It’s incredible how quickly your children
will grow and develop. Now, it won’t
feel like that during the first few weeks of their lives. During that time, both you and your children
will be struggling as you seemingly burn the candle at both ends and work to understand
each other better. But, sooner than you
know it, your sleeping baby will be wide awake and moving around. And, as you tire of doing absolutely everything
for your children, you will obviously be encouraging any and all action they take
on their own. (Knowing, of course, that young
children are never intentionally naughty; they are simply inquisitive.) But, that does mean you will need to ensure
your house is ready for your growing children.
And that means baby-proofing your home.
It All
Starts with Safety Gates
Safety gates are one of those things that you’ve
probably never imagined living with, but you will soon never consider living without. Well, at least while your children are still
small. That’s because these are even more
indispensable than doors when it comes to restraining your children – or restricting
them to a certain room. Why are they better
than doors? It’s because they don’t
completely cut off one room from another; you can still have an open view of
your home while employing safety gates. (Plus,
safety gates are usually more difficult for older children to manage than doorknobs
which means you don’t need to worry about doors being opened without your supervision.)
Additionally, there are a few areas of your
home that are really not suited to doors.
Often this is the case on either side of the main staircase in your home. Here, safety gates are almost a complete necessity. That’s just because this area of your home is
so prone to accidents that it’s almost unbelievable. Remember that you cannot use pressure mounted
safety gates at the upper and lower levels of your stairwells. These safety gates need to be mounted to the wall;
that’s because of the pressure that a tumbling body can create. Also, it is worth noting that even gates that
are (semi-permanently) attached to the walls in these areas should not have a lower
stability bar as this can be a serious tripping hazard.
Double
Check All the Doors and Drawers in Your Home
Your children are bound to be
inquisitive. If they see you open a
drawer (which is pretty remarkable in their eyes), they will want to do the same. Unfortunately, we keep things behind the
doors and drawers in our homes that children should not have access too. And yes, that even includes some of the most harmless
objects such as pencils and spoons. It
applies even more to drawers and doors that hide items such as knives and razors. So, all the cupboard doors and bureau drawers
in your home should be protected with the use of safety catches. These will allow you continued access to your
belongings though it will baffle your children completely.
In addition to safety latches on your doors
and drawers, you will want to make sure that you make use of appliance locks on
your larger appliances. Although there
are some machines that have these built in, they are not yet standard on all appliances
such as stoves. You may never plan to leave
your children alone in the kitchen (and you really shouldn’t), remember that accidents
can happen in a fraction of a second; they don’t even need a full minute. So, while you may have restricted access to
the kitchen, you can never be too safe when it comes to the appliances, doors
and drawers in your home.
Worry
about the Sharp Corners, Tall Bookcases and Hanging Art in Your Home
Although safety gates and safety catches will
forestall most of the preventable accidents in your home, there are a few other
issues that you should consider.
Sharp corners can be a real hazard for your
waddling toddlers. It’s just that once
they get going, it is often difficult for them to stop. Often their breaking mechanism is whatever
they run into. And if you have a coffee
table with sharp edges or an oddly jutted wall, you may just find yourself perpetually
worried about the damage your baby can do to himself. Although you may not love it, you really only
have a few options when it comes to protecting your children from these dangers. You can cover these corners with foam that
negates their danger; you can remove these objects until your children have
better control over their movements, or you can restrict access to these areas
completely. It’s your choice, but you
will need to make it.
You should also consider the tall, scalable
pieces of furniture in your home. This includes
items like bookshelves, cabinets and dressers.
These items need to be mounted or affixed to the wall in some way if
your child has access to them. Although
these may be fairly heavy objects, they can still topple as your children attempt
to climb them. If you cannot get attach
these items to the wall, then you will want to make certain that your children
are never left unattended in the same room.
Paintings, mirrors and other hanging artwork
can also present problems. Although your
children are unlikely to be able to reach these objects, they can still fall
off the wall. That they haven’t already is
no guarantee that they won’t when your toddler runs at full speed into the wall. These items should be fairly unmovable or completely
removed to make your home as safe as possible for your little ones.
Remember, if you have any questions about best
practice, Lindam Safety is only a phone call away. Alternatively, you may want to consider having
your home baby-proofed by a professional.
It may be more expensive than you would like. But, when it comes down to it, is there anything
more important than your baby’s safety?
And, what wouldn’t you pay to make safety a reality in your home.
Please follow the link below to visit our
Lindam website for further information:
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