Most new parents quickly begin to start looking at all aspects of safety within the house and there are many areas that need to be considered when a baby or small child is living in the house.
You can never be too careful as it only takes a few seconds for an injury to occur that can affect your child’s well-being for the rest of their life.
Most accidents that occur to children can be prevented if consideration is taken towards safety precautions that remove the possible dangers that are lurking in every household.
It is best if you have prepared for your child by looking at the safety aspects before the arrival however if that isn’t the case then there is no time like the present to take stock of possible trouble spots throughout the house and this is made easier if you look at each room at a time and preferably with the help of your partner to ensure that nothing is missed.
Look at any items that are within reach of a small child or even those that can be reached with the use of other items lying about the room such as chairs or boxes or anything else that the child can climb on to access objects at a higher level.
You will be surprised at the places that an inquisitive child can get and how quickly they can get in those places when you are occupied with other tasks in the house.
Many a child has been severely burnt by pulling on electrical cords and having appliances or boiling water land on them. Fortunately these days many of the appliances are a lot safer where for instance most kettles no longer have a cord attached to them that can dangle below the level of the kitchen bench.
Electrical outlets are another area of concern as they are down at the level where a young child can quite easily put foreign objects into the outlet and get a shock. You need to look at the house from the eyes of a child and that might mean getting down on your hands and knees to notice all the objects that are assessable.
Even items that we wouldn’t consider being a problem can cause considerable damage to a young child if they fall upon them from a height. An example of this would be books falling from a bookcase or ornaments falling from furniture. Any objects that could fall from shelves or furniture should be removed and stored away in a safe place.
Plugs to protect electrical outlets are relatively inexpensive and certainly there is no amount of money they could replace the damage that could be done to your child.
Any furniture or items in the house with sharp edges should also be protected in some way or removed as a young child unsteady on his feet can sustain a lot of injury when falling onto these types of items.
Staircases are one of the biggest causes of injury to young children. You should always secure areas where children are above staircases with suitable barriers that cannot be tampered with, moved or removed by a child.
If there are other children in the house they need to be aware of the safety concerns of the youngest child as while they might be safe in their surroundings they can cause other problems for a younger child by leaving barriers open or objects lying about the house that can cause damage.
Baby proofing your house is an ongoing process that needs to be looked at more often when there are others living in the house. Your child needs to rely 100% on your ability to supply the safety in their life.
It is one of the most important aspects of bringing up your child.
Make sure that you are completely happy with the safety of your child’s environment before it learns to crawl.
Most houses have an array of small items that can easily fit the child’s mouth and that presents the danger of the child choking.
These should all be kept behind locked doors and all cupboards on the house at child level should have childproof latches to keep out of harm’s way.
Another area that many people overlook are doors that lock from the inside making it difficult for you to get into a room where a child might have become locked in. Most door locks will offer an alternative solution where you can unlock them from the outside if needed in an emergency. If you don’t have these types of door locks fitted and there is no time like the present to consider getting it done.
Most items to baby proof your house can be obtained by good hardware stores or online hardware suppliers. Check them out as it is money well spent on your child’s future.