Each year, nearly 25.5 million children under the age of 15 end up in the emergency room, and one of the top reasons is due to injury and poisoning. Some of these injuries are preventable.
Wondering how you can keep your children safe in your home? There are several ways to have a childproof home. Keep reading to learn how you can have a child-safe home to protect your children.
1. Use Safety Latches on Cabinets
Your cabinets most likely contain sharp objects, dangerous cleaning chemicals, and fragile glass objects. By having safety latches and locks on your cabinets, you can keep them out of your child’s hand at all times.
2. Secure Dangerous Areas
Make sure you know the dangerous areas of your home like the fireplace, bathroom, kitchen, stairs, or slippery floor. Secure these areas with safety gates to keep your children away and help prevent falls. You can find gates with doors so you can easily go through but latch the door to keep your child out of the area.
3. Use Doorknob Covers and Locks
In addition to securing your cabinets, you also need to secure your doors for a babyproof home. You may have some heavy equipment in some rooms you don’t want your child in, or stairs leading into the basement. Use doorknob locks and covers to prevent your child from opening the doors and falling, and don’t forget to add these to doors leading outside.
4. Secure Windows
Windows are potentially extremely dangerous to children because they could fall out by leaning on the screen. Keep your windows locked and closed. If you want to open your windows, use a window guard to limit how wide they can open.
Try to open a window that is not in your child’s reach, and always supervise your children around an open window to protect your child from falling.
5. Anchor Furniture
When childproofing your home, don’t forget that children tend to climb and lean on things. This means you should secure heavy items like bookshelves, dressers, and TVs. You can secure heavy items with furniture straps or anchor them to the wall.
6. Secure Medications
It’s important that all medications are out of reach of children, including vitamins and supplements. You should either lock up these items or get them out of reach. You can also use childproof items that children can’t open—see here for a great option to lock up your vape pens and edibles.
7. Cover Electrical Outlets
As you read how to babyproof your home, don’t forget the wall sockets, which are small but extremely dangerous. About 20 percent of all electrical injuries occur in children.
This is why it’s important to add plugs to these outlets, so your children can’t touch with wet hands or put in a metal object.
Have a Safe, Childproof Home
Having a child is an exciting time, but your home before children may be a dangerous place for babies and toddlers. Be sure you have a childproof home by following the steps above to keep your child safe.
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