House

My baby is doing new and different things every day. It makes it really tricky to keep him safe because I don’t always anticipate what he might get up to next. Can you give general suggestions as to how I can make the house safe?

You really need to look at your house with new eyes. Starting with seemingly innocuous items like pot plants. They will probably have to be relocated for a period of time, because not only are a surprising number of house plants deadly poisonous, but also the soil can cause upsets when eaten!

The list of things to look out for is long. If you do not live on the ground floor it is important to make sure that windows are inaccessible or latched so they cannot open fully, and that there is no furniture nearby for climbing up. Check for anything dangling, such as curtain strings or electrical wires, and install covers over electrical sockets. Check your furniture and fitted units for loose parts such as knobs, and make sure that drawers are secured. Stairs are an obvious hazard and a gate both at the bottom and the top is essential. But would you have thought of making sure that baby cannot get his head stuck in the railings?

Furniture should be sturdy and without sharp corners and loose glass covers. If you cannot store this type of furniture, you need to cover those dangerous corners securely. Those pretty tablecloths and throws will have to be put away for now – many babies have pulled furniture onto them by grasping onto the tablecloth. Any hot device such as a fireplace or radiator should be securely barricaded. Make sure that books and ornaments are stored high up to prevent baby from pulling them onto himself and breaking them. Cupboards and storage areas should all have baby-safe latches to stop baby from accessing them if you aren’t watching. This is especially vital in any cupboard holding chemicals or cleaning materials. By the same token, your hobby items and the type of things that are stored in garages such as tools, must be locked away.

Now that baby is mobile, the condition of the floors becomes important. Loose carpet tiles or chipped tiles can be very dangerous for a baby. Wood floors need to be inspected for splinters. Loose rugs can cause accidents – put non-slip pads underneath and make sure that they are not prone to wrinkle. A carpet wrinkle is an ideal baby tripper! Never have loose rugs at the top of the stairs.

The list goes on and on, but now that you have the idea, you should go through your house with an eagle eye and try and spot any danger zones before your baby does. It is an ongoing task because baby’s skills and strength are developing at a rate which means that you can never be complacent. A task that he could not manage yesterday could be well within his means today.