get you started in childproofing your home. There are numerous other things you can do such as buying doorknob covers, fridge and stove locks, sliding glass door locks, and the list goes on. When childproofing your home use what devices seem right to you.
