You probably spent a lot of time making your home safer when your little one was born, but children start crawling at around eight months old, and it’s at this point that you really need to pay attention to your child’s safety. Mobile toddlers can get into a whole lot more mischief while they’re exploring than your average baby, and things that you barely even think about can cause them a lot of damage. Of course, you can’t keep your child safe from everything, and they will hurt themselves eventually, but there are some things that can easily be avoided.
- Secure Your Furniture
Your tall and heavy pieces of furniture might not have caused you any bother yet, but they could easily tip over if your toddler decides that they look like a fun place to climb. Your little one might not have started to do this yet, but, trust me, they will get more adventurous, so don’t take the risk. If you fasten furniture to the wall or floor, it’s much less likely that it will tip over and fall on your baby. You should also make sure that you tidy away and secure any cords, so you’re child can’t pull them.
- Cover Your Radiator
Radiators can cause damage to the skin of adults, so you don’t even want to imagine the harm it could do to your baby if they try to climb it. A radiator cover will stop your baby from touching your radiator and burning themselves, although it will make it harder to warm your home. Instead, you might want to consider getting a heater that can be mounted high on a wall, like the one from Wärme. This keeps your child safe, while also heating your home efficiently, which save you money.
- Reduce Tripping Hazards
Babies fall over a lot, and although it’s heartbreaking to see sometimes, it does get easier, and they do it less often over time. However, some falls can get pretty dangerous, so it makes sense to reduce tripping hazards and to add covers to the corners of furniture. You might also want to change your flooring to carpet, or at least get some rugs so that your little one has a softer landing. Putting a gate at the top and bottom of the stairs will also stop any curious climbers falling down them.
- Protect Their Fingers
Babies’ fingers are tiny, which means that they’re vulnerable. Unfortunately, fearless toddlers don’t understand this, and so will just stick them wherever they like, without a care in the world. This can result in them getting trapped in doors, windows, and other hinges, all of which is pretty painful, so you should get some hinge protectors to keep them safe. You should also put covers on any plug sockets.
You are never going to be able to eliminate all of the dangers in your home, and if you did, your toddler would just create more. Parenting is hard, but as long as you stay on the ball and do your best, then you’re doing it right.
