10 Ways to Babyproof Your Home

Pregnancy has gone to plan and you’ve swapped worrying over baby names to worrying about the safety of your new arrival in a very short period of time.

The first few weeks and months of parenthood can be incredibly stressful – especially if you’ve not properly prepared around your house for the time when your child starts to crawl and walk.

Fear not, though, as here are 10 ways to babyproof your home.

1.    Invest in some plug socket covers. Little ones and electricity are not a good combination, so ensure they can’t put their fingers in the plug sockets and turn on the power.

2.    Get baby gates fitted on the staircase. You need eyes in the back of your head to be able to watch your kids 24/7, but you can at least limit where they go in your house – or, more importantly, where they can’t go.

3.    Keep dangerous liquids/products locked away. The kitchen is full of potential hazards for a little one, from dangerous liquids like bleach to matches and knives, so store them in a place they can’t reach just to be on the safe side. Keep medicine stored away in a safe place as well and plastic bags.

4.    Carpet the stairs. Fitting carpets on stairs will reduce the chances of your kid slipping as they race up or down them, and will cushion their fall if they do lose their footing.

5.    De-clutter every room. Get rid of all the junk around the home that you child could either throw, break, smash or swallow.

6.    Fit child locks on the windows/doors. Open windows and doors will be extremely inviting for a curious kid, so remove temptation by getting child-friendly locks fitted or by keeping them closed if you’re not around to supervise. 

7.    Only allow supervised access to the kitchen. Perils are plentiful in the kitchen – from cupboard doors they could trap their fingers in to hot pans they could knock off. Ensure your child is supervised at all times in the kitchen.

8.    Cover your fireplace. A fireguard will stop your little one gaining access to a fire and stop any stray bits of burning material from jumping out of the fire.

9.   Have corner protectors on dangerous edges. It’s inevitable your little one will trip and fall around the home, so get corner protectors put on coffee tables etc so they don’t get a nasty bump to the head.

10.    Cover your pond. Learn lessons from previous garden tragedies and put measures in place to stop your kid from getting into a pond.