How To Childproof Your Home

Childproofing your home can be a daunting task. Today there are tools and tips that can childproof any room in your home easily and cost effectively. Any safety device you buy should be sturdy enough to prevent injury to your child, yet easy for you to install and use. It's important to follow installation instructions carefully.


Use Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries. Also use Safety Latches on appliances, such as your refrigerator and stove. Safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects. Look for safety latches and locks that you can easily install and use, but are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children.


Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas. Safety gates can help keep children away from stairs or rooms that have hazards in them. Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates." Interlocking gates are available for larger, irregular, hard to fit areas that can make your play area safe. There are also safety gates not only for stairs but fireplaces and netting that you can put around bannisters and decks. New safety gates that meet safety standards display a certification seal from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). If you have an older safety gate, be sure it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough for a child's head and neck to fit into.


Use Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers. Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming pools. Knob covers are also available for stoves which can be a potential hazard by your curious toddler turning on the stove. Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent many kinds of injuries.


Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls. Check these safety devices frequently to make sure they are secure and properly installed and maintained. There should be no more than four inches between the bars of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure at least one window in each room can be easily used for escape in a fire or install one that has an emergency release. There are also wireless alarms that are available so if a window or door is opened you are notified. Window screens are not effective for preventing children from falling out of windows.


Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften falls against sharp or rough edges.Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture or hearth edges.


Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and possible electrocution. Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large enough so that children cannot choke on them. Many of the outlet covers today have a slide that activates when a plug is pulled and closes the plug opening. Many are easy to install and do not require wiring. Power Strip Protecter cover your power strip in a secure box so your toddler can not access any of the plugs


Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops. Window blind cord safety tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords. Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds. Blind winders are available that wind your cords out of site like a tape measure and are easy to install.


Stabilize your furniture to prevent tipping over if climbed or pulled on. Use tip resistant furniture brackets to stabilize your furniture and prevent falling objects from your children.


Little fingers and inquiring minds can get into places that we don't want them to go. Keep your medicines and cleaning supplies childproofed to prevent accidental ingestion. There are locking bins specifically designed for keeping your medicines and cleaners safe from toddlers with a kid proof locking mechanism.


Our children are so much more active than when we were kids. Baseball, Soccer, Dance and the list goes on. It is important that there is a first aid kit available at these extra activities your children are involved in. Moms and Dads will appreciate the take along first aid kits. Keep one in the car for sports practices, keep one in the home and keep one at the grandparents home. Kits include crayon shaped Band-Aids, stickers, ointments, tapes and take the scare out of everyday bumps and bruises.


Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas.


Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the beach.


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