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5 Tips to Childproof Your New Home

When you move into a new home, you may need to update your home to fit your needs. When you move into a new home with young children or infants, you will definitely need to properly childproof your new home as quickly as possible.

Accidents happen, and, unfortunately, they can happen much more quickly than you might imagine. It is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your kids. Here are just a few ways that you can childproof your home.

1. Secure Your Windows

Kids are curious and love to touch, climb, and explore as they navigate their surroundings. An open window or one without a childproof lock is a hazard to kids, even more so if it’s anywhere higher than the main floor. To make windows safe for kids, some parents use child-safe locks, while others simply lock the windows altogether. Also, don’t forget to assess the cord situation on all of your windows. If there are any cords that are dangling there are products to help wrap them up and keep them out of your child’s reach.

2. Use Baby Gates

Baby gates are a great way to restrict where your child goes, especially a small infant. You will most likely want to strategically position the gates to block stairs and other areas where infants and children could fall down. Make it a practice to mentally review any objects in rooms that could potentially be harmful to your child, such as sharp objects, medicine, or anything that could be dangerous if ingested. If you don’t want them to have access to rooms with those objects, you can place the baby gate in the doorway of those areas, keeping your child out of trouble and closer in proximity to you.   Or, if you’re curled up in front of your fireplace, you might want to place a baby gate or hearth gate in front of the fire to alleviate any fear of them getting too close to the flames.

3. Assess Your Kitchen

The kitchen may be the most important room to think about when assessing child safety, due to its hot surfaces, sharp objects, hidden spaces, and cleaning products with toxic chemicals. Luckily there are wonderful products available for all of those concerns and more; most of them a click away. Some examples of products to help babyproof the kitchen to look into are: magnetic or snap locks for cabinets, stove top knob covers, oven door locks, and rubber bumper guards for sharp corners. Also, don’t forget to put cleaning products up and away out of the reach of all little ones!

4. Reduce Electrical Danger

As kids explore, there is almost no doubt that they will want to try to stick their finger or a household object in an electrical outlet or pull on an electric cord. Use outlet covers in every room to prevent your kids from getting shocked. Additionally, try to keep cords out of your baby’s reach, and avoid power strips, as they may want to pull the cords out it.

5. Furniture and Breakables

Lastly, when organizing and decorating your home, be aware of furniture and breakable items in each room. Think of everything from a child’s perspective (in the most literal sense of the word). A bookshelf might be too easy for a baby to climb onto, or grab onto the items on each shelf. Sharp corners or glass might pose a threat, and fabrics might get worn out more so than when your kids are a bit older.  Opt for stain resistant materials when possible, and anchor items like dressers and media stands to the wall.

 

At the end of the day, there will always be an oopsie you can’t see coming with kids in the house. Starting one room at a time and feeling prepared for accidents will help to relieve stress and worry and keep everyone safe!

Date

07/13/2015

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