16 Things to Do to Baby Proof Your Home
Simple steps to make sure your home is as safe as possible for your little one
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Run cables and cords through a cable management box. “All the bundles of wires that are a mess go into this box that then closes off, so it is not an eye sore and it also takes it away from the child’s attention,” according to Ilarraza.
Wrap shade blind cords around a blind cleat, if your shades have cords.
Install hardware-mounted gates at the tops and bottoms of stairs. “It is important to never use a pressure mounted gate on the top of the stairs,” Ilarraza advises. “I get a call once a month about a child that fell down the stairs along with the gate.”
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Stop using tablecloths when your toddler starts pulling herself up on things. If something is sitting on the table-clothed table and the child pulls herself up on the cloth, that item could fall on the child, Ilarraza warns.
Rearrange bookshelves, putting heaver items on bottom shelves and lighter items on higher shelves.
Install windows guards if your windows can open more than 4 inches.
Make sure bannister and balcony slats are no more than 4 inches apart. If they are, add slats in the spaces or install a guard on the inside of the slats, especially if the balcony slats are horizontal, creating a ladder.
Put a child-proof knob cover on the bathroom door handle and any other off-limits rooms to prevent the toddler from entering unattended. “We don’t believe in toilet locks, because it normally ends up being disabled by a grown up at two in the morning, and there are much more dangerous things in the bathroom than the toilet. We are concerned about the hot water faucet, the slippery floor, the marble tub, stuff like that,” Ilarraza cautions. “Our approach is always to make it that a child couldn’t gain access to a bathroom without a grown-up.”
Set the hot water heater to 120 degrees or lower, if you have access, preventing your toddler from being badly burned if he can reach the hot-water faucet.
Take an infant-child CPR and safety class with your partner. You never know when you’ll need these skills that could save your child’s life.
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