After having a child, you may need to adapt the decoration of your home to suit your child. While some parents prefer to consult an expert, many parents make changes based on supervision. Below are a few points to consider when child-proofing your home.
If you are thinking of changing the decoration of your home, we recommend that you do it before your baby starts walking. Crawl around your home to see the world from your baby’s perspective. This view will help you see which items need to be raised or locked.
Here are 10 useful tips on how to make the home child-friendly:
- Low places... Flowers in pots on the floor, cleaning utensils in the kitchen and electrical sockets attract babies! Electrical sockets should be covered and cleaning materials in the bathroom and kitchen should be kept in a cupboard. Cabinet doors should be closed and locked.
- Small objects on the floor... – especially small toys or play pieces – are of great interest to babies and can be swallowed. It is imperative that your baby or his/her siblings learn that everything needs to be tidied up and put away after they stop playing.
- Baby in the kitchen! Designate a special low cupboard in your kitchen for your baby. Take safe items – such as small pots or pans, plastic bowls and cups – and always guide the baby there when they try to get into other cupboards.
- Stairs... Stairs can also be one of the most attractive places for toddlers. If you have stairs in your home, it may be worth putting a gate at the top and bottom of the stairs.
- Pointed corners... It is a good idea to cover the hard corners of your furniture with a guard.
- When cooking, place the handles of pots and pans facing backwards to prevent the baby from reaching, grabbing and dropping them.
- Curtain cords... Always keep curtain cords up so that the baby cannot pull or tangle them.
- Bookshelves and shelves... Secure bookshelves and other cabinets to the wall so your baby can’t pull them out and accidentally drop them.
- When bathing... Use a non-slip mat in the bathtub and never, ever leave your baby alone with the water.
- Set rules for your baby and be consistent. When someone consistently warns them when they are doing something they should not do, they will understand that “no” is something that should not be done.