As a parent, one of your biggest concerns is keeping your child safe from accidental injuries. While you can’t prevent every possible injury, there are several things you can do to keep your home as safe as possible. According to a recent article in Wed MD, you should consider each room in your house and the possible dangers it contains. For example, the bathroom contains many potential hazards for young children who don’t have the reasoning skills to keep up with their curiosity. That is why you must make it safe for them until they know how to prevent accidents on their own.
How to Childproof Your Bathroom
As an article in Parents magazine explains, young children learn about their world by touching, tasting, smelling, hearing, and looking at the things around them. They don’t know that touching the razor on the bathroom counter means that they could easily cut themselves. The first thing to do to make the bathroom safe for little ones is to keep all medicines, razors, scissors, cosmetics, and anything they could ingest safely locked in a drawer. Next, place a latch on the toilet seat to keep it closed when not in use. Children are naturally drawn to water, but sadly, they can drown in just a few inches of it.
When it comes time for your child’s bath, make sure that he or she is supervised at all times. Even stepping out of the bathroom for a few seconds could have disastrous consequences. If you have an infant who can’t yet sit unsupported, be sure to place him or her in an infant tub seat during bathing. Finally, install grab bars in your bathtub and get rid of all area rugs that a small child could trip over. If your child isn’t toilet trained yet, consider keeping the bathroom closed off altogether with childproof door locks or a baby gate.
The Living Room
Like most modern homes, you probably have at least a half-dozen cords in your living room. To prevent a tragic accident, be sure to hide cords behind furniture instead of running them under the carpet. Also, don’t forget to cover outlets with cap plugs or screw-on covers. If you have window blinds, cut the cords on them to prevent a strangling accident. Since younger children may put the plastic pulls from the blinds in their mouths, be certain to remove those as well. If you have bookshelves or other heavy furniture against the living room wall, mount it with brackets to prevent your child from pulling it down.
The Kitchen
According to Heal Well Medical Supply (www.healwellmedicalsupply.com) whenever you are not using an appliance in your kitchen, unplug it and put it away in a locked cabinet. You also need to safeguard sharp knives by covering them with a knife cover or placing them in a locked drawer or on a high shelf. The kitchen, along with the bathroom, is where toddlers and preschoolers can find the most poisonous items. In addition to medications, be sure to keep cleaning detergents, vitamins, plants, and anything containing carbon monoxide or lead out of your kids’ reach.
Other Rooms
While these are the main rooms where accidents happen, don’t forget to scope out your laundry room, bedrooms, garage, and home office for potential dangers. You can teach your kids to prevent home accidents as they get older, but never stop being vigilant in spotting and correcting problems yourself.