It is super exciting when your once-tiny, immobile baby starts to crawl around – or even bum-shuffle across the floor. There really is nothing cuter or more precious than watching them explore their surroundings and discover the world around them. Before you know it they are toddlers, running around and climbing on everything in sight.
While it is fun and exciting, it also means that it is time to think about ‘child-proofing’ your home, to make sure that they can explore the house safely. Those fragile ornaments and candles you had on your fireplace probably aren’t going to last very long – they are exciting toys to a baby on the move. And those stairs? They look like a fantastic big mountain to get to the top of.
Here, we look at just a few of the things that you might want to look at to make sure that your home is safe for a baby on the move.
Start at the bottom
It can be difficult to know what a baby or toddler will see as something interesting to play with, and therefore is hard to know what could constitute a danger. The best thing to do is literally get on your hands and knees, at child-level, and try to explore your home from their perspective. Ok, you might feel a little daft, but it will throw up some interesting things! Do you have pets? Their food and toys can be very appealing to a baby who is putting everything in their mouth. The same goes for plugs and wires, switches, and stones in fireplaces.
Baby gates
Baby gates from foryourlittleone are priceless, and when used properly, they can provide peace of mind and safety for babies anywhere in the house. Use on the top and bottom of staircases, as well as anywhere in the home where the flooring level changes. They can also be used to close off areas of the house that you do not want your child to access, such as the kitchen or the bathroom.
Make sure sharp edges are rounded off
The sharp corners of a fireplace or coffee table or dining table can be painful enough for adults when they bump into them or stub their toe – now imagine a crawling baby or tumbling toddler falling over and crashing their eye or head into them? You could, of course, move the furniture out of the room, but if that is not an option, you can buy corner protectors to put on them. Cut up foam pool noodles also make excellent bump guard for fireplace surrounds.
Cupboard locks
People naturally think about securing doors and cupboards at an adult level, but they forget about doing it from a child’s level. After all, your baby is not the same height as you, and doors and cupboards can be opened from the bottom as well. Secure them at baby’s level to avoid trapped fingers or them easily traversing the baby lock from a different position .