From their first crawl to their wobbly first steps, when your baby becomes a toddler, it’s time for them to explore their surroundings and a safe home becomes a priority. Here are some tips on what you need to know to begin baby proofing your home.
Watch out for small items that could be choking hazards
Children explore the world with their mouths, so it’s important to ensure there’s nothing lying around they could potentially choke on. Also consider taking a local first aid course that covers how to stop a child choking, just in case. You can ask your local health centre or preschool if they are running one.
Bumps and falls
As your little one wobbles their way to walking confidently, the risk of falls, bumps and bruises rises. Supervision is key, but here are some ways to minimise any potential accidents.
- Fit safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. Once a child is old enough, teach them how to use the stairs safely.
- Never leave them unattended on a raised surface be it for changing clothes or a nappy, they can wriggle about.
- Don’t place furniture close to windows and fit restrictors to stop them opening fully.
- Make sure your child cannot access any cords for your blinds or curtains, take care to keep them out of harms way.
- Clean up any spills quickly to prevent them slipping.
- Check for loose wires and other tripping hazards, and make sure stairways are well lit.
- Cover sharp corners with corner cushions.
Bath safety
Drowning and scalds are the two main risks with bath time. You can avoid these risks by following these guidelines:
- Always supervise babies, toddlers and children under five years in the bath. Never leave older children or siblings to supervise. They don’t have the skills to see and react to an emergency situation.
- Check the water temperature is between 37°C and 38°C before you put your child in. Use a water thermometer or your wrist or elbow. If your skin flushes when you put your elbow in, the water is too hot for a child’s skin.
- Run only enough water for washing and play. Belly-button height is plenty for a child who can sit up on their own.
- Use a non-slip bathmat in the bath if your bath doesn’t have a non-slip surface.
- Beware of distractions that could take you away from the bath and make you lose track of time. Turn your mobile to silent and leave it outside the room before you run the bath.
- Watch your child all the time, even if you’re using a bath seat or cradle. A bath seat isn’t a safety device. Without your supervision, bath seats won’t keep your child safe.
- Get everything ready in advance so you can stay with your child for bath time – such as towel & washcloths.
- Let the water out as soon as bath time is over. 5-10 minutes is long enough for a baby bath.
Burns and shocks
A child’s skin is more sensitive than an adult’s, so while something might not be hot enough to burn you, it could still hurt your child. To help prevent this happening:
- Keep hot drinks out of reach of children, and never hold a hot drink and a child at the same time.
- When cooking, use the back plates and turn the pan handles inwards.
- Avoid ironing while a toddler’s around, and put the iron and cord out of reach immediately after use.
- Put straighteners or tongs in a heat-resistant bag and store out of reach immediately after use.
- Prevent little fingers from poking into unused plug sockets with socket covers and always make sure the switch is off.
- Keep matches and lighters out of reach and extinguish any candles, matches etc. completely.
- If you have a fire, use a fireguard that’s secured to the wall.
- Fit smoke alarms, make sure you check them regularly and practise a fire escape.
Potential poisoning
Washing tablets and pods can be very convenient for parents, but unfortunately the pods can look like sweets or toys to young children, so it’s important to keep them locked properly and out of reach and sight of little ones.
Tip:
Make sure you have a good first aid kit with all essentials handy and have important numbers in your phone or somewhere easy to get. For anything major, contact your GP or emergency services.
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