Whether buying a new house or preparing for a new arrival, making sure your house is safe for your little one is so important. According to RoSPA more than 2 million children under the age of 15 experience accidents in and around the home every year. It’s therefore so important to ensure our homes are as safe as possible. Here’s some tips on child proofing your home.
Safety Gates
When your little one is mobile enough to move around, safety gates are an essential. From stopping your child from crawling up and down the stairs to preventing them crawling into the kitchen, they can really help put your mind at ease.
Fireguard
If you have a fireplace, a fireguard should be used to stop inquisitive little fingers touching where they shouldn’t!
Plug socket covers
Plug socket covers are another must have. Most plug sockets are at the perfect height from crawling babies to stick their little fingers in!
Smoke detectors
Obviously every home should have a smoke detector in it. They can literally save your family’s life if there is a fire. However, it’s also so important that you remember to check the smoke detector battery, at least monthly. There’s no point having a detector if it’s not working!
Electrical appliances
Electrical appliances should obviously kept out of reach. Appliances such as hairdryers, hair straighteners and kettles should also be kept unplugged where possible.
Child proof locks
You can buy child proof kits to stop your child opening the fridge, cupboards or drawers. Our youngest loved opening cupboards she shouldn’t be (and her wardrobe so she could empty it!) so these were a life saver!
Don’t use cot bumpers
Cot bumpers are a complete no no. They might look cute but they can be so dangerous. They’ve been known to cause strangulation and suffocation and current safety advice is just to avoid them all together.
Toiletries, cleaning products and medicines
Keep all toiletries, cleaning products and medicines as high up as possible, or at least in a cupboard with a safety latch on. We keep all our cleaning products under the sink, but the latch means the kids can’t get in there.
Windows and doors
Keep your windows locked where possible. It’s also a massive help if you have double glazed windows. Not only will it help keep your little one’s room cosy and warm, it will also help reduce the chance of damp and/or mould. If you’re looking to get replacement windows ensure they’re fitted by a professional so you know they are safe.
When it comes to doors, ensure external doors, including conservatory doors, are locked to avoid having any escapees!
What are your home safety must haves?
These are great tips as there were some that I knew to do, but some that I wouldn’t have thought of such as the closing of windows!
Thanks for sharing,
Leigh at Fashion Du Jour LDN x
I used to be a childminder so every cupboard had locks on.Now I have stopped it has been a relief to take it all off again, but home safety was always a priority
Childproofing is so important! I don’t think you need to use socket covers though, when I researched for our son, there was a lot of points going against them x
We never knew just how ‘unsafe’ our home was until kids came into the picture, we had to baby proof everything
This is so important but honestly some of these are good to follow through even if there are no children about.
I still use the plug hole sockets now and little J is 5.
Great tips, my little girl especially is such a cheeky little explorer who is in to everything so making sure our home is safe has always been a big priority! These are great tips and I will definitely be checking through this again to make sure our home is as safe as it can be so thanks for sharing!
Great tips here. Its so important to safety proof your house especially when you have children.