How to Baby Proof Your Home

Thursday, August 17, 2023, 20:55

Expectant parents might look around their house and feel completely overwhelmed at the changes that should be made to keep a baby safe. First-time parents might even wonder, do I really have to baby-proof my home? The answer is yes, a home should be baby proofed ahead of a little one's arrival.

How to baby proof your house

Baby proofing is more about following your intuition and less about the latest safety product being marketed. Dr. Karen Sheehan, Professor of Pediatrics and Preventative Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, recommended getting the things that could pose a risk, like fireplace tools, for instance, out of the room entirely. Having a safe space for kids to be in means you're not always having to say no.

Be familiar with the settings on your hot water heater

To keep curious babies safe, Wellard suggests making sure that your hot water heater is set to less than 120 degrees. Around 15 months, kids become fascinated with playing with knobs and turning things. They get into the bathroom, turn on the hot water, and scald themselves.

We saw so many burns in the emergency room caused by kids playing in bathrooms but if the thermostat is set to less than 120 degrees they can't do that. It's something easy that people just don't think of.

Keep bathrooms locked or secured at all times

The bathroom is a huge area where injury can occur warns Wellard. Kids can drown in small amounts of water even just a few inches Wellard says babies and toddlers are also drawn to playing in the toilet and to opening bathroom cabinets which are often filled with harmful cleaners and medications.

Nearly 90 children drown inside American homes each year making it important to keep bathroom doors locked and toilet covers secured with child-proof locks.

There will come a day when your toddler learns how to open a door using the door knob And then it s harder to keep them out of places they shouldn't go The National Safety Council recommended using door knob covers to prevent this problem before it even starts.

Know how to keep baby's crib safe

To prevent injury, Wellard advises parents to be aware of the appropriate crib rail height for their baby's age. Obviously, when they're newborns, you can have the crib at the highest setting but when they change developmentally - as soon as they can pull up for example - you have to lower it to the lowest level because if not, they can pull up and launch themselves out of there cautions Wellard.

Keep an eye out for heavy objects around the home

Wellard says around 6 months of age, babies start to move, roll and play on the floor more often. It's at this milestone that she tells parents to get on the ground with their babies.

You need to lay on the floor and look from their point of view explains Wellard. By 9 months old a baby will begin pulling up on furniture leaving parents with the task of anchoring furniture to walls and removing heavy items like televisions and lamps from furniture surfaces.

According to Safe Kids Worldwide a nonprofit organization that works to stop preventable injuries in infants and children, a child dies every three weeks from a television tipping over.

Be cautious around electricity

Around that 15-month age range, they become fascinated with putting things into things and they stick things in electric sockets warns Wellard. suggesting that parents find tight fitting electrical outlet covers that cannot be pulled out by baby's tiny fingers.

Don't forget about window blinds

For some reason as many times as you tell kids not to they love to put things around their neck says Wellard cautioning parents to keep Venetian blind cords out of the reach of small children.

Create a small object tester

Wellard suggests creating a small object tester to help both parents and older siblings determine what objects must be kept out of the baby's reach. Take an old toilet paper tube if the item can fit in there then it's a choking hazard and it can't be around the baby says Wellard.

Look around your house for small objects if you have older kids especially then you have to be careful about small toys and things like Legos.

Use gates around stairs

Wellard also tells parents to use caution around stairways placing safety gates at the tops of stairs or closing and locking doors that lead to stairwells. Around that 6-month mark, it's time to start getting these things ready says Wellard.

When they're a newborn, you don't have to do that but the minute they start moving and rolling, it's time to get those gates out. This type of semi-permanent gate screwed into place has major benefits. It won't fall down you can keep it open when you don't need it and there's no bar at the bottom to trip over.

Keep cleaning and laundry products out of reach

Among the top five products associated with pediatric poisoning incidents were laundry pods. Lock your cabinets and keep things high, says Wellard reminding parents once the baby starts climbing storing things on higher shelves won't keep them safe.

Create a safe spot for babies to play during chores

If babies crawl around on the floor while parents are making dinner this could be a potential hazard. You need something that contains your child while you're making dinner and keeps them busy with their toys.

Watch out for corners

I recommend parents get on the floor so that they're at eye level of their baby and look around It helps them look at their home in a different way easier spot things that are going to be attractive to the baby, said Sheehan. It can sometimes seem like babies are magnets for sharp corners so grab corner guard tables and other sharp corners you spot.

Keep windows guarded

Over the last 15 years we've seen a decrease in window falls by 50 per cent said Dr Sheehan. Still, she advised parents to secure windows so they can't open more than four inches.

Skip the tablecloths

According to Dr Sheehan, tablecloths are a big problem. Kids love to pull them down or use them to try to pull themselves up which can easily send the contents of the table flying While it may be an unconventional baby-proofing product trading in the tablecloth for placemats is a must.