How to Child-Proof Your Home

Bringing a child into the world can be an exhilarating and exhausting process. As they grow up, they’ll naturally begin to explore the environment around them. That means prodding, climbing on, and often biting things. This is only natural, healthy, and part of growing up – but we need to ensure that it’s all done within reasonable safety boundaries.

Let’s take a look at the steps we might take to make a home a safe place for a growing child to be.

Secure Furniture

One instinct that children will have as they grow up is the urge to climb. But they might not always climb on the things that they’re supposed to climb on. Sofas, chests of drawers, bookshelves, tables – they can all be irresistible.

It’s when these items are prone to toppling that the problems begin. Bookshelves, in particular, must be secured to the wall. That way, when your child climbs up them, they won’t risk pulling the entire thing down on top of them.

Restrict Access

There are certain parts of the home that will always be dangerous to children. You might think of a staircase, which for very young children can pose a serious threat. We can deal with these threats with the help of the right baby gate. Look for one that can be secured to the wall, and that’s substantial enough that it can’t be overcome by a persistent toddler. Similar locking mechanisms can be attached to kitchen and utility room cupboards – particularly ones where harmful chemicals are stored.

Remove Risks

In some cases, we don’t need to think about how we can mitigate a particular risk: we can instead remove it altogether. Blinds which are drawn with strings can instead be drawn with rods. Candles can be stashed away, in favour of LED lights which replicate the effect of a naked flame. Radiators can be enclosed by a suitable surround – with particular emphasis on pipework, which can get extremely hot.

Electrical Hazards

One of the great things about living in Britain is that we have some of the best, and safest, plug sockets in the world. The live connectors are actually concealed behind a shutter mechanism, which opens only when the top socket is occupied – which is why the top pin is longer than the other two.

It’s for this reason that the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents does not recommend the use of plug covers. Your plugs are already covered, but what does make a difference is how your cabling is managed, and how your batteries are stored. Keep the former tied up and concealed behind your television or computer; keep the latter out of reach in a high cupboard.