Bringing your baby home from the hospital is an exciting and challenging time. It can also be intimidating to prepare your house and eliminate safety hazards. Babyproofing will help keep your baby safe from some dangerous aspects of your home, like electrical outlets and staircases. Here are a few easy ways to babyproof your home.
Anchor Furniture to the Walls
Heavy furniture pieces like bookshelves and storage racks are functional, but they are also dangerous for both infants and small children. Every year, dressers and other furniture fall over and cause injuries.
When you are babyproofing the home, use mounting hardware to securely anchor dressers, TV stands, and the changing table to the wall so these pieces cannot fall over when the baby starts to pull up to stand.
Check the Water Heater to Babyproof Your Home
Many homeowners don’t realize how hot their water is, so lowering the maximum temperature is a key part of babyproofing the home. Make sure that the temperature of the water heater is set to 120 degrees or less, and never allow a young child to run their own bath, just in case the water is too warm.
Use Baby Gates Around the Steps
Stairways are one of the most dangerous parts of the house for everyone from toddlers to seniors. To keep your home safe, purchase and install a safety gate for every staircase in your house. These will prevent your child from crawling on the stairs and falling down. For additional security, install a semi-permanent baby gate that is anchored directly into the wall.
Babyproof Your Home by Installing Child Safety Locks
For the cabinets in your home where chemicals and other dangerous substances are stored, use safety locks and latches to secure these areas. While this is a good way to babyproof, keep an eye on your child to make sure that they don’t figure out how to open the latches. If you have trouble with them consistently opening child locks, move dangerous products elsewhere, either to a higher cabinet or locked away in the garage or basement.
Cover Electrical Outlets
Babies and small children are curious and love to explore. Especially once they begin crawling, use outlet cover plates or plastic plug inserts to block your child’s access to electrical outlets. Easily prevent shock and injury with these inexpensive covers.
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