Baby Proofing Your House: Tips Every Parent Should Know

Babies can be a handful. They do not possess the ability to discern danger even when it is staring them right in the face. For them, as long as they can move or stretch an arm, everything has to be touched and inspected. It all comes down to how fast a parent can react to avoid misfortune. This is where babyproofing comes in. 

Unfortunately, parents are not superheroes; they can not be in all corners of the house at the same time. However, this does not imply that keeping babies from injuring themselves is impossible. Babyproofing the house is a process of making the home safe for the child to move about freely. The following are some tips every parent should be aware of.

Keep Doors Locked

There are rooms around the house where babies have no business being in on their own. The kitchen, the bathroom, the garage, and the basement are the big ones.

All these places have different forms of potential danger. Hot water or knives in the kitchen pose a threat. The steep stairs that lead down a basement can result in a very nasty fall. The slippery tiles in bathrooms are also another hazard.

Keep all rooms that are not in use locked at all times.

Get a Taller Baby Crib

It takes babies very little time to figure out how to jailbreak from their cribs. As a parent, once the baby sleeps in their cribs, you may get a false sense of security that they cannot climb out. You are wrong.

Both of my sons were able to climb out of their cribs eventually.

To ensure that such a scenario never plays out, buy cribs with taller barriers—the type that they cannot even raise their necks above on tiptoes.

Tall baby cribs are much safer and better at keeping babies inside. If that’s not an option, try a crib tent, which has the added bonus of keeping cats out. 

Secure Your Electronics

Having a 65-inch television screen might be a good idea when starting out, but once kids come into the picture, it becomes another matter.

Most screens are placed on low-lying tables against walls; they can be tipped over easily. All a baby needs to do is to pull a plug, and that’s it. A 65-inch TV set can weigh as much as 55 pounds, inflicting severe injuries if it falls on a baby.

If you have several heavy electronics in the house, consider visiting the best bulk hardware suppliers for wall mounts. Nail that TV to a wall and lock the other electronics in secure cabinets.

Babyproofing early is the best way around this.

Be Extra Careful With Electricity

Death by electrocution is usually instant. There is never a window to stop it or help anyone caught in it.

Although it may be a rare occurrence around the house, parents must insulate every exposed electric cable.

In addition, all those cables linking up the electronics in the house should be hidden away. Stuff them under the carpet or inside walls, or buy cord concealers.

Install Gates Around Stairs

Stairs are dangerous even to a fully fit adult with excellent motor functions. All it takes is a slip or a trip, and you could wind up in the hospital with multiple fractures.

Babies are unable to judge distances. Tumbling down a staircase is easy for them, and they could end up severely hurt.

Install safety gates around stairways, something that will keep them from going down the steep slopes without help from an adult.

They will probably throw a fit from being blocked like that, but a tantrum is better than a broken neck.

Keep Chemicals and Medicines Away

Everything a child touches always ends up in their mouths. Dangerous chemicals like bleaches, insecticides, and rat poison should be kept as far away as possible.

Something like rat poison should not even exist in the house.

Leftover medicine should also be high up and locked in a cabinet at all times. All it takes to send them to the ICU is just a little sip of one of these chemicals. 

Get Rid of Tablecloths

Tablecloths are pretty, but where babies are concerned, tablecloths are nothing but trouble.

When babies learn to walk, they tend to grab anything for support. If that happens to be a tablecloth, then they will end up pulling it off.

If anything heavy were to fall on top of it, it might come tumbling down on their heads, injuring them.

Create a Playing Space

If space is not an issue in your house, then you can separate a section of the house and turn it into a temporary play area for your baby.

You can create a little enclosure with gates on the side, set a soft rug, and release the baby inside to play with their toys.

Close Windows

If you are living in an apartment several floors up, you should always keep the windows shut. Many windows do not have metal barriers, which means that when they are open, and a baby may accidentally climb and fall out of the window.

Or, you can try babyproofing the window with metal bars.

Babies demand a lot of attention, especially once they start crawling or walking. Take the necessary precautions to babyproof your house and keep your little one safe.