How to Safety-Proof Your Home for Young Children

Children are curious beings. They like to explore and get their hands on nearly anything they can touch. Ordinary items in a home become extraordinary things for young children. That’s why it’s absolutely essential to add to the safety of your home.

Child safety in homes can be an appealing touch when new parents or parents of young children look for a place to settle down. Already-safe homes make it less overwhelming for parents of young kids to transform a house into a plush fortress to ensure their children don’t run into danger.

Hazards in the home are a leading cause of child injury. Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate the risk of injury. Here’s how to safety-proof your home for young children.

Add Locks and Covers to Doorknobs and Cabinets

Doorknob covers and door locks prevent children from entering rooms that could contain possible hazards. Rooms like bathrooms or basements can pose a risk to young children if they enter them. Plus, door covers and locks ensure your kids can’t get out of the house. It makes it difficult for little hands to get a grip and turn the knobs.

Cabinet locks are another crucial investment for homes that have young children. Often, people store chemicals and dangerous utensils in cabinets. The locks keep young children out of those hazardous storage areas.

Ensure All Home Systems Are Working

Another way to safety-proof a home is to ensure all internal systems are working correctly. These include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), security alarms, smoke detectors, electrical wiring, automated systems like garage doors, and any other systems in the home.

This makes the home safe for the children and all of the other occupants of the house. You should have regular maintenance on home systems and ensure children can’t access them.

Secure Heavy Objects

Furniture, televisions, and heavy decorative items should be anchored, whether it’s to the wall or the floor. When kids begin to walk, they cling to anything to ensure they don’t fall. Deaths and injuries occur when children climb onto those items and the objects tip over onto them.

Put decorative items out of reach of children and secure televisions and other free-standing furniture. This ensures they stay put when a child bumps into them or uses the objects to pull themselves up.

Be Cautious With Electricity

Children are curious. When they get to a certain age, they enjoy exploring everything a home has to offer. One of the most dangerous elements in a home is the electrical system, and particularly outlets.

Outlet covers and plates help prevent electrocution and electric shock, and they can also prevent a fire due to electric shock. Be sure children cannot remove them. Once installed, children will not be able to stick anything into the outlet that could cause injury.

Install Window Guards

Every year, about 5,000 children are injured from falling out of a window. Window guards and safety netting help prevent falls from high places, like windows, decks, and balconies. Window guards prevent children from being able to push a screen out. To further protect children, limit window openings to a few inches.

Safety netting is there as a barrier in case a child were to fall from a high place. Ensure all safety netting and window guards are secure.

Use Bumpers for Corners and Edges

Finally, add bumpers for corners and sharp edges. Children fall pretty often, and when playing in a home, corners and edges make for a dangerous situation where a child could get injured.

Install soft bumpers around furniture like tables, fireplaces, and any other area with a sharp edge. Look for bumpers that will be secure on your furniture and check them periodically to ensure they’re still fixed.

Safety Is Key

Children are precious, and parents want to make sure their children are safe inside and outside the home. With these preventive measures, the risk of injury declines, and a family can live happily and safely in their safety-proof home.

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