Are you a new parent or guardian? We understand you have many responsibilities besides caring for your child. Imagine a moment when you’re busy with important tasks like checking messages, sending texts, browsing the internet on your smartphone, or doing house chores. During this time, your child might turn into a little explorer, and in the comfort of their home, they run around, play, and before you even notice, their tiny hands might be reaching into the cleaning cabinet or touching electrical sockets. Unsupervised and in a space that isn’t babyproofed, little hands can quickly find big trouble.
Prevent these risks by childproofing your home today. Read this guide to understand major things about babyproofing a house.
Why Babyproofing is Essential?
In the earlier days of India, homes were usually made up of a joint family. Elders and other family members used to provide a helping hand to take care of the baby.
But nowadays, since nuclear families are common with few members, it’s always important to babyproof a house.
According to studies conducted by Bhuvaneswari et al. (2018), home-related injuries affect around 39.7% of children every year. The highest risk is seen in children who are between the ages of 1 and 3 years, with 54.3% of them experiencing some form of injury. Among the most common injuries are falls (54.8%), followed by burns, choking, and poisoning. These injuries often happen due to common household hazards such as unsafe staircases, open electrical sockets, and easy access to sharp tools or fire in the kitchen.
As you know, babies and toddlers are a combination of curiosity and innocence. They are unaware of the dangers due to their actions. Being a responsible parent or guardian, you need to make their space safer and more comfortable.
General Babyproofing Tips for Every Room
Babyproofing the house deals with ensuring the installation of safety essentials and preparing the house safely by following universal design principles. You can follow the following general tips for babyproofing every room:
- Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Both these devices are important for keeping your home safe. They warn you if there’s smoke or dangerous gas in the air. Test them once a month to make sure they’re working well. Change the batteries yearly if the detector beeps to say the battery is low.
- Electrical Outlet Covers: This simple inclusion can save your kid’s tiny fingers or toy pieces from getting into these dangerous electrical spots.
- Furniture Safety: You can’t always predict what your child might do. If they try to climb or pull on furniture, it could tip over. It’s important to secure smaller or unstable pieces like bookshelves, glass cabinets, dressers, and tall decor to the wall using mounting hardware and safety straps to prevent accidents. Additionally, fragile home decor and glass items should be anchored with adhesive putty or strips to avoid falling. Large, heavy furniture such as sofas and chairs should be arranged thoughtfully to minimize risks.
- New paint. Many countries, including India, have banned or severely restricted the use of lead in paints. However, it is still used in many Indian households. And if babies or toddlers consume paint chips with lead, it can cause cognitive problems later. Hence, use paints free from lead or other harmful chemicals.
Babyproofing a House: Room-by-Room Guide
Babyproof Living Room
The living room is where family interactions are enhanced, and you’ll spend the most time together. So naturally, it will attract kids to wander. You can childproof your living room by softening the sharp edges of furniture and walls, removing unstable and sharp-edged furniture, and keeping surfaces clear. Always hide cords to secure the TV or block off this area for your kid. You can use essential babyproofing items (like outlet covers, doorknob covers, baby gates, and cabinet locks).
Kitchen Babyproofing
In the kitchen, you often include sharp tools like knives, peelers, and graters. Children’s curiosity often tries to mimic your actions and are attracted to these tools. Keep these tools in latched drawers or high cabinets to ensure your child won’t get close and get cut. Also, keep glassware and ceramic dishes out of reach. Keep cleaning detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals inside cabinets, out of reach of kids.
For better safety, you can switch from hazardous cleaning products, such as chlorine bleach and ammonia glass cleaner, to safer and eco-friendly alternatives. Put latches on all cabinets and drawers, except for the most essential ones that are not at a height accessible to kids. Use appliance latches on the oven doors, microwave, dishwasher, and fridge if they’re within your child’s reach. Unplug electrical appliances and hide the cords when they’re not in use.
Use stove guards to prevent burns. Cover the dials from your stove with knob covers. Never leave hot food and beverages on counters or tables, as this can be dangerous. Cover any sharp edges with corner guards.
Following Vastu principles for kitchen design can also help you organize your kitchen more safely and efficiently.
Bathroom Childproofing
A bathroom is also called the “home danger zone” due to the serious injuries it can cause.
- Set the water heater at a maximum of 120.2°F (49°C), or install an anti-scalding device on your faucets.
- Keep soap, shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, and other cosmetics safely stored inside the cabinet with a child safety lock.
- Keep sharp utensils (like razors, scissors, nail clippers, and tweezers) in a locked cabinet or out of your child’s reach.
- As you already know, water is a good conductor of electricity. Don’t keep anything plugged in near the sink or bathtub.
- Lid the toilet down after use, and you can also install a toilet lock to prevent toddlers from lifting the lid and falling in.
- Keep a nonslip rubber mat in the bathroom and a nonslip bathmat to prevent falls.
- Cover the tub spout with soft plastic or rubber to stop your child from hurting their head if they bumps it.
- Even if you’ve made the bathroom safe, never leave your child alone near water. Always watch them closely when they are taking a bath.
- Understanding basic bathroom plumbing can help you identify and fix potential water hazards before they become dangerous.
Childproofing Kids’ Room or Nursery
You can understand a nursery as a bedroom within a house specially designed for an infant or toddler. If you are raising your kid in your room or the kid’s room, you need to consider the following major things:
- Install a crib or bassinet with a firm, snugly fitting mattress, sheet, and blanket that meets current safety standards. Ensure crib slats are no more than 2-3/8 inches apart. The crib should be free from any missing or broken slats. Never use a drop-side crib. The height of the rail should be 2.167 feet (26 inches) from the mattress support at its lowest extent. Use a crib made of smooth wood with no splinters or peeling paint.
- Once your baby is grown enough to push up on hands and knees, you can remove the toys that hang down into the crib.
- Locate the crib away from windows, heaters, lamps, wall decorations, cords, and furniture your baby could climb on.
- Use mosquito nets designed for babies to prevent bites without posing a suffocation hazard
- When your child starts to sleep in the bed, fit the bed with guardrails to prevent falls.
- You can also put some pillows or soft blankets on the floor next to the bed, just in case.
Childproofing other Bedrooms
Congratulations if your child is grown enough to sleep in a toddler bed. Toddlers are little nightly explorers. To keep them safe while you’re sleeping, you can put a baby gate at their bedroom door. This stops them from wandering around the house and getting into trouble. When furnishing bedrooms, consider safe headboard designs that won’t pose hazards to curious children.
You need to install window guards to prevent falls, especially in high-rise buildings.
Anchor dressers and wardrobes to the wall to prevent tipping accidents.
Keep an eye on your baby while he or she is sleeping or napping by using a baby monitor or a camera. Follow safe sleep guidelines such as sleeping your baby on their back, in their bed, and in a smoke-free environment.
Childproofing Stairs & Balcony
In most of the cases, stairs and balconies are major fall hazards for young children. You can install childproof gates for stairs at both the top and bottom to block access when you are not around. Choose gates that are sturdy and securely mounted. These gates are not too difficult to install and work very effectively. Use balcony safety netting or Plexiglas panels to cover railings and prevent children from slipping through or climbing over. Keep all furniture, including chairs and tables, away from railings to prevent children from using them to climb. Regularly inspect gates and netting for wear and secure attachment.
Electrical Safety for Babies
Electrical safety is essential for safeguarding babies from serious household hazards. To save kids from unwanted electrical shocks, you can use socket cover guards mainly designed for Indian plugs, which are made from fire-resistant, BPA-free plastic and are difficult for children to remove. These covers can block access to live electrical outlets, one of the most common sources of injury for curious toddlers. Keep electrical cords away from kids by using cord shorteners, covers, straps, wraps, or protectors. Always use non-toxic baby-proofing materials. Use power strip covers or individual outlet covers to make power strips safer and reduce electrical risks. Also, teach children basic electrical safety and set rules for using appliances to help prevent accidents and injuries.
How to Get Ready for an Emergency?
Being prepared can help you stay calm and act fast during an emergency. Here’s how you can get ready:
- Learn how to give first aid if a child is choking, and learn CPR for babies and children who are 12 months or older. Make sure to keep the first-aid box in the handy places. Everyone inside the house should be able to access that box and aid supplies in case of an emergency.
- Install a fire extinguisher on each floor of your house, and make sure it is getting serviced or checked regularly. Always practice using it, but only try extinguishing small fires with small-sized fire extinguishers. Otherwise, take your kids out of the house and call the fire emergency department. Understanding proper firefighting systems can make your home significantly safer for your family.
- Talk to your child about how dangerous fire can be. Create a house fire evacuation plan and practice your fire escape route regularly.
- Program emergency numbers into your cell phone, including local ambulance numbers (112/108) and fire helpline numbers (101). Display these mainly near phones or on refrigerators.
You might think babyproofing a house is a costly process. However, you can handle this with a budget-conscious mindset through creative DIY solutions.
You can reuse repurposed pool noodles or pipe insulation to cover sharp edges. Recycle rubber bands or hair ties by converting them into cabinet locks; loop them tightly around cabinet knobs to keep curious hands out of dangerous drawers and cupboards.
You can plan home childproofing in advance with an experienced architect or an expert construction company for more efficiency. Their expertise will lessen your burden, proofing your and your family’s future.