Child Proofing Checklist

This is a true story...

Once, a busy mom spotted her baby chewing something. Feeling certain she'd kept everything away from baby's path, she let him chewed on.

"Oh, it must be the soft biscuit I gave him earlier" she thought.

She continued about her house chores. Then, it suddenly occurred to her that if it was food, he would have swallowed it a long time ago. In panic, she coaxed open his mouth and found, to her horror ... a diamond earring!

Now, this is not to tell you that baby's mouth spouts diamond earring once in a while.

Your home can be a potentially hazardous place for baby. You can never be too careful with home safety if you have a curious crawling baby around.

Child Proofing Your Home

You have got to child proof your house. Ensure that your home is a safe haven and not a danger zone for your baby.

Baby grows into a toddler quickly. From a fast crawler, to avid runner, to determined climber. His curious little mind eager to explore his new and wonderful world, knowing and caring nothing about potential danger. Everything he chances upon is a marvel to him, and he'll naturally examine, see, touch, taste and smell it.

Baby's adventures are inconvenient for mom but absolutely necessary for his development.

There are two things you have to do. The first thing is to keep an eye on him, and the second thing is to start child proofing your home before he becomes active.

Although child home proofing will not guarantee total safety, it does help in deterring or slowing him down from activities that may hurt him.

So let's get started, let's check your home room by room, and outside your house for potential hazards as well. Let's get down to ground level and explore everything from baby's angle. Check that everything is within child safety level. Yes, child house proofing can be tedious.

This is the general child proofing checklist, listing the common precautions that you should do for the entire house:

General Child Proofing Checklist:

• Install safety latches and locks on cupboards, cabinets and drawers that contain potentially harmful items. These locks should be strong enough to withstand willful pullings and tuggings from your baby or a young child.
  

• Use specially designed door stops and knobs that prevent a young child from opening forbidden doors.
  

• Use child proofing safety gates to block areas where young children shouldn't be, like the fireplace.
  

• Tie up blind and drapery cords to prevent strangulation when young children play with them.
  

• Tape down any cords that can't be hung or tied up.
  

• Cover all electrical outlets to prevent electrocution when your baby or young children stick their fingers in.
  

• Use child proofing window guards to prevent young children from climbing out.
  

• Use corner and edge bumpers to cushion sharp corners of furniture.
  

• Install smoke alarms at every level in your home.
  

• Keep a first aid kit at home and know what to do with its contents.
  

• Keep a list of emergency phone numbers near to the telephone.
  

The following are specific checklists for individual rooms and the exterior of the house:

Child Proofing Your Baby's Bedroom:

• Remove any pillows, diapers and clothes from your baby's crib. Some parents keep such items near to baby for convenience. It is not safe because your baby may move a lot and drag something over his face and suffocates.
  

• Remove the lock from your baby's bedroom door. A baby needs no privacy and it is to his advantage not to have a lock lest it malfunctions and ends up locking baby inside the room.
  

• As your baby grows into a toddler, don't place furniture too near the window to prevent him from climbing onto them and falling out.
  

Child Proofing The Other Bedrooms:

• Go through all your rooms one by one and identify all hazardous items in them. Either throw them away if they aren't really needed, remove them or lock them up.
  

• Don't just look for obvious items that can cut, hurt or poison a child. Examine all objects. Anticipate what a curious young mind would do with them. Some innocent looking objects can be harmful. For example, small novelties, knick knacks and whatnots are dangerous. Some minors are fond of inserting these into their noses, ears or mouth.
  

• Lock up all cosmetics, finger nail polish and remover, medications and vitamins.
  

• Keep the keys to your locks at a place where your child can't reach
  

Child Proofing Your Washrooms:

• Some common washroom products are hazardous if consumed in large quantity. Examples are mouth wash, ointments and creams. Store them on levels that your baby or young child can't reach.
  

• Put nonslip mat in the bath tub to prevent slipping when bathing a young child.
  

• Never leave your baby alone in the bath tub unattended even when he can sit independently. Water of a few inches high is known to have drown babies.
  

• Put safety latch or lock on toilet seat to prevent baby from lifting the lid and falling into it.
  

• Always set the hot water temperature to around 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent a young toddler from scalding himself if he can turn on the tap.
  

• Or if you prefer, put a safety cover on the faucet handle. Or use an anti-scald device for faucets and shower heads for regulating water temperature. Get a plumber to install these if you can't do it yourself.
  

• Put a latch high on the washroom doors to keep baby out.
  

Child Proofing Your Living Room:

• Do away with table cloths so as not to tempt a crawling infact to tug at it.
  

• Tape down the telephone cord to prevent baby from chewing on it.
  

• Use a cordless phone which you can bring about the house and into every room.
  

• Look out for hard surfaces and sharp corners in your furniture and the fire place and cover them with padding.
  

• Put a guard around your fireplace to prevent your baby from crawling too near it.
  

• Secure all furniture and make sure they don't fall onto your baby or young children when they accidentally push them.
  

• Minimize having furniture totally or partly made of glass.
  

• Avoid using glass doors, or use safety glass that can't be broken. Tape designs on them so that children can see them and won't run right into them.
  

• Check and remove poisonous house plants.
  

Child Proofing Your Stairs:

• Install stairway gates at both the top and bottom levels of the stairs to keep young children where they should be.
  

Child Proofing Your Kitchen:

• All chemical substances like detergent and general household cleaning products should be placed high or securely locked.
  

• Look out for common household products such as meat tenderizers and spices. They can become toxic if consumed in large quanity too.
  

• Lock away sharp objects like knives and scissors, and items like glasses and china that can cut a child when they're broken.
  

• Use child proofing safety latches on drawers and cupboard doors where potentially hazardous items are stored.
  

• Purchase only items that are safe and eco friendly.
  

• Place utensils with the handles pointing backwards away from curious little hands.
  

• Use the back burners of your stove when you cook, avoid using the front ones as much as possible so as to prevent scalding a child who touches them.
  

• Avoid using tablecloths on the kitchen table.
  

• Place a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, which is the most likely place to catch a fire.
  

Child Proofing Your Garden and Backyard

• Remove poisonous plants and plants that attract bees and other harmful creatures from your garden and backyard.
  

• Check for decaying branches and roots in trees. Cut down diseased trees lest they fall easily.
  

• Fertilizers, pesticides and gardening tools must be stored away.
  

• Place big buckets or pails beyond a child's reach.
  

• Check all fencing for sharp and rusty edges.
  

• Make sure holes in the ground are covered.
  

Child Proofing Your Garage:

• If you have wooden walls, check for splinters and protruding nails.
  

• Place gasoline, paints, oils and other toxic products in locked cabinets.
  

• Install a carbon monoxide detector to detect gas leakages.
  

• Discard old refrigerators, washing machines and other bulky items with doors, or lock up the doors so that young children will not be trapped inside when they play hide-and-seek.
  

• It is best to make the garage out-of-bounds and be strict about it.
  

Child Proofing Your Play Area:

• Check that your play area is safe. For example, look for spaces that can potentially trap or choke a child if he sticks his head into it. Is the flooring padded to cushion falls?
  

• If you have swings, check that the ropes are always secured, and if it is hung by chains, ensure that it is not rusty.
  

Child Proofing Your Pool or Pond:

• If you have a swimming pool or wading pond, don't leave young children unattended there.
  

• Don't install electrical appliances too near to the pool or pond area.
  

• Don't hang Christmas lighting near the pool or pond.
  

• Keep a life-saving equipment nearby, such as a buoyant life ring on a rope for emergency.
  

• Install a pool alarm to alert you that a child has fallen into the water.
  

• Have a first aid kit near the pool.
  

• Install a telephone near to the pool for convenience, so that an adult can answer a call and still be around to supervise children playing in the pool.
  

• Fence up the pool and lock it when there is no adult supervision.
  

Child Proofing Afterthoughts:

Have you ever notice how young children love to place their stuff on certain shelves and cabinets? Do not reprimand your child if he likes to do so. Play along with him, exploit this trait to protect him. Give him designated shelves, cabinets or cupboards in those rooms that he frequents, yes, even in the kitchen, and teach him to use only those spaces that belong to him. This will cut down his urge to reach for the other off-limits cabinets in the house.

Sometimes, a baby or a young child gets restless when he is bored and then he'll wander around and gets into trouble. Child proofing only prevents him from getting near stuff that are dangerous to him. A more proactive approach would be to engage him in meaningful activities before he gets bored. Keep him near to you, but provide him with lots of educational and intriguing toys to play with, and spend quality time with him outdoor. In this way, he gets to explore, learn to concentrate and bond with you.

There is one more thing worthy of mention. If you have older children who can help look after their baby brother or sister, only get them to do if they are mature enough to exercise care with baby. However, if they are immature, have poor judgements or are hyperactive, leaving them to tend to their baby brother or sister may cause more harm than good.

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