One of your greatest and most important responsibilities as a parent is to ensure that your children are safe, and particularly in your own home. Kid-proofing a home can be a challenge, as sometimes it seems that kids are walking-talking accidents waiting to happen! If you want to prevent as many hurts and potential problems before they happen, here are some tips to keep in mind about kid-proofing your house.
Look Underfoot
The floor your kids play, walk and run on has a huge effect on their safety. Slick or slippery flooring is literally almost guaranteed to cause some spills. Although this is especially true for toddlers or those just beginning to walk, older children need secure footing beneath as well. Replace your slippery floors with a non-skid surface, such as carpet. Once the kids are grown, you can go back to your polished marble and slick linoleum.
Everything Goes Up
One of the best ways to prevent harm with small children is to make sure than anything even potentially hazardous is simply not within their reach. While it can be helpful to fasten cupboards and cabinets so kids can’t open those doors, it’s better to simply not have anything in their reach to begin with. This goes for household cleaners, your best jewelry box, electrical cords, your glass décor items or anything else that could be swallowed or cause injury. Lock it up or lift it up out of a child’s reach.
Have the Right Perspective
Another tip is to look at the room as though your child would be in it completely alone and without adult intervention. Is there literally any object or thing that your child could get into or harm themselves with if you weren’t around to intercede? If so, get rid of it or move it out of the way. By seeing the room with those eyes, you can identify potential hazards more easily.
Choosing What They Have Access To
If you want your child playing with their toys instead of trying to rummage through your cabinets, keep their toys in a toy box right in their line of sight. When you make fun things more readily available to your kids, they will naturally turn to these fun activities (i.e. toys) rather than get into mischief. Make sure they have fun alternatives!
Use these tips to help you turn your home from a danger into a kid-friendly and safe place to be. Prevention is always the best way to protect your kids!
Informational Credit to Carpet King & Tile Carpet One Floor & Home