If you’re reading this, let me guess… your child is finally crawling or walking (yay!), but you feel like you can’t turn your back for even a second without risking them getting into something they shouldn’t. Trust me…we get it. This is an exciting milestone for your child – they’re finally able to explore the world around them. This is also a stressful time for parents (and grandparents) – constantly ensuring your child (or grandchild) stays out of danger. Here are some tips and guidelines on ways to childproof your home and to help provide a safe environment for your child to explore, while also helping parents (and grandparents) keep peace of mind. When childproofing your home, it’s a good idea to take every room into consideration – room by room, floor to ceiling. Let’s start with the floor and work our way up!
Join your child on the floor and look for small objects that can be a choking hazard – beads, buttons, that coin that fell out of your pocket, pins and pills. This is especially important for homes with older children and their small toys such as that last forgotten Lego piece. Never leave plastic bags lying around the house as they can suffocate children. Keep in mind, even a small torn-off piece of bag can become a potential choking hazard, so don’t store toys in plastic bags. It is important to be mindful of medications in purses or other bags that children can get into – don’t depend on child safety caps on medicine bottles. Trash bins aren’t necessarily safe just because they’re containers – short ones aren’t much of a barrier and tall ones can be knocked over by children. Ensure trash bins have a child-resistant cover or are kept out of a child’s reach.
Onto the larger items on the floor… check furniture for stability and risk of tipping over. Children can hurt themselves if they climb onto, fall against, or pull themselves up onto furniture such as dressers and bookshelves. Place floor lamps behind other furniture. Anchor bookcases, dressers and TV stands to the wall. It’s also important to check furniture for hard edges and sharp corners. You can buy cushioned corner and edge protectors that stick onto furniture. Also try to remove dangerous furniture from high traffic areas within the home, especially when your child is learning to walk.
Walls can’t tip over or cause choking. They do, however, have potentially dangerous electrical outlets. Be sure to put non-choking hazard safety plugs in all unused electrical outlets. This protects against electric shock by preventing your child from sticking their finger or a toy into the holes.
Cabinets, containers or drawers with loose buttons or coins, batteries (especially button batteries!), cleaning supplies and laundry detergent pods should have a safety lock. It’s also a good idea to put safety locks on all cabinets containing other dangerous items including medications and alcohol. Also keep liquid nicotine for vaping out of reach. These products can be very toxic to young children.
Moving a little higher up. Keep electronics and other appliances on counters, such as computers and coffee makers, out of reach. Children can pull on cords causing the item to fall on them, or they can get entangled in the cords.
Windows can pose a fall risk for children. Prevent falls from windows by opening windows from the top rather than the bottom. If your windows only open from the bottom, install operable window guards that only an adult or older child can open from inside. Also, avoid window coverings that have cords to prevent strangulation. If you do not have cordless blinds or drapes, wrap cords around anchors secured high on walls to keep them out of reach, use safety stops on cords or place safety tassels.
Moving along to greater heights. Install safety gates both at the top and bottom of stairs. Gates which firmly mount to the home’s studs are preferred, rather than accordion style gates in which children’s hands can get trapped.
Finally… the ceiling. Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home – at least one on every level and outside bedrooms. Check them monthly. Consider installing networked smoke detectors so that when one alarms, they all alarm. Also be sure to develop a fire escape plan with your family and practice it! It’s always good to be prepared in case of an emergency.
Last, but far from least… children can mistake guns as toys. If a household has a gun, make sure it’s always stored unloaded in a locked case with the ammunition locked in a separate location.
There are plenty more ways to childproof one’s home. However, if you start off with these recommendations, your house is in great shape for your future marathon runner! As always, if you have any questions, be sure to speak with your child’s doctor – they are a great resource and a wealth of information. Happy crawling!
About the Author
Samantha Vouyiouklis, MD, is a family medicine physician at the Prevea Shawano Avenue Health Center in Green Bay – where same day primary care visits are available. Click here to schedule online, call (920) 431-1810 or walk in Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. or Wednesday 8 – 11:30 a.m.
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