One of the seemingly never-ending jobs of being a parent is making sure your child is safe, most especially in your own home. As they grow older, you come to find yourself doing more things to ensure the safety of your little one. Baby proofing is very important, especially for first time moms who don’t seem to know exactly what to expect from their little rugrats. We’ve compiled the Top 10 things mothers should do to baby proof their homes.
#1. Think and Act Like A Baby. This is a silly tip but I find it rather useful. Mothers should get down on their knees and really go to their child’s level to be able to spot any zones or areas that can potentially endanger their children. You may have missed a few spots while you were standing 5 feet tall when your baby is all the way down to the ground. Trust me on this one!
#2. Keys Your Problems Away. I don’t even know how many of my friends have gotten their kids in danger just by letting their kids play with their keys. I get that sometimes we like jiggling them in front of the kids because the sound amuses them but keep in mind also that these keys can fatally hurt your kids’ face and eyes if not used with precaution.
#3. Lose the Loose. Shiny objects like loose change easily tempt our little ones. And because they like to experiment with their mouths so much, (Fun fact: Infants are in their Oral Phase in the Erick Erickson Theory) they tend to swallow tiny things, which can choke them.
#4. Surfaces. Make sure to secure or cover sharp surfaces from anything low that your baby can easily reach. They might easily bang their heads on these which can be another possible problem. Cover these surfaces with something soft like cloths or corner
Covers that can easily be purchased in the local stores.
#5. Gating. Babies will learn to walk as early as 11 months old. Be sure to gate off any staircases when this happens. Even before that, babies can easily crawl towards the staircase and might trip and fall. We don’t want that happening, do we? Gating the staircase is an important baby proof tip that all mommies should do!
#6. Oh dear, Cords! If you’re like me who love the fancy curtains with the long cords hanging out from it, trust me, you’ll want to lose these for awhile. I spotted one of my nieces trying to climb on these cords and I nearly had a heart attack! Try switching your curtains or blinds into something safer.
#7. Cords, again? Yes, I can’t stress this enough. Cords are one of the common reasons to endangering your babies at home. Make sure that appliance cords are kept properly at home so that babies don’t easily coil themselves in them when crawling on the floor.
#8. The Sharp and Pointy Things. This baby proofing tip is a no brainer. Make sure to keep any sharp object out of reach!
#9. Medicals and Chemicals. Securely lock medicines or chemicals in a cabinet or cupboard that are high enough to make them out of reach of children, specially as they grow older. Make sure these products are always stacked away for them because again, these little ones love to experiment and we don’t want that happening when it’s not in the lab at school!
#10. Cover Up! Sockets are all over the house. It’s essential that we cover up these sockets when they are not in use because they can be a bit tempting for our little tykes! Yikes! The precautions we have to take to baby proof our homes are endless! You can visit the hundreds of websites that tackle on parenting and I’m sure all of their tips will be useful for you and your husband.
Like they always say, better safe than sorry!