How To Keep Your Baby Safe By Baby Proofing Your Home

Has your house been baby proofed and ready for your baby(ies) to be on the move??

 

Sean and I were NOT proactive about this, and really should have been. We would leave drinks sitting on the floor when playing with the girls, or we would have wires laying loosely behind drawers or chairs. We would have plugs and drawers without protectors or straps on them so the babies couldn’t get to them.

 

Our thought was, “we still have time, they aren’t moving yet!” WRONG. Our girls do not reach milestones simultaneously, but one after another. One day neither of them were crawling or getting into things, the next day the one baby started. And when she started, not only was she FAST, but she spotted EVERYTHING she should not have and ninja’d her way to it! We have since nick-named her Indiana Jones.

 

As if having to watch two babies isn’t stressful enough…now one is excited about her ability to crawl and is mischievous, too!

 

Needless to say, we quickly scrambled to baby proof our house, and so wish we would have done it from the minute they came home so as to be prepared for this day. We learned our lesson, and wanted to make this easy room-by-room baby proofing guide for you so you know what worked for us AND so you can be prepared for the day your bean is on the move!

 

P.S…Quick tip, if you are unsure of what your baby could get into, drop down to their level and on your hands and knees see for yourself. Make sure you look closely at what may be tempting on their eye level!

 

Kitchen

Oh, the kitchen. Where so many appealing drawers, doors, handles, and interesting buttons lie. This room is FILLED with things for little investigators, and is one of the biggest rooms in the house that needs baby-proofed to the MAX. Buying cupboard and drawer locks are essential. Why? Because no matter how hard or which different way your baby tries to tug or open, it WON’T. Phew!

To name a few, cleaning supplies, dishwasher soap, alcohol, medication must be behind a door that has a baby proof lock on it because no one wants their little one getting into those!

Make sure ALL plastic bags are high up or behind a locked door. When small appliances such as the toaster are not in use, make sure to not only have the cord wound up but also place the entire appliance out of reach of the baby/child.

The oven….make sure to buy baby proof protectors for the knobs on the oven and an appliance lock to place on the front of the oven so the baby cannot open that. Place appliance locks on other main large appliances such as the fridge and dishwasher.

Lastly, if you have stools or chairs that children can easily climb on, keep them AWAY from counters and tables so as to prevent climbing.

 

Living Room

If your living room is anything like ours, it is filled with so many things babies should not have! Start baby proofing this room by simply placing outlet covers on every outlet. I have never met a child who doesn’t like finding little holes to stick their little fingers in! Placing corner protectors on all corners and edges that are sharp is a definite must. No one wants to take the chance of spending the night in the ER waiting for their child to get stitches.

Make sure to have all breakables such as lamps, pictures, figurines, etc. out of reach. It’s like kids know they aren’t supposed to have them, because they are the first things they go for! Take the possible interest away and keep those up!

If your TV is not mounted to the wall, use straps to secure it to the piece of furniture it sits on. Our TV is mounted with a cord cover which kills two birds with one stone! No possibility for a TV to fall over onto the baby, and no loose TV cords in sight to play with. All other furniture should be strapped or secured to the wall with brackets (bookshelves, end tables, etc).

Keep blind strings out of reach of babies and children, and if any live plants are around your house make sure those are out of reach as well. Those can be poisonous and no one wants to have to deal with that!

If you have a fireplace…place gates around it so babies cannot crawl onto the ledge and into the fire!

 

Hallways/Staircases/Door knobs

Let’s be real here…Baby gates=life, especially when it comes to hallways and staircases! We have those puppies up at E V E R Y staircase (both top and bottom) and rooms we do not want the babies to have access to. If your banisters have a space of 3 inches or more, put up banister shields. Little ones can squeeze through many things!!

Babies and kids have no fear, and they explore always. Word to the wise, don’t leave any opportunity for exploring and always keep them up!

To babies and children, doors have hidden treasures behind them and they want to investigate what exactly is behind each one. Sooo make sure to put door knob covers over every.single.one.!

 

Bathroom

The bathroom is filled with 1,467 things babies and children could get hurt with. If medicine is kept in the cabinets, put a lock on the door. You may think, “its up high enough, I don’t need to worry.” Wrong-o. They will climb, climb, climb to investigate!

The lovely faucets…to avoid accidental head slices and possible stitches, put covers over them so they are protected. Non-slip rugs and bath mats are essential so babies cannot slip and fall! Any decorations that could possible be harmful put away or high up ENOUGH that they cannot be reached!

Last but not least, the toilet. I will never understand why it is so interesting to babies and children, but lets face it, it is! Putting a lid lock on it will make it so no pinching of fingers can result AND nothing can be shoved down the toilet that is really not flushable.

 

Bedrooms

The bedrooms, where furniture can become a jungle gym!

First and foremost, make sure the baby’s crib meets safe sleep guidelines. You can find those here.

Then, make sure to put plug covers over every outlet. Don’t give those little fingers places to get stuck! Any sharp corners, put padding on.

All furniture in the room such as dressers, book cases, etc. need to be secured to the wall either with brackets or with straps. Babies and children will crawl up and onto a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.!

I have heard horror stories of furniture falling onto a child, you do not want to experience that!

That’s it guys! The down and dirty for baby proofing your home…You are set and ready to go! 

As always, email us with any questions you may have or concerns that are popping up while on your adventure!