Top Tips for Childproofing Your Home

Are you expecting a child any time soon? Perhaps your friends or family members have children and you’re expecting a visit from them. Whatever it is, if you are having or expecting a visit from a child, you will need to make some changes to ensure your home is childproof.

Small hands can get just about anywhere, meaning you need to constantly be on the lookout. You can make things easier for yourself by tweaking your home to be babyproof. Whilst there’s a lot to think about, a few small changes can make all the difference and offer a basic but adequate level of safety.

If you’re struggling to know where to start, here are some top tips for childproofing your home.

Cover Furniture

There are two reasons you should cover furniture in your house: to protect the child and to protect the furniture. It’s a good idea to buy big throw blankets in a darker color to go over your sofas, especially if you have a light-colored fabric sofa. The same goes for dining chairs that have fabric seat covers.

The beauty of throws is that they can easily be washed and will prevent stubborn stains from ruining your seating (which is not as cheap to replace as a blanket).

Along the same lines, you should also look to cover the corners of counters and tables. Corners are sharp and often overlooked, but they can cause severe damage if a small child runs into them. Children tend to be the same height as table corners, so the risk of injury is real.

You can buy rubberized table corners that slot over the corners of furniture that will protect small heads.

Move Things Up

One of the simplest yet most effective methods of childproofing is to simply move things up. Ornaments, breakables, technology, and plants should all be moved up and out of reach so that small hands can’t pull on them and break them or spill them. In general, try and keep unimportant objects (if any) out of reach. This may mean putting up shelves or buying high side tables.

It’s not possible to move absolutely everything out the way, but if you value something, move it.

Secure Doors and Windows

Ensuring your doors and windows are secure is a big part of general home security, but even more so when you have a child. If you have large windows, especially upstairs windows, make sure they’re locked with a key. Most windows will have a child lock feature, and if yours do, make sure it’s activated as this will only allow the window to open to a certain extent.

Doors with thumb-locks need extra attention because they can be unlocked from the inside, and children are smarter than you anticipate. This is why having a baby-gate near the door is worth it, even if it is slightly inconvenient.

Securing doors also means cupboard doors. There are various different types of babyproofing aids you can buy for cupboards and doors.

Look at Your Garden

The final step to babyproofing your home is to look at your garden. You outdoor space can have more dangers than you think so it’s important to mitigate them by looking at child friendly garden design ideas. This could mean replacing your gravel or concrete with grass or removing smaller trim fences that could hurt a child if they fell.

Summary

Looking after a child requires you to re-evaluate your whole life and how you do even the most basic of tasks. You can’t babyproof every aspect of your home because it’s not practical, but these tips will ensure you cover the basics and minimize some of the biggest risks.