Saturday, February 18, 2017

10 Ways To Baby (& Toddler) Proof Your Home



As you begin to stockpile the baby stash during pregnancy, you are soon met with the overwhelming reality of just how NOT baby friendly your home probably is. As soon as baby starts to move, you instantly see the dangers everywhere. They reach for everything, they have zero fears, eat literally everything they can grasp or fit in their mouth and are more than happy to throw anything they can possibly lift. Did you know they can even climb like monkeys from a very young age?!

Something like fixing heavy furniture to a wall can literally be a lifesaver and it's amazing the things that can suddenly seem dangerous with a wee one in tow. I thought I'd share some of our top tips for making your home that little bit safer for your very own little demolition experts.





Time to baby proof the house!


1.  Keep medication and dangerous substances up high or out of reach. You'd be surprised how high they can climb, so as close to the ceiling as possible. Accessible loft? Why not!

2. Get rid of glass tables and cabinets. Nothing makes you more nervous than a nice bit of glass furniture with a wobbly two foot bulldozer charging around the room. To avoid damage and injury, get that glass out the way.

3. Cover sharp corners. Babies/kids/toddlers all seem to have a knack of launching themselves at the most dangerous things like corners on cabinets, chests of drawers etc and it can be pretty lethal. You can buy little corner pads to stick on that add a little more peace of mind while the little ones are playing and learning to destroy the house toddle.

4. Fit door/drawer locks. A simple one, but so worth it!

5. Fit window locks. If your windows open wide then there are all kinds of window locks you can get from just a few pounds. Nothing is scarier than walking in to your toddler sat on an open window ledge - yes this happened!




6. Keep cables wires and cords out of reach. Kids are drawn to cables like magpies and even like to chew them (along with EVERYTHING else), so try and keep them well out the way and even behind caging if you can. Please note, caging a child is not a decent alternative, however tempting at times.

7. Fit socket protectors. The 'in socket' protectors aren't always recommended anymore due to being a potential fire risk, but there are other covers you can buy. Any sockets that are easily in reach of a baby/toddler should be hidden in some way, they really do get everywhere!

8. Fit stair gates. Fit them everywhere! Fit them now!

9. Move breakables. To save damage to items and also of course to prevent injury to children, move anything that's likely to break or shatter well out of reach. Make sure tables/shelves aren't wobbly and remind yourself that you now have a one man/woman destruction machine on your hands, so don't leave anything too precious nearby.

10. Cover heaters and fires. An obvious one and there are lots of options from full cages to surround the fire, to smaller cast iron versions. Kids get the 'hot hot hot' message pretty quick, but in those early days especially with an exploring crawler, take special care.


Have I missed anything? If so, please let me know in the comments below!