Children are amazing blessings that bring so much joy to your lives. Unfortunately, they also come with a lot of worries. One of the top reasons for fatalities in children is accidents, most of which could have been entirely prevented through childproofing your home. This will take a look at the various rooms in the house and what you can do within these rooms to childproof.
Bathroom
- Get toilet locks.
- Place chemicals out of reach of kids, or lock the cabinet that they are in.
- Make sure sharp items like razors are out of reach.
- Use items like anti-scalding devices, which will prevent the water from getting too hot for kids.
- Make sure your hair dryer, hair straightener, and hot curling irons are unplugged after use. You also should keep these items out of reach of children, otherwise, they could get burned.
- Any plugs should be covered with outlet covers to prevent children from sticking objects in them.
Kitchen
- Try to gate the kitchen if possible, to prevent curious little ones from wandering in there. It can be such a dangerous place, so you don’t want to have them sneak in there unattended.
- The lower cabinets should be locked if there are hazardous items in them. Cabinets with pots and pans and plastic storage containers are safe to be left unlocked.
- Make sure your dishwasher is locked, even when it’s not in use.
- Keep knives out of reach of children. If you keep knives in drawers, make sure that you get drawers locks for these drawers.
- Keep your microwave out of reach.
- Small appliances like crockpots and deep fryers should also be pushed back as far as possible so that children can’t reach them. Children can knock these down, get burnt or even having these appliances fall on them.
- Remove stove knobs when you’re not cooking or purchase items that will prevent children from accidentally turning the stove on.
Living Rooms
- Make sure that outlets not currently in use are covered with outlet protectors.
- Purchase a cover for your surge protector, which prevents children from playing with these plugs.
- Avoid blinds with cords, as this can pose a choking hazard for your child.
- Get corner edges and bumpers to go around your furniture or hearth area.
- Secure televisions and other pieces of furniture that can tip and fall on your children to the wall to avoid injury.
Other Things to Remember
- Gate areas to prevent children from getting into areas that may be unsafe for them.
- Place door knob covers on rooms to prevent children from opening doors to rooms that they shouldn’t be in.
- Make sure toy boxes don’t have a free-falling lid.
It is your job as a parent to protect your children. There are so many hazards around the house that you may not even realize exist. To help you find potential hazards around the house, get down to their level. Crawl around the house and think like a kid. You would be surprised to see the hazards that you find by doing this.
