Toddler-proof your home

Once your baby starts crawling, she will be like a little tornado – rushing round the house and getting into everything she can reach. This makes her extremely vulnerable to accidents – and it’s up to you to prevent them. Here’s a room-by-room guide to keeping her safe

Although we feel safest at home, in reality it’s where most accidents occur. And children are especially at risk – every year, over 67,000 kids experience an accident in the kitchen alone.

The first step to preventing those accidents is to put yourself in your child’s shoes and, more importantly, at her level. Try crawling round the house to spot all the potential hazards that await her.

Plug sockets, sharp corners on furniture, loose stair carpets, glass ornaments, kitchen cupboards full of toxic cleaning products – they all need to be dealt with before she starts crawling.

• Life skills to teach your kids

Kitchen

• Store cleaners, solvents, bleaches, dishwasher detergent and other poisons out of reach in a locked cabinet.
• Cook on the back burners and always turn pot handles to the back.
• Fit a safety guard over the oven door, install a cooker guard, and cover or remove the hob controls.
• Store breakables, things your toddler can choke on, and other dangerous objects out of her reach – remember that toddlers can climb on to kitchen counters.
• Put latches on all cupboards and the fridge door. But keep one cupboard unlocked and filled with lightweight, safe items to distract her.
• Store all knives and plastic bags out of reach.
• Unplug small appliances and never leave electrical cords dangling.
• Always keep hot drinks away from the edges of tables or counters.
• Chef dad: involving your kids in cooking

Bedroom

• Move your child from cot to bed when she reaches 87cm/35in.
• Use a bed guard to prevent falls from the new bed and/or put padding on the floor next to her bed.
• Alternatively, place her cot mattress on the floor.
• Don’t surround her with too many pillows and blankets, as these can cause suffocation.

Living room

• Put safety plugs in all unused sockets (throughout the house), anchor floor lamps or remove them and hide electrical cords behind furniture so they can’t be yanked.
• Cover controls on the TV, stereo, VCR, DVD player, etc.
• Attach corner and edge guards to all furniture that could become a hazard (throughout the house) and pay special attention to the hearth and fireplace.
• Always use a fireguard when a fire is burning, and store logs, matches and fireplace tools out of reach.
• Put all breakable ornaments out of her reach, or put them away for a few years.
• Reorganise your bookshelves – toddlers love to empty these.
• Move plants out of reach.
• Some things to plan ahead for in your child's life

Bathroom

• Keep medicines, razors, pins, mouthwash, cosmetics, perfume, nail polish and remover, scissors and other dangerous objects out of reach.
• Keep all medicine cabinets latched.
• Use soft covers on bathtub spouts and taps and put a non-slip mat in the bath.
• Install a toilet seat lock.

Stairs, windows and doors

• Use a safety gate at the top and bottom of the stairs, especially if they are steep.
• If stairs are carpeted and not too steep, some parents let their baby crawl up and back down – keeping a close eye on them for the few weeks it takes for them to learn.
• Keep sliding glass doors closed and windows locked.
• Shorten the cords on curtains and blinds to get them up out of children’s reach.
• Use netting to enclose the rails on balconies and porches so your toddler can’t squeeze through.
• Use doorstops to protect her fingers.
• Screen time: how much is healthy?

Garage and garden

• Garages are often full of hazards – pay special attention to electrical and other tools, paints, antifreeze, insecticides and other hazards.
• Toddlers should never be left unsupervised in the garden – but pay special attention to ponds (which are best emptied or covered while your children are young), lawnmowers and other dangerous tools/appliances.
  Buy safety products online at Boots.

Author

Dan Roberts is a feature-writer and columnist with over ten years’ experience of working for The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Daily Express and Mail on Sunday, as well as numerous national magazines. His areas of expertise include health, wellbeing, relationships, psychology and parenting. Dan also writes two monthly columns, including Diary of a Single Dad, a humorous but affectionate account of raising his ten-year-old son, Ben. The best of Dan’s work can be found on his website at www.dan-roberts.net

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