April 3, 2018
You know you have to baby-proof, but do you know when? Here are some practical ways to baby-proof your home before your baby walks and knowing when to start!
You see him in the corner of the room. He has one hand on the outlet and his eye on YOU. You say “No”, he stops, turns around and touches it again. Inside you feel like he is doing exactly what you told him not to! But in reality, the toddler is just soooo incredibly curious that his intrigue has gotten the best of him. He just has to know what happens with that outlet!
This is why it is so important to baby proof your home-preferably before your baby is 6 months old. At 6 months your baby will be possible crawling and may or may not be sitting. This new “mobile baby” can get into everything in your home within seconds! Baby proofing takes time, so plan accordingly!
Here are 10 easy ways to baby-proof your home:
- Lower your baby’s crib to the lowest level
- Make sure cords from blinds are out of reach
- Make sure your pool is secure with a fence- Completely around the pool.
- TV’s should be up against the wall, not resting on furniture (toddlers love to climb and every year some toddler will lose his life because a TV falls on him/her)
- Use the back burners on your stove…always. Every year I have a few patients that get burned trying to reach the stove top…it is awful but preventable!
- If you take a medication, put it away when you are finished
- If you clean with something, put it away and out of reach. Make sure the nozzle is closed. Kids love the colors and smells of detergents and cleaning products.
- Bathrooms and kitchens are the most dangerous places. Make sure doors are closed and or baby gates are in place. Only store non hazardous things in your bottom cabinets.
- If you have older kids, now is the time to put away toys with small parts that can be potential choking hazards for your new crawler!
- Make sure outlets are covered and electrical cords are tied together and out of reach.
- Bonus tip! – We are all busy and distracted (especially with our phones!). When you leave a room in your house, stop, turn around and make sure you left nothing out that can be potentially dangerous!
Your baby is watching you. You baby is amazed at all of the things that you do and of course wants to do them too! They are quick!
Make safety a priority every day! If you plan ahead many accidents can indeed be prevented. Enjoy this phase…it can be exhausting but also incredibly rewarding.
-Elizabeth Vainder, M.D., F.A.A.P
