Your quick 5-step guide to childproofing your home.
#1 Create physical boundaries to restrict access
Start by using baby gates to restrict access to more dangerous areas of the home, such as stairs, bathrooms and kitchens. You can also purchase cheap doorknob covers to keep those curious toddlers out of rooms you don’t want inspected by little hands.
#2 Rearrange your furniture to keep tots from climbing
Do you have some top-heavy bookcases in your lounge room, or even a low coffee table? These items can actually be quite dangerous in the presence of a child. Children are always looking to pull themselves up onto things, so when it comes to crawling babies, be sure to secure wobbly furniture and relocate low-lying furniture to another room.
#3 Cover hard floors with soft rugs and furnishings
Falls aren’t always preventable, so if you have hardwood or tiled floors, it’s important to soften the landing with cushioned rugs and pillows where your baby plays. You will also need to cover any sharp edges on your furniture to help prevent nasty bumps and scrapes.
#4 Put away or keep track of small objects
It’s no secret that babies and toddlers love tasting everything: toys, money, cords, blankets—really whatever they can get their tiny hands on. Common household items such as coins, paperclips and rubber bands are choking hazards for young children. Make sure these are moved away from grabby hands, and get into the habit of placing small items out of their reach.
#5 Cover up exposed electrical sockets
Just how babies like to taste everything, they also like to touch everything. Your bub will be actively exploring the world around him/her, and this includes everything—down to electrical sockets. Pick up some socket plugs/protectors from a range of retail shops and plug them in when you are not using appliances. This will help keep bub from poking their fingers into the socket and getting a nasty shock.
Once you’re done, check out these reliable child care centres in Rockhampton for older bubs who are ready to socialise with kids their own age.
Do you have any tips for childproofing the home? Tell us below!
