Children are curious beings by nature. As they grow, their curiosity will lead their movements day by day. This is why kids love to touch anything, like doors and drawers, and explore. What may be seen as misbehavior is oftentimes just a part of their desire to explore the surroundings around them.
It’s often hard for parents to control this curiosity. Kids are naturally born to move around and explore what’s new to them. What you can do instead is to prepare your home for this, so your children can continue exploring while staying safe.
With that said, here’s a guide you can apply towards babyproofing your home:
Purchase Door Knob Covers
One of the lesser-known accessories and gear for babyproofing your home is a doorknob cover. However, they’re just as important as other babyproofing accessories. When your kids can reach doorknobs, it’s easy for them to close and open doors by themselves. The danger with this is that their feet and hands may get injured, should the door bang on them. Or, they could also lock themselves up in a room, unknowingly.
So, don’t forget this warning that many parents may not think about. There are many doorknob covers you can find, both online and in the baby section of your favorite department stores.
Keep Candles And Matches Out Of Reach
Candles are nice to have in any home. Scented candles are a form of aromatherapy. For many, they use it to make their home smell better while promoting better relaxation. As parents of young children, you may want to stay out of using candles and matches for now. There’ll be plenty of room for that later when the kids are older.
Toddlers can accidentally light matches, no matter how undeveloped their fine motor skills are. When kids chew on wax, that can be poisonous, too. If you really need to have candles at home, at least keep them on your top-most cabinets, out of reach from your children.
Go Undercover
Going undercover means covering any potentially dangerous items you can find at home. Go through each area of your home and check through these areas:
- light fixtures – place shield around the ones within children’s reach
- wall outlets – secure with child-safe covers
- areas with radiators and hot pipes like heating pipes – cover with protective materials
Check Your Water Heater Settings
If you haven’t gotten yourself familiar yet with your water heater settings, then now’s definitely the best time. As much as possible, you’ll want to keep bathroom doors closed to avoid kids from lingering around the area.
Then, take the extra precaution of keeping your water heater settings to 120 degrees maximum. Kids can scald themselves when they accidentally turn the knob of your shower and water heater. Depending on how hot the water is, the burns can be serious and potentially life-threatening for young children.
Keep Fragile Objects Up And Away
Fragile objects, like vases and frames, should also be placed at a height where rowdy kids running around the home don’t accidentally stumble on them. If your child accidentally knocks over frames and other fragile objects, the glass can cut them.
Gear Up Your Home
Gearing up your home refers to buying more common childproof objects which you can find in any hardware store or baby section of the department store. There are many different gears for childproofing. Here’s a guide on how you can use more protective gear for child-proofing your home:
- Cover your windows with curtains or cordless window coverings, to avoid accidental strangulations
- Install corner and edge bumpers on sharp corners like your dining table, coffee table, buffet cabinet, TV rack, and others, to avoid getting wounded by them.
- Install safety gates if you have stairs in your home, to prevent kids from falling down the stairs
Keep Cleaning And Laundry Products Out Of Reach
Some of the most toxic products at home are bathroom cleaners and laundry products. These are loaded with bleach and other toxic chemicals that help to dissolve dirt and stains. When these products are within reach of young children, poisoning can happen.
If your laundry area is a separate room, keep the door closed at all times. You may also want to place your cleaning agents in the laundry area to keep them out of the kids’ way. If that’s not the case, then at least put those products in high cabinets, out of reach as well.
Conclusion
For first-time parents, child-proofing your home may seem like an overwhelming thing to do. The bigger your home, the more you’ll have to cover. Then you’re faced with the dilemma of what you should and shouldn’t cover. There’s a lot of babyproofing products you can find in the market, which may often leave you overwhelmed. This guide could help ease those worries. Not only does it cover up most areas in your home that require babyproofing, but it also gives ideas on how to make those areas safe for children.
