Friday 13 March 2009

Time for Childproofing


It is amazing how quickly the little ones have transformed themselves from being "little blobs" that couldn't even roll over, to these very mobile hyper-active little people in just a few months. It all happens so fast !!!

I am usually quite relaxed with them, letting them get on with their stuff as long as they are ok and safe. I was by my desk this morning, twittering whilst the little ones were sitting on the kitchen floor having a snack.... or so I thought. Heard some noise but only thought they were playing with their plates (plastic of course) and cups. Turned around (we live in an open plan apartment, so I can see and hear them very easily) to check on them. There they were, both in the cupboard, getting everything out !

Time to really get on to doing some childproofing. Quickly !

This is my checklist:

Kitchen
  • Lock all lower cupboards and drawers (immediately).
  • Make sure all appliances and cords are unreachable for the little ones, who seem to grow taller on a daily basis..
  • Make sure all cleaners and chemicals are stored safely, in either a locked cupboard or high up.
Living Room
  • Check all furniture are stable (Apparently, one of the most common accidents children have in their homes, is them pulling a piece of furniture over themselves). If not stable, either move it or try and secure it to something. Big pieces of furniture, for exemple free standing cabinets, should be tied to a stud in the wall.
  • Check that plants are not poisonous.
  • Move furniture away from the windows, to avoid falls from window sill or worse.
  • Put up stair-gates.
Office
  • Tidy up all cables.
  • Make sure printers etc. are out of reach.
  • Cover wall-sockets that are not in use.
Nursery/Playroom
  • Check toys are safe, ie.choking hazard, strangling, toxicity etc.
  • Secure all climbable or unstable furniture to stud in wall.
  • Make sure mirrors and pictures are hung safely. Never hang them above your babies bed.

Bathroom

  • Get a bath-mat (extra long one if possible) to avoid your child slipping in the bath.
  • Lock all toilet lids. A small toddler can easily tumble into the toilet head first !
  • Remove electrical appliances that are not in use. Make sure they are not immediately next to the bath and out of reach for your toddler.
  • Make sure all medicine and products are "safe"
General
  • Make sure no plastic bags or dry-cleaning bags are floating around anywhere.
  • Cover all sockets that are not being used.
  • Make sure blind/curtain cords are not within reach for the little ones.
  • Make sure all corners, at child's head level are covered/padded.
These are the only things that I can think of so far, but will have a little crawl around, at their level to see if there are any other potential hazards later.

Better safe than sorry ! x









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