When I first bought my apartment, having a baby was a hopeful thought for my husband and me, but not yet a reality. Then, after almost 10 months of moving delays and renovations, we moved into our new home within just weeks of our baby's arrival. The silver lining of a stressful year was that we were able to plan our home with babyproofing as our top priority. With every renovation decision, we considered how safe our home would be for a curious baby who explores with their mouth and a toddler who is guaranteed to try to find their way into every closet and cabinet.
In order to make the best babyproofing decisions for my growing family, I went straight to experts in home design and safety to guide my plans. I worked with a designer at Modsy, a virtual interior design company, to help me create my open floor-plan living room and dining room. I also spoke to the team at Poison Control to learn about the biggest health and safety risks found in homes. With these experts, I discussed every possible safety hazard in the home to make sure I had all the babyproofing essentials—like locking up chemicals and softening sharp corners—covered.
Even if you're not starting from scratch at home, you can still ensure your home is babyproofed. Simply take a few days to look over your own space and make sure each room is safe from potential hazards as your baby starts crawling, walking, or starting to climb. Here's how to tackle babyproofing room-by-room.
1. Tackle the Big Things First
If there are some big babyproofing projects or repairs you've been putting off, now's the time to tackle them. Replace that broken window, fix the leaking hot-water heater (it should be set below 120 degrees F to avoid a scalding hot bath for the baby), and check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. If your house was built before 1978, it's also important to determine if you have lead paint on the interior windowsills, door frames, and other areas, says Kelly Johnson-Arbor, M.D., medical toxicologist and co-medical director of the National Capital Poison Center.
"In an older home, peeling or chipping paint surfaces may represent a source of lead exposure, especially for young children and toddlers who are crawling around or touching those surfaces," says Dr. Johnson-Arbor. "Never attempt to perform your own renovation or repair of lead-based surfaces; always use a lead-safe contractor (the EPA website is a helpful resource for this)."
Also, look at your existing furniture to consider what pieces should be mounted to the wall to avoid tipping. If you're in the market for new furniture pieces, you don't have to sacrifice style for safety, explains Alessandra Wood, vice president of style at Modsy, but you should look for items that come with anti-tip kits, have higher safety standards, rounder corners, and fewer chemicals used in production.
"My mom always said to me: You can have nice things when you have children, you just have to teach your children to have respect for them," says Wood. "We think children will be destructive little people, but we can teach them how to respect the things around us." That said, toddlers are going to grab at and hold on to anything within reach when learning to walk—and also might walk or fall into anything that's in their path. So, it's important to consider what potential dangers they could encounter.
2. Assess the Kitchen
Consider which potential hazards your child may be able to access in your kitchen. If your home layout is anything like mine, you likely have an open-concept kitchen. This means even if you are in the living room, your mobile baby can easily find a way to the cabinets or pantry and your typical doorway gate won't be an option.
No need to panic, but it's a good idea to invest in modern childproof cabinet locks. The former owners of my apartment used stick-on plastic latch locks that all but damaged the wood on the cabinet doors. Needless to say, we had to rip them out and start from scratch. Avoid that mess by looking for magnetic locks that can be mounted on the inside of cabinets while offering the same safety features and easy adult access. Also, put away any dangerous items like knives and consider stove-knob covers to prevent your baby from turning on the burners once they're standing.
While it might be common to keep cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink, Dr. Johnson-Arbor suggests finding a new place for them that is high up and out of reach. "This is especially true [since] the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people are keeping cleaning supplies close at hand; we may also be using cleaning products that we have not used frequently in the past," she says.
"Some cleaning products have colorful labeling which may appeal to young children; disinfecting solutions may feature citrus scents or similar fragrances, and young children may not know that products that smell good may also be poisonous. Always keep these containers well hidden from young children, in an area where they cannot reach by climbing or crawling," suggests Dr. Johnson-Arbor.
She also reminds parents to avoid transferring cleaning products into other containers that aren't properly labeled, even if it looks more organized or helps save space. "This is potentially quite dangerous as young children and other individuals in the home may not realize what is actually present in the container."
For safety and convenience Wood suggests avoiding a glass top table since they can be less stable than wood or metal ones and skip styling the room with a rug under the table you most commonly eat at. "In early life stages, you don't want a rug under the dining room table because of spills or messes," she says. "That rug is going to need a lot of cleaning and care—if you have hard floors leave them exposed until you have controlled eaters."
3. Check Out the Living Room
The biggest risk in the living room is falls and collisions with furniture that has pointed edges. If you have sharp corners to deal with, add some stick-on corner cards. You could also look at some trendy furniture options on the market like rounded coffee tables or soft ottomans that can be used as a table, which are especially appealing if they have storage, suggests Wood.
When dealing with fabrics for couches or chairs, check the cleaning codes and look for upholstery that is a high-performance material, meant for everyday use, and one that wears and cleans well. "Other options are slipcovers," says Wood. "There are ones that can be washed and dried in your own machine or go to the dry cleaner and come back looking brand new."
For any electrical outlets or GFIs near the ground, look for childproof coverings and if you have blinds or shades on windows, make sure they are cordless since cords are a known strangulation hazard.
4. Move to the Nursery
In this room, function is the most important thing to keep in mind, says Wood. "Have proper storage for everything in there if this is the main room for taking care of your baby," she suggests. "I love dressers with detachable toppers. Safety is there, it is meant for this purpose. Then when you don't need a changing table anymore, you take off the topper and have a dresser that can grow with them."
When it comes to decorating the space, avoid hanging anything directly over the crib and changing the table that the baby can grab and pull. "As much as you may want a beautifully staged nursery with a gallery wall behind the crib, it is not the safest," says Wood. "Instead, consider painting an accent wall, using wallpaper, or even a wall decal. These are great since they cannot be moved and still provide an aesthetic element."
Also, advises the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), "Review your family's home and habits often to make sure your safeguards remain appropriate for your child's age." So, continually reassess your child's environment.1 For example, if they get new toys for their birthday, be sure they are stored in a safe way and assess each item for any choking hazards. Additionally, once your child is able to climb out of their crib, ensure the area around the crib is as safe as possible for a potential fall and/or consider moving them to a toddler bed.
5. Don't Forget the Bathroom and Laundry Room
Since the bathroom and laundry room are where you likely keep your medications and cleaning supplies, they require some special attention. "Since adults are older and bigger than young children, we don't always think like children in terms of poison prevention and childproofing," says Dr. Johnson-Arbor. It's important to get on your hands and knees to see if any products, choking hazards, or other dangers might be accessible from a child's height. Remember, if they see something that looks tempting, they might get on a chair or attempt to climb to it.
She says common household items like laundry pods, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and attractive soaps may be appealing to young children but dangerous if ingested. "Keep all medications (both prescription and over-the-counter) well out of reach of the younger age groups... Child-safe packaging is helpful, but toddlers are smart and may be able to open child-resistant pill bottles."
Additionally, suggests the AAP, add nonslip strips to the bathtub to prevent falls during bathing and a toilet lock to keep your curious toddler from "investigating" the potty. Clean bath toys regularly. Keep any plug-in appliances like hairdryers stored up and away to avoid a child using them and/or accidentally dropping them in water. Most importantly, be sure to always supervise your child in the bathroom to prevent drowning—babies can drown in just a few inches of water.2
6. Do a Final Sweep
Last but not least, take the time to do a sweep of your living environment in a way that's individualized to your own family and lifestyle. Look at the big and small things you interact with at home and consider their value in your life and possible safety implications. Reassess safety on a regular basis as your child ages and develops new skills (such as crawling or pulling up) or your home changes. Look at your environment from your curious child's perspective to spot potential hazards.
Call or pediatrician or poison control with any questions or concerns, says Dr. Johnson Abor. "There are two ways to get poison control help: you can call 1-800-222-1222 or go online to www.poison.org. Both options are free and confidential, and provide expert, evidence-based recommendations."
Additional Babyproofing Tips
- Check your doorstops; many have removable caps that pose a choking hazard.
- Clear cosmetics and shampoos off sink and tub ledges, as they pose a poison risk.
- Cover radiators and heating vents to prevent burns.
- Keep toy batteries safely stowed away; they can leak acid, causing serious burns.
- Make sure all of your houseplants are non-toxic varieties. Some plants are extremely poisonous.
- Place locks on liquor cabinets; alcohol can be poisonous to young children.
- Place safety gates at the entrance or exit to any room that's off-limits to your baby, such as a formal living room, office, or stairs.
- Use a play pen or child seat or swing in areas that can't be fully babyproofed.
- Vacuum regularly to suck up loose change, paper clips, or any other small items that can cause choking.
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