Mommin' It Up!

Today we are bringing you a guest post from Suzanne, one of the experts at CSNbaby.com.

Tips for Baby-Proofing Your Home
Day in and day out we try our hardest to make our home safe and comfortable for our family. While installing an alarm system or putting a scary guard dog out in your front lawn may ward off danger from the outside, the scarier situations lie inside our house. Babies are explorative and once you couple that type of personality with their tiny size, they can get can pretty much anywhere – which is why it’s important to highlight some general ways in which we can properly baby-proof our home.

Despite the fact that your baby’s crib is where they rest peacefully, this area of the nursery can be one of the most dangerous areas for your child if it hasn’t been properly assembled. As much as we think it’s a good idea to accept hand-me-down baby furniture to save on money, its best not to use antique furniture that doesn’t meet the crib manufacturing standards in cribs built in 1992 or later. Also, used cribs can be broken or missing small parts that could critically affect the overall construction. Be sure that the headboard or footboard doesn’t include decorative cutouts that your baby can get tangled in or tall corner posts that children can grab hold of and crawl on.

When you’re arranging the floor plan of your baby’s nursery, place cribs, changing tables, and rockers away from hanging drapery and blind cords to prevent entanglement or dissembled window treatments. The inner cords of blinds also pose a risk so simply removing the hanging cords is not enough. Since the nursery is a convenient place to store toys and stuffed animals, a wooden toy box makes organization a snap. With that in mind, avoid using storage units that include a heavy, hinged lid that can create a dangerous trap for young children. Mount bookshelves to the wall to prevent the structure from tipping over if tampered with and place a TV within a tall cabinet or on top of a high roll-out shelf.

If there is a specific section you would like to keep little ones out of, adjustable baby gates installed between kitchen islands or cabinets are an easy solution as long as you don’t mind hopping over them every now and then. These are absolutely crucial for the top and bottom of staircases in any part of the home that your child has access to.

If you’ve ever been around children in the kitchen, you’d understand how important it is to baby-proof this area of the home. Whether you’re making a quick snack or a gourmet family meal, young kids always want to see what’s happening on the counters, what’s inside the fridge, and what sounds each pot and pan can make. The first thing to check for is low sharp edges or corners that toddlers can reach or bump up against. Installing safety locks on all cabinets, pantries, and liquor cabinets that contain harmful cleaning products, food, or small objects will keep your child safe during their exploration. It’s best to move dangerous products to the top shelves to ensure that babies have no chance of getting their little hands on them. Also, a dishwasher full of clean or dirty utensils is tempting to a child – make sure to keep your dishwasher door closed and fastened tightly anytime you aren’t loading or unloading it so your child doesn’t have access to sharp forks and knives.

In all areas of the house, make sure low electrical outlets are covered. Once your child reaches a toddler age where they can climb, the dining room or kitchen table will no longer be a safe place to store dangerous items like scissors or breakables like your favorite flower vase.

What are some of your favorite baby-proofing tips and hacks? Is there anything you learned the hard way?