Now that your little one is starting to crawl and explore, there is a surprising number of hazards that may be lurking in your otherwise happy home. Here you will find a guide on how to make sure your house is safe for your budding explorer.
Getting Started
While most parents wait until their child can crawl before starting the babyproofing process, it’s actually better to start before the baby is born. That way, you won’t have to babyproof when the baby arrives, when you’re already overwhelmed with late-night feedings and diaper changing. By removing hazards before your baby arrives, you will not only be saving time later by getting it out of the way, but you’ll also be getting yourself in the habit of keeping your home safe for small children.
To start, get down to your baby’s eye level. Look around for things with sharp edges or that can be easily broken. Place these things out of reach so that your baby can’t get to them. The only things she should be able to reach should be soft, padded, or unable to be lifted.
Cover Electrical Outlets
All electrical outlets need to be covered so that your baby can’t stick his fingers into them. There are many different ways to cover outlets, but those covers that include cord shorteners are most helpful because they prevent dangling cords from becoming choking hazards.
Prevent Choking by Using the Toilet Paper Roll Rule
Small objects are extremely dangerous because they are choking hazards. As a rule-of-thumb, check and see if the items in your house can fit through a roll of toilet paper. If it’s small enough to fit through the roll, it’s a definite choking hazard. Remove all such items from your baby’s reach.
Use a Baby Gate
Some areas of the house might not be baby-friendly. You can prevent your little one from getting into dangerous areas by installing a baby gate in the doorway of the room in question. A baby gate is also useful to prevent Baby from falling down stairs. Choose a model that mounts onto the wall, as your baby will most likely use it to pull herself into a standing position and a gate mounted on the wall is less likely to pull free.
Get rid of the extra clutter
Babies have an uncanny ability to get into things they shouldn’t, and piles of clutter can be a hazard if left lying around. Instead, de-clutter your house by selling your old things online. You can sell stuff online for free by simply taking an inventory of what you want to sell and then finding a site that will let you list these items for free, or will buy them directly from you. You can sell almost anything online, but the items most likely to sell are good quality apparel, accessories, jewelry, electronic devices and homeware.