Childproofing Your Home on a Budget

Little fingers and tiny hands everywhere. The moment babies start to crawl, by some kind of magic, they seem to be everywhere in the house, at once. They are suddenly seized by this urge to explore, and to follow you wherever you go, such that sneaking out on them is quite a challenge. Most babies start to crawl around the 5-6 months mark, although it is quite possible for some babies to take way longer than that. The crawling stage brings with it the need to babyproof your home and keep harmful and tiny objects away from a baby’s reach. Depending on the setup of your house and the kinds of things you have, babyproofing may be easy or challenging. For whatever kind of house you have though, babyproofing doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Using some DIY hacks, you can easily babyproof within a budget. Harmful Objects To Be Kept Out Of Children’s Reach

• Older sibling’s tiny toys
• All liquids except water
• Medications
• Heavy objects that can topple over an injure a child
• Cutleries and cooking utensils
• All electric equipment
• Jewellery and beauty products
• Petrol and kerosene

This is not an exhaustive list, but it is very important that these items are kept far out of a baby’s reach ALWAYS; to avoid accidents, injuries and poisoning. Here are a few ways you can babyproof successfully. Bathrooms and Bedroom Wherever you have cupboards or cabinets, ensure that all harmful objects goes into them. If possible, lock cabinets after every use and put keys above them so that older siblings won’t open while you are not watching. In the bathroom cabinet for example, I keep all disinfectant, sprays, washing liquid and soaps. They only thing on the sink should be toothbrushes. Inside the bedroom, make sure that nothing is on the floor or in the bedside drawer except sizeable objects that are not poisonous and can’t be swallowed. Keep all jewelleries in the closet to avoid a case of baby swallowing an earring hook and ending up at the hospital. Living Room If you can, get socket covers that protect the surface when not in use. That will keep curious fingers from fiddling with the socket. Otherwise, you can tape an extension box to the wall using adhesives. Remember to always switch off sockets that are not in use. Living room furniture should be sturdy, with no broken legs that can cause an easy topple of the chair or table. Always use a basket or carton box to keep tiny objects, remote controls and keys, and place in a high place. I have a remote control container made from a used soap dispenser, and mounted on the wall above our television set. Kitchen The kitchen is probably the most important when babyproofing. I’ve heard several stories of babies drinking kerosene or liquid soap by accident. The worst is hot oil pouring over from a frying pan. If you can, always lock the kitchen door when not in use, and keep babies out while cooking. Make use of kitchen cabinets and the dish drainer to store breakable plates, cups, pot covers and cutleries. Keep all liquids at only an adult’s arm length. Don’t for any reason assume that lids are too tight to be opened by an infant. As they gain better motor skills daily, the list of what they can accomplish with their tiny hands grow. If you usually fry food using a frying pan, it is best to use the back burner of your cooking gas. They front burners are susceptible to curious hands dragging pots. As soon as the oil cools down, store away your frying pan inside the oven. To babyproof successfully, seek the cooperation of other adults in the house so that everyone knows to return harmful obejects back into their storage places as soon as they are done using them, every time.