Baby-Fying Your Home
Go ahead. Get down on your hands and knees and crawl around your family room and kitchen. You'll see life a whole new way: the way your baby will see it. You'll quickly get an appreciation for the obvious (and the subtle) changes that will make your home safer.
Get started before your baby is born. Baby showers are a great way to get the new parents on track. Here's a chance to help Mom and Dad stock up on electrical outlet covers, safety gates, cabinet locks and the like. The greatest danger your child faces - especially before the age of two - is choking, so pay particular attention to removing small objects that are within reach.
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Let's take it room by room:
- Baby's bedroom: make sure slats on the crib are at least 2
2/8 inches apart. While there might be a temptation to use
the crib your parents bought when you were born, the fact is
safety standards are much stricter today. … Are you planning
on hanging a mobile in the crib above baby? Make sure it's
out of your newborn's reach (which means gradually raising
it as your child grows and is able to stretch).
- Kitchen: childproof latch
guards are easily installed that prevent cabinet doors from
opening. It's not the pots and pans we're concerned about;
it's the silverware and cooking utensils. … Install stove
guards over burners to prevent a toddler from touching a hot
surface. And get in the habit of turning panhandles inside
so a child can't grab one and spill hot liquid.
- Bathroom: put safety latches
on all the cabinets, including the medicine cabinet.
Remember: razors, shampoo, lotions, medicines and cleaning
supplies are all attractive toys to a toddler. Also lower
the temperature of your water heater to prevent scalding.
- Parent's bedroom: as soon as
you bring home clothes from the cleaners, remove and throw
the plastic bags away. Move small objects like
candleholders, pens and pencils, loose change and keys out
of reach.
- Family room: put plastic covers over sharp corners of the
furniture, permanent covers (as opposed to removable
plastic) over all electrical outlets and remove small
decorative objects off low surfaces like a coffee table or
bookcase. Also make sure that tall furniture is not top
heavy; falling furniture is another major source of injuries
and death.
- Windows: remove or raise all
cords and install child locks on the windows. Remember, a
screen will not prevent a child from falling out of a
window.
Don't wait until
your child is up and around to begin baby-fying your home. In
fact, the best time to begin is before your child is born.
While parents pay close attention to their baby's health, the fact is more children are injured and killed from accidents around the house than from all health problems…combined!
For more information, check out the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site at www.cpsc.org and the Safe Kids Campaign at www.safekids.org.
All facts, data, and useful tips provided are for informational purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for medical advice.
