Word on the street is that one of my sweet baby clients started crawling today! The little one that is at the top of my blog is officially mobile! I just saw the video on her blog, how cool is that? Congrats! Let the baby proofing begin. When we started to baby proof I remember reading that the best thing you could do was to get down on the floor as low as you can go and crawl around so you can see things from your child’s point of view. That really helped us.
Here are some tips that I found on the safe kids website for those who are starting the baby proofing process. Most of them are obvious but I thought I would share anyway for all my clients with little ones.
Keep coins, small toys, nail scissors, and balloons — any item that is small enough to fit inside a cardboard toilet paper roll — out of infant’s reach.
Remove mobiles and other hanging toys from the crib as soon as your child can reach up and touch them.
Shorten drapery and blind cords.
Remove the plastic end caps on doorstops, or replace the stops with a one-piece design.
Drill breathing holes into any trunk you are using as a toy box in case a child gets trapped inside. (And install safety hinges on toy boxes, or buy one with a removable lid to prevent pinched fingers.)
Lock any potentially dangerous substance in an upper-level cabinet. This includes alcoholic beverages, household cleaning formulas, laundry supplies, medications (including nonprescription varieties like vitamins, children’s Tylenol or Advil), paint, kerosene, gasoline, charcoal, lighter fluid, bug spray, pesticides, and fertilizers.
Place houseplants out of children’s reach; know the names of all plants in case a child eats one of them.
Keep a bottle of Ipecac and activated charcoal in your home, but use only when instructed by a medical professional.
Cover every electrical outlet in your home with a child-resistant outlet cover (the plastic plugs are easy to pry out).
Install ground fault circuit interrupters on outlets near sinks and bathtubs since they stop the electrical current when an appliance gets wet.
Place screened barriers around fireplaces, radiators, and portable space heaters.
Install hardware-mounted safety gates at the top and bottom of stairways with two or more steps. Pressure-mounted models may not be strong enough.
Pad the edges of coffee tables and brick or tile fireplaces.
Remove the crib bumper pad as soon as your infant can get up on all fours since baby may use it as a step to climb out.
Position audio/video equipment so children cannot pull televisions or stereos off furniture.
Keep appliance cords wrapped short so children cannot pull coffee makers, toasters, and other appliances.
Secure bookshelves, entertainment centers, and bureaus to walls since they can topple onto children who use furniture to pull up and stand.
For more information about creating a child-safe home, visit the National Safe Kids Campaign at www.safekids.org.
Oh and now for the something to make you smile…. This little video is floating around on the internet, I love this little one’s laugh! It sure made me smile! If any of my clients out there want to share videos just email me and I’ll gladly post them here on my blog.
One Comment
I’m giggling at picturing you crawling around the floor looking for safety hazards…but only because I did it too
Thanks for these tips!!