*I was sent product from Safety 1st. All opinions are my own.
September is officially baby safety month, but for parents with young kids every month is child safety month. With little ones around, it’s impossible to take a break from being aware of safety guidelines. Keeping your house safe as your child grows requires several different phases because keeping your home safe when your baby is 6 months is quite different from keeping it safe when your baby is 18 months. To celebrate Baby Safety Month, I wanted to bring you some home safety tips that were provided to me by experts at Safety 1st.
If you’re new to baby proofing (or if you’re about to move) this 46 piece baby proofing kit is a great product to start out with. It’s important to baby proof your home based on your little ones current age and developmental level.
Baby safety when you have a crawler:
- Soften hard edges (such as chairs, end table and coffee tables) with Expandable Table Edge Bumper or Foam Edge Bumpers.
- Cover all power outlets with plugs to avoid electrical dangers.
- Go over your house looking at drawers and cupboards that are at lower heights. Do they contain anything that is unsafe for your little one? If not, add locks to those drawers/cupboards.
Baby safety tips when you have a climber:
- Once your little one has a desire to climb, make sure she only practices her new climbing skills when you are right behind her.
- At the top of stairwells, use a baby gate that is permanently installed with hardware (not a pressure-fit gate). For the bottom of the stairs, use a gate like the Lift, lock and swing gate.
- Keep toy bins (or other items that your child may try to climb onto) away from the window as the desire to climb and look out windows is tough for little ones to handle. 1 out of 3 children who falls from a window requires hospitalization according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission!
- Secure your TV and large furniture to the wall with wall furniture straps.
Baby safety tips when you have a walker:
- Use the back burners on your stove whenever possible. Remember to keep pan handles turned back or sideways so it is not sticking out within reach of a toddler passing by. Talk with your little one about how the stove and oven are hot and how they shouldn’t be touched.
- Check the house (again) for any drawers and cupboards that are now within your little ones reach. Multi-purpose locks are a great option for keeping your little one out of drawers, cupboards or even the fridge.
- Once your child has mastered doorknobs, high door locks are a great way to keep them from leaving rooms or the house by themselves.
Do you have a baby or toddler? What parts of your house have you had the hardest time child-proofing?
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Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 10 responses.
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Anne Taylor
Thank you for this. We are in the process now of preparing our house for our two new grandkids! Great tips!
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cassie
Oh good tips…. We’re still expecting our first so I’m still finding places that should be baby proofed. I didn’t think of the edge bumpers.
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Sarah L
When I look at this list I”m amazed that most kids manage to grow up…
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Joanne Gregory
We have to keep a gate at the foot of the stairs and child locks on the kitchen cabinets when our grandson is visiting.
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Amanda Schaeffer
I have a 4 month old and a 14 month old and I think the hardest part of the house to childproof is the stairs they are such a big worry for me thank you for sharing these tips I never thought to soften the edges around the tables I will be doing that tomorrow 🙂
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Deb E
I’ve heard of a number of accidents when kids have things fall on them so shelves, everything should be checked to see the likelihood of toppling over. Here in California we even secure our pictures on the wall with putty–since earthquakes are so likely.
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thalia h
thanks for these tips, i will have a little mover in a few months(hes currently 12 weeks) and will have to start baby-proofing and taking more safety measures around here.
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kathy downey
Thanks for such a wonderful post of tips to keep our babies safe.
These are some great tips, thanks for posting!