How to Child Proof your Home and Garden
There is more to being a parent than having a perfectly decorated nursery and engaging in baby activities. You are also responsible for their safety and keeping them out of harm’s way. Before children, you probably didn’t give it much thought, but as your child gets older it is important to start child-proofing your home and outdoor space.
However, it can be hard to know where to start. Something that you may see as harmless or safe in the world of young children can cause disaster and danger. By following this guide and making some small changes you will be able to make your home a safe place as they grow and moving around they can do so without putting themselves in obvious danger.
The best way to see the obvious dangers is to put yourself at your child’s eye level. If they can see it, you can guarantee they will reach for it and want to explore it further.
Remove Small Objects And Breakables In Reach
Children love to reach out to objects and put things in their mouths. This can be anything. Of course, a small child has no concept of danger or choking risks, so it is important that you remove all small items out of their grasp. This includes looking at the bottom of baskets, moving small toys (from any older siblings) into different locations that your baby or toddler can not reach, checking under cupboards and sofas. The same applies to vases or other breakables you may have dotted around. These pose the risk of being knocked over and broken and those small shards could not only cause injury but also pose a choking risk if put in their mouths.
Electric Wires
Living in a technologically rich world, you are bound to have a phone charger, TV wires, or other electrical cords for lamps or home entertainment. If your child was to chew this and expose the wires they could get an electric shock, but also these loose cables can also pose a strangulation hazard. Where possible cover all wires up or at the very least tie them together and place them in hard to reach areas or cupboards when not in use. Using your compatible light bulbs from sites such as https://www.lepro.co.uk/smart-light-bulbs to sync with your smart devices to control lights and lamps is a great way to keep wires out of reach.
Garden Safety
It’s an obvious one but a priority, you need to make sure that all garden tools, paint and any other toxic substances are safely out of reach. You want to make sure that any outdoor space is well lit and when they are in the garden you are able to see them clearly. If you have an outdoor water feature, pond or swimming pool, you also need to ensure that this is fenced or securely covered or even filled in. Then when your child is outside it is important to never let your child be left near water without constant supervision.
Carla is the founder of MyBump2Baby. Carla has a huge passion for linking together small businesses and growing families. Carla’s humorous, non-filtered honesty has won the hearts of thousands of parents throughout the UK.
She has previously written for the Metro and made appearances on BBC News, BBC 5 live, LBC etc. Carla is a finalist for Blogger of the Year award with Simply Ladies inc. Carla is also the host of the popular Fifty Shades of Motherhood podcast and The MyBump2Baby Expert podcast.