Tips for Baby Proofing Your Home
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Making sure your home is safe and secure for your baby is a very important step in parenthood. There are so many things in our homes that can hurt or harm our precious children. Things that you wouldn’t think could be harmful can actually be deadly to a young child. But there are plenty of ways to help prevent any accidents from happening.
Before your baby arrives:
There are a few things you should do before your baby arrives. These safety precautions will help ensure your little one is safe before they even enter the world.
• The Crib:
Make sure your crib meets all safety requirements. The slats should be no wider than 2 3/8” apart and free of any splits or chips in the wood. The mattress should be firm and have only a finger width space between it and the crib. There should be no cut-outs in the head or footboard, and all hardware should be securely fastened to prevent the crib from collapsing. Never put pillows, soft bedding, electric blankets, heating pads, or large stuffed animals in a crib.
• Play-Pen/Bassinet:
If you use a playpen with mesh sides, the mesh “holes” should be less than 3/4 inch across (playpens made since 1974 meet this requirement) and free from tears or small holes to prevent an infant from becoming trapped. For the same reason, wooden playpens should have slats that are less than 2 3/8 inches apart.
Bassinets should be fitted with a snug, firm bassinet mattress. As with cribs, never put pillows, soft bedding or large stuffed animals in a bassinet or play pen.
• Water Heater:
Set your water heater to 120F or below to prevent burns.
After Baby Arrives
Newborns & Infants:
Once your new baby is home, and before they become too active, there are a few things to do to keep them safe:
• Make sure your changing table has a safety strap and always use it.
• Always use a safety belt when your baby is sitting in a bouncy seat, highchair or swing.
• Nightlights should be at least three feet away from the crib, bedding, and draperies to prevent fire.
On the move:
This is when the fun begins!
Once your baby becomes active (scooting, crawling or walking), then the more things become hazardous. This is the time to really start baby-proofing your home.
• Keep all items that are small enough to fit into babies mouth (coins, dust balls, paper clips, staples and anything smaller than 1 1/2 inches around) out of their reach.
• Remove mobiles from the crib as soon as your child can reach up and touch them. Also remove bumper pads that your baby could use to climb on. Set her mattress to the lowest level.
• Shorten drapery and blind cords.
• Install safety hinges on toy boxes, or buy one with a removable lid to prevent pinched fingers.
• Lock any potentially dangerous substance (cleaning supplies, alcohol, medications and vitamins, paint & painting supplies, lighter fluid, bug spray, pesticides, and fertilizers) in an upper-level cabinet. Use safety latches on the inside of all drawers or cabinets that are within reach.
• Place houseplants out of children’s reach; label the plants so you know their names in case a child eats one of them. Do not use small rocks or marbles in potting materials or as a ground cover for plants.
• Keep a bottle of Ipecac and activated charcoal in your home, but use only when instructed by a medical professional (have the poison control center number handy at all times)
• Cover every electrical outlet in your home with a child-resistant outlet cover (you can buy these from any baby super-store or discount store).
• Install ground fault circuit interrupters on outlets near sinks and bathtubs since they stop the electrical current when an appliance gets wet (some are already installed)
• Place screened barriers around fireplaces, radiators, and portable space heaters.
• Install hardware-mounted safety gates at the top and bottom of stairways with two or more steps. Pressure-mounted models may not be strong enough, especially for the top stairs.
• Pad the edges of coffee tables and anything else hard or sharp like brick or tile fireplaces.
• Position televisions and stereos so that children cannot pull them down. Secure un-sturdy bookshelves against the wall.
• Keep appliance cords wrapped short so that they can’t be pulled.
• Never leave hot pans on the stove with the handles facing out and secure the stove so it won’t tip over if the door is open.
• Install locking latches on all large appliances (stove, dishwasher & refrigerator) so that children can’t get into them.
• Install knob covers to prevent the burners being turned on by a child.
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