Consider childproofing your living space if you have babies or toddlers in your home, or are expecting a baby, to lessen the possibility of mishaps and time-consuming clean-ups.
It is important to keep in mind that exposed electrical outlets, fireplaces, and tables with sharp corners might be problematic for new-borns and toddlers when you’re just commencing.
Anyone who has kids knows that feeding and playing with them is always a mess, so using easy-to-clean materials and textiles when designing your living room is a brilliant option.
Ideas to Childproof your house
1. Contemplate safe materials for all spaces
- Glass and metal are hard materials that might inflict major injury in the case of an accident.
- Lead-based or toxic-paint-based items can also be hazardous. As a result, make sure you’re aware of these elements and that you understand what your furniture are made of and where they come from.
- Give new furniture a thorough shake before buying it to make sure it’s solid and won’t tip over. Because children are always tugging and pushing items, ensure sure there are no unsteady tables, bookcases, or chairs that might fall on your child.
2. Declutter and make spaces more open and fluid
- Objects and mementos add charm to your living area, but they might cause tripping, choking, or wounds when you have toddlers running about or teething kids seeking to gnaw on or swallow stuff.
- Clear any clutter off the floor, tables, and any other areas where a toddler can get to it when you live with small children.
- Fix furniture and bulky appliances to the wall so that your children don’t topple them over when climbing on them.
3. Explore softer flooring alternatives
- Babies are prone to falling. As a result, carpets or soft flooring materials can assist cushion a fall and avoid injuries.
- Consider darker hues when picking a floor, since these may help hide stains.
- In case one wants to retain the concrete or wood flooring, a softer rug or carpet can be utilised in order to childproof the space. A soft, thick, and textured rug can instantly add value to one’s space as well as make it safer for children.
- Place a nonslip rug cushion below it if necessary to keep the youngsters from sliding about.
Few children friendly flooring options include
Rubber flooring:
It’s easy to handle and maintain.
It provides a cushioned landing for any stumbles or falls.
It’s also lightweight and inexpensive, so you can move it around the home to whatever space need it.
Area Rugs
They’re affordable, transitory, and easy to clean, as well as soft, warm, and pleasant.
They’re also portable. If you’re working on a tiled, laminated, or wood floor and your small children are playing nearby, an area rug is excellent.
You can take it with you, put them on, and rest assured that they’re sitting on a warm, comfy foundation with a thin amount of cushioning.
Sharp and rough corners should be avoided
- Choose furniture with rounded corners and edges, as sharp corners on coffee tables and chairs might be harmful.
- In the living room, an ottoman is a wonderful substitute for a coffee table.
- To save your toddler from suffocating in window blind cord loops, cut the cords or use safety tassels and inner cord stops.
Electricity and fire are major concerns to look after
- Exposed electrical outlets and power strips can be dangerous since your child could be electrocuted if a metal object is inserted into one of the holes.
- To avoid this, make sure that power strips and wires are buried or covered with sliding panels and kept out of reach of youngsters. Make that your fireplace is well-protected.
- If you’re anxious about them wandering around when they first start, you may put up heat-resistant baby gates until you’re more at ease.
- Install smoke detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms.
Securing Doors to unsafe rooms with doorknob covers
- Making sure your kids can’t go out of the house or into areas that aren’t childproofed is one of the first stages in childproofing your home.
- Toddler hands have a hard time gripping, turning, and opening doors with doorknob coverings on. They should be installed on all of your home’s exit doors as well as bathroom doors.
- It’s also a good idea to put them on closet doors and any other room doors that you don’t want your youngster to enter.
- Keep in mind that childproofing lever doorknobs is far more difficult. Lever handle locks are available; however, they can only be opened in one direction, thus they’re best for closets.
Cabinet and appliance locks
- The most common alternatives for securing your cabinets are an inside latch that you screw into the cabinets or an exterior lock.
- Internal latches, in particular, have a significant downside in that they frequently fail.
disadvantage of using an external lock is that you must remember to replace it every time you open your cabinets.
- Although installing an inside cabinet and drawer lock is more complicated than installing an exterior lock, you won’t have to remember to reconnect it every time you open your cabinets and drawers.
- Your stove may be a major threat to your children, who can be gravely burnt by food that is cooking on the stove or by turning on the burners. A stove guard, in addition to utilising the rear burners and moving handles away from the front of the stove, can help keep your stove safe.
– Janvi Mangukiya