What to remember when baby-proofing your home

When you see the world through your child’s eyes, everything is new and exciting. However, safety-wise, everything is much more dangerous. For this reason, baby-proofing your home is an essential practice to avoid any unfortunate accidents.

While many parents prefer to wait until their baby becomes mobile, it’s never too early to consider the hazards that may be lurking around your home, some of which often go overlooked.  

Beyond baby gates and doorknob covers, you can secure your home with plenty more latches, locks, guards, and covers to keep your tot safe in every living space.

Bedroom: Sleep safe and sound

With suffocation being one of the leading causes of infant mortality, it is imperative that parents pay close attention to items in and around the crib. First, the crib sheet should fit tightly around the mattress so your baby doesn’t become entangled, which can cause other injuries as well.

Additionally, the crib mattress can be extremely dangerous if it isn’t the right size. When the mattress is too small, your baby can get caught between the mattress and the crib sides, no matter how small the gap is. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t be able to fit more than two fingers between the mattress and side of the crib, as any space greater than that can pose a risk to your baby.

Living room: Tipping the TV

Think your flatscreen is safe because it’s high up on a dresser, out of your toddler’s way? Think again. Many parents fail to consider that although these items are out of reach, they can still present a danger when they are tipped. To avoid this, anchor televisions, mirrors, and big frames to the floor or mount them to a wall.

In order to baby-proof your home most efficiently, consider how your baby will experience the living space from their perspective. Don’t be afraid to cruise around on all fours to determine what is reachable/enticing.

Bathroom: Staying afloat in the bathtub

Babies can drown in just one inch of water, so you need to keep your eye on them constantly while bathing them. In addition to constant bathtime supervision, a baby bath seat can ensure that your baby stays upright in the water at all times.

As adults, we have built up an impressive resilience to heat that babies have yet to acquire. For this reason, parents and caretakers must always be wary of water temperatures during bathtime, especially once your child starts to explore and play with the faucet. Some parents even opt for anti-scald shower heads to avoid this risk.

Don’t overlook the toilet as a drowning hazard. Hygienic or not, curious kids often find themselves playing in the toilet and without any precautions, they can fall head-first, get their head stuck in the seat and drown! This horrifying situation can be avoided entirely with a toilet lock.

Babies in condos

As more couples decide to start a family in their condo unit, frightful hazards are presenting themselves in smaller spaces. While it goes without saying that the balcony door should stay locked, parents should take the same precautions with windows, especially with the growing window-wall trend becoming a staple in new buildings across the GTA.

The curtains covering floor-to-ceiling windows can be a dangerous threat to infants and toddlers, who are susceptible to being entangled in dangling cords and strings.  

We hope that these tips make baby-proofing your home a breeze!