Baby Proofing Tips & Tricks
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When we made our move into our home one of our first priorities was creating a safe space for our baby girl. In hindsight, creating our baby registry safety items and all the newborn needs should definitely have been a priority. It’s very easy to become pulled into all of the sweet little clothes and nursery pieces, but in reality, your child’s health and safety are always what is most important. With so many products on the market to sift through it can be hard to know where to begin, and what products will be the best suited to babyproof your home for the many stages a little one transitions through.
Through experience, I learned the best time to start babyproofing is before your little one arrives where you can scan through each room.
There will always be never-ending to-do list items and a lack of sleep once your little arrives, so starting early and taking the safety precautions room by room is the best way to get started without feeling overwhelmed by the tasks. I’ve put together a few tips to help you get started if you have a little one on the way or have a baby that is moving toward becoming mobile with crawling or pulling him or herself up for walking.
Another great resource to seek out is How to Baby Proof Your Home in a Weekend. This concise article provides practical safety information and how-tos for creating a safe space for your baby to explore.
Safety Starts Outside
First off, begin by scanning the outside of your home. Yes, that’s right the outside. If emergency services were to need to reach your home, make sure your house number and access to your home are available. Once inside, go through each room making. a list of potential hazards. You will want to see things from your little one’s point of view, so don’t be afraid to get down on your hands and knees to look for exposed outlets, rugs that may need pads, and any cords from devices that need to be removed.
Baby’s Nursery
It’s an exciting time creating or designing the space for your little to join one day. Now you want this special place to not just bring comfort, but peace of mind that no matter what stage your little is in they will be safe within their room.
Aside from a mobile that can be installed safely from birth-when baby can sit up there are a few other nursery pieces that should be avoided altogether, or removed once the baby is crawling. Blanket ladders have become a popular home furniture item, but its leaning structure and layering of blankets can pose a risk once the baby is crawling and trying to pull themselves up. The same goes for faux floor plants that could easily tip and floor lamps that can become a fire hazard if tipped. Be sure to plug all outlets with outlet safety covers within the nursery and throughout the home. Depending on how often each is used there are different options that cover the entire outlet and cover or ones that cover the outlet.
On All Floors…or Fours.
A smoke and carbon monoxide detector should be installed on each floor of the home. Don’t forget to check/change the batteries, such as during daylight savings. I loved this set because it has a 10 year battery life. A way to remember to check in with batteries is to set an alert in your phone on these dates as a reminder to check their functioning. I recommend this option, as it is a two-in-one and finding one with long battery life.
Take a look at all exposed cords and move them along with power strips out of reach of your little one best as possible. A common tip is covering the outlets with safety covers. This is a massive pack of the simple press in covers that can be removed easily. If there’s any furniture that has sharp corners or edges there are corner protectors that are removable that can be applied with an adhesive. Additionally, in the kitchen finding a way to make sure cabinet doors, stove knobs, and drawers cannot be pulled open is also essential once your little one is on the move.
We went with the magnetic option for the cupboard door safety locks since you cannot see the safety lathes from the outside. This set comes with 20 magnetic baby proofing pieces for drawers and cabinets.
For the stove knobs, the choices were less "hidden” so we went with this clear option that came as a pack of 5. The cap is easy to open, stays attached, then clips closed easily while cooking. Now that our little one is reaching up to touch these they were a must have. We also try to use the back burners more than the front ones in case of a spill or boil over.
There are many other areas to later consider the more mobile baby becomes and tall! These areas include bathroom cabinets with cleaning /beauty products, toilet seat covers that cannot be lifted, door knobs, and top and bottom of stairwells for baby gates.
I hope this summary of items and spaces can best support you in your baby proofing phase of parenthood!
