There is no better sound than your children giggling and playing around. However, if you do not pay attention and childproof your home, that sound could quickly turn into cries.
As a parent, you have a responsibility to maintain safety at home. You might think that your home is the safest place for your kids. But it does not mean that nothing could go wrong.
Household incidents that lead to injuries are more common than you think. This is why it is crucial that you follow essential safety rules. It is the only way that you can keep your bundle of your safe and sound.
The following tips will help maximize the safety of your little one.
1. Never Leave Your Kids Alone in the Bathroom
No matter how much your kids might enjoy playing in the bathtub, you cannot just leave them in the bathroom without any supervision. Do not allow them to enter the bathroom or bathtub without an adult. Similarly, you must not leave them unattended.
Children can easily drown even in a few inches of water. In addition to this, you should get no-slip strips to avoid falls. Keep electrical appliances such as the beard trimmer and hairdryer away from your kids. As for the electric sockets that are within reach, you must childproof them.
2. Keep Baby Cribs Clutter-Free
The next safety rule for kids is keeping the baby cribs clutter-free. Unsafe blankets, pillows, and bedding lead to sudden infant death. Therefore, you must ensure that your little one does not sleep in hazardous bedding.
For maintaining safety, you need to avoid placing cot bumpers, soft toys, and pillows within close reach of your child when you put them to bed. Besides this, you should use a flat mattress for your child and keep toys away.
3. Never Let Your Kids Access Chemicals
Kids love exploring and trying out new things. It is important that you keep detergents and pesticides away as they contain alluring odor and harmful chemicals that could prove hazardous to your child’s health.
Store hazardous items in a locked cabinet that your child would be unable to access. You must also advise your kids to stay away from when you use any solution to clean the property.
4. Childproof the Electrical Outlets
Most kids are tempted to stick their fingers in electrical outlets. As electrical outlets can lead to a fatal situation, you must prevent the possibility of an electrical hazard occurring. Secure unused wall outlets that your child can easily access.
A great way to childproof electrical outlets that are within reach of kids is by creatively blocking them with furniture.
5. Get Your Home Inspected by a Gas Safe Engineer Every Year
The next safety rule that you must follow if you have kids at home is getting it inspected by a gas safe registered engineer. Make sure to receive a gas certificate from the engineer as it would act as assurance. The engineer should notice any issues early on to prevent things from getting worse.
6. Carefully Store Miniature Items
Young children are at risk of choking on toys and miniature items. They tend to grab anything that they come across and place it in their mouths resulting in a choking hazard. Hence, you must keep small items away from your kids.
In addition to the above, you also have to store battery-powered products away so that your child does not access them.
7. Use High Chairs
To ensure that your child remains seated, you should consider using high chairs. They tend to be quite safe and are the perfect option when feeding kids. However, you must ensure that the chair does not tip easily and features child safety straps to prevent slips.
8. Educate Your Kids about Abuse Early
Unfortunately, child abuse is still common. As a parent, you need to educate your kids early on to protect them. There are certain things that you can do to keep your child safe, as mentioned below.
• Never leave your kid alone with a stranger.
• Keep an eye on your child to notice any changing behavior.
• Ask your kid if there is anything new. As he or she grows older, you must explain what the wrong touch is and how to stay safe.
• Install CCTV cameras if you spend most of your time at work.
9. Secure the House Openings
Since kids are unaware of where windows and doors open and close, you must secure the house openings to prevent their fingers from getting stuck.
Simple measures that you can adopt include installing a barrier for the staircase and securing the doors using preventive locks.
10. Maintain Child Safety around Glasses
When your kids run around the house, they can easily bump into glass windows and doors. This is why it is necessary that you use a shatter-resistant film and put stickers to avoid bumping. It will help promote safety at home.
11. Do Not Forget About Backyard Safety
Since kids spend a lot of time in the backyard, you must ensure that it is safe for them to use. There are likely to be various things that could affect the safety of your child. Hence, you must take care of them for good.
The backyard must not have any poisonous or dangerous plants. Your kids must learn to never eat anything from the plants. Besides this, you should not let them play outside when you have sprayed herbicides or pesticides.
12. Teach Proper Pet Interactions
Even though kids love interacting with pets, you must teach them how to properly interact with your dog or cat. Your child should treat the pet gently and never disturb it when it is sleeping. Make sure to monitor when your kid plays with pets.
Takeaway
Keeping your kids safe at home might not be easy. However, our essential safety rules will allow you to look after them without having to worry about something going wrong. Make sure to bookmark our post so that you can go through the tips regularly.
