Children are a curious bunch; they’d touch everything they see and would want to go everywhere they can. As such, it’s essential for you to childproof your home to prevent them from wandering off somewhere unsafe, or injuring themselves on furniture and tools around your home, or even ingest substances and food that aren’t supposed to. So, here are tips to help you childproof your homes and prevent any accidents or injuries to the little ones at home:
Prioritise the Stairs
Baby gates, or stair gates, restrict access to the stairs and should be installed both at the top and the bottom as accidents can occur when children attempt to go up or down the stairs. Although putting baby gates on the top and bottom of your timber stairs might ruin the whole classical aesthetic of your elegant wooden staircase, it’s a necessary sacrifice to ensure your children’s safety. According to a report published by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) in the UK, 58,000 children get into accidents on stairs. In the US, over 90,000 children under the age of 5 end up getting rushed to emergency rooms due to stair-related accidents. Stairs have been noted to be one of the leading cause of injuries and mortality for young children.
Use Knob Covers
Your kids can be smart enough to open doors to your basement, workshop, bathrooms, or the outside. As such, you should be installing doorknob covers that make it difficult for small children to grip and open doors. If your home mostly uses door levers, make sure that you have door lever covers that prevent children from injuring themselves if their heads bump into the levers. Since door levers are easier to grasp and open, use a lever handle lock or install a secondary lock that is beyond their reach.
Safeguard Your Kitchen
There are a lot of things that are unsafe for your children in the kitchen: from knives, utensils, chemicals, the food they’re allergic to, falling ceramic plates and bowls, you name it. As such, it’s important for you to put some extra effort into childproofing your kitchen. The easiest would be to restrict access to the kitchen by installing a child gate. However, if that’s not possible, you can install safety latches on cabinets and shelves. And make sure that you keep your knives stowed far from reach or in a locked shelf. Chemicals should also be stored away properly. As for your oven, you can use over locks that can prevent your child from switching on stove and oven flames which can harm the child and potentially the entire home. It would also be a good idea to put outlet protectors in your kitchen and all over your home to prevent electrocution.
Hire a Professional
Believe it or not, there are professional childproofers that you can hire to help you childproof your home. These childrpoofers are professionally trained and equipped to detect any possible risks to your child, and can install childproofing measures all over your home. If you do decide to hire one, make sure to check that the childrpoofer you’ll be hiring is certified by the Board of Certification for Professional Childpoofers (BCPC).
Conclusion
However, despite all manners of childproofing, proper supervision is still your best tool to prevent any accidents as kids can be smart enough to open stair gates or remove socket protectors and other safety measures. So never leave your kids unattended, if you’re too busy, get a nanny or babysitter to keep an eye on your children while you’re working.
