Baby Proofing Your Home

Accidents, not illnesses, cause over 400 preventable deaths in children under the age of four each month. One of the most important steps you can take to prevent such accidents is to childproof your home. Never underestimate the powers of a child. Children are very curious and love to investigate their environment.

The best way to find the dangers your child might encounter is to get a baby's view of the environment. Get down on your hands and knees and examine everything carefully, crawling from room to room. It is a whole new world down there with fun things to pull on and chew, sharp corners to hit your head on, and, yes, those open electrical outlets. What objects can you find to stick into the outlets or your mouth? Look for loose wires that might entangle your child and the potential of breakable items to fall and harm your child.

Your position as a parent is to make your home a safe and fun place to explore. You want to eliminate dangers without being overprotective or inhibiting your child. However, we as parents cannot prevent all accidents, just the serious or fatal ones.
The following is a brief list of childproofing basics, but the main preventative measure is to never leave your baby unattended!

The Baby's Room

1. Hanging toys should be out of reach so that a baby isn't strangled by the string.

2. Keep lids on diaper pails; many children have drowned in the soaking pails.

3. Various baby powders and talcs can be dangerous. Never use them near a fan or allow baby to play with the container to prevent choking on the dust.

The Kitchen
(the most hazardous area of the house)

1. Avoid using table cloths that can be pulled down off of the table.

2. Keep appliances and cords away from the edges of counter tops. All cords should be coiled up and tied.

3. Store cleaning supplies up high.

4. Secure cabinets and drawers with latches. If you have the room, leave one or two cabinets open, filled with plastic items.

5. Keep knives and all cutlery in a drawer out of the baby's reach.

6. Keep the floor clean from food and other objects that a baby could choke on.

7. Teach your baby from the start that the stove is hot and off limits.

The Living Room

1. Place in storage all delicate, breakable and valuable items from tables and shelves until your baby is well past the curious/destructive stage (4 or 5 years old).

2. Tables with sharp corners and edges can be protected with rubber corner guards.

3. Top-heavy bookcases and other furniture need to be fastened to the wall, so your baby can't pull them down on top of themselves.

4. Cover all electrical outlets with an outlet plate cover or outlet box. (Never use the push-in plastic caps; these are a choking hazard.)

5. Make sure phone cords are out of reach so that babies will not pull the phone down on their heads or strangle themselves with the cords.

The Bathroom
The bathroom is especially dangerous because it usually contains medicines, drugs, and other potential poisons.

1. Keep all medicines in a locked cabinet and out of baby's reach. Aspirin is the most common cause of childhood poisoning. Make sure all drugs get returned to the cabinet after use.

2. Shampoo and soap should also be kept out of reach.

3. All items should be unplugged to avoid electrical shock in case they are pulled down into water.

4. Lowering the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) can prevent burns. Always check water temperature before placing baby into water.

5. Wastebaskets are very interesting to baby. Make sure you throw out empty pillboxes, razors, pills and soap in a special wastebasket that is out of baby's reach.

6. Place toilet lid locks on all toilets. It only takes two ounces of water for a baby to drown.

7. Place floor grippers on the bottom of the tub to prevent slippage and a cover on the waterspout to protect babies from hitting their heads.

8. If you need to use cups in the bathroom, make sure they are paper or plastic, so there is less chance of broken glass.

For further assistance in babyproofing your house, please call a childproofing specialist in your neighborhood.

Editorial provided by Rick Levinton, Owner, Precious Baby Protectors.