Baby-Proofing Your Home
Baby-proofing your house doesn't mean converting your suburban home into a monastery and declaring vows of celibacy in each of the rooms. Nor does it mean protecting it from the ravages of infants. Baby proofing your home ensures that your newborn will be safe inside her first home. So how do you go about this crucial task?
First of all, use common sense, imagination, and role-playing. Try crawling around your house and you'll be amazed. See that fascinating plastic item with tiny holes right at eye level? Pretend you don't know that's an electrical outlet. But don't panic. You don't have to figure it all out on your own. We have a good list to help you get started.
There are two basic categories of baby proofing: making the house safe for baby (starting in the kitchen and the bathroom - the two most dangerous rooms), and being sure the baby products you buy are entirely safe, meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines, and are used properly.
- Purchase a toilet lock to prevent accidental drowning.
- Secure a soft cover around the bathtub faucet.
- Lock all cabinets containing medicines, cleaning supplies, or sharp objects. Better yet, move cleaning supplies to a higher cabinet and put baby-safe items down low.
- Secure pens, scissors, letter openers, staplers, paper clips, and other sharp items in latched drawers.
- Always keep poisonous items in their original containers to avoid improper use.
- Install guards for your stove knobs or the stove front.
- Remove refrigerator magnets.
- Never dispose of hazardous items (plastic bags, matches, razors, poisons of any kind) in a bin accessible to babies and toddlers.
- Set your water-heater temperature to 120º Fahrenheit.
- Use a rubber bath mat or other slip-resistant surface in the bottom of the bath tub.
- Install a latch on the outside of the bathroom door to prevent unsupervised entrance.
- Use door stops to prevent doors slamming on your baby.
- Put sleeves on doorknobs to bar toddlers from dangerous areas, and be sure to use window and door locks.
- Test all painted surfaces for lead, especially in houses built prior to 1978.
- If you have a porcelain, cast-iron, or steel tub, test it for lead.
- Keep blind and drapery cords out of baby's reach. These are responsible for many injuries and even strangulation.
- Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on each floor of your house.
- Put automatic night lights in strategic places in your home.
- Place non-skid mats under slippery area rugs.
- Install gates (mesh, not accordion style) at the top and bottom of staircases.
- Enclose open deck railings with wire mesh, and use at least four-foot fencing around swimming areas.
- Tie canvas or acrylic panels along open balusters.
- Cover the sharp edges and corners of furniture with cushioned guards.
- Eliminate long electrical cords by keeping them behind heavy furniture, or using outlet strips to consolidate cords.
- Keep appliance cords well away from the edges of kitchen or bathroom counters.
- Place covers on all electrical outlets to prevent electric shock.
Baby Products Checklist.
- Cribs and playpens should have slats no more than 2 3/8 inches apart. (Check any models manufactured prior to 1991.) There must be no missing slats.
- The crib mattress must be snug to prevent entrapment.
- Drop-side latches should securely hold sides in the raised position.
- Crib sheets need to be snug so that the baby cannot pull them loose.
- High chairs must have waist and crotch safety straps and a securely locking tray.
- Bathtub rings must be stable with secure suction cups.
- Crib toys must have no loops or openings greater than 14 inches or longer than 7 inches.
- Toys with pieces small enough to fit into the baby's mouth are a choking hazard.
- Use only flame-resistant, snug-fitting sleepwear. Loose-fitting clothes made of cotton or cotton blends catch fire easily.
- Don't use baby walkers. They allow babies to move at high speeds and have been responsible for thousands of emergency room visits. Consider safe alternatives like exercise saucers, bouncers, or playpens and high chairs.
To ensure product safety, keep in mind some common-sense guidelines. Be sure baby furniture has a smooth surface, a strong and wide base of support, and that it can't fold on or pinch the baby. Use safety straps according to the manufacturer's instructions. Check all bolts and screws for tightness, and ensure that plastic caps on screws or sharp tubing are secure and can't be pulled off by curious fingers.
Remember, your baby is curious and always learning new things. So while you're keeping dangers at bay, why not make baby-safe items readily available? How about stocking low kitchen cabinets with things your baby might love to explore? You'll be flabbergasted at how quickly an 8-month-old can unpack an entire cupboard.
Related Articles
Tips for Transitioning to Parenthood
Green Birthdays (a free downloadable book published by ACNM and Health Care Without Harm.)
*taken from "Safety First," by Tessa Souter, Every Baby magazine, Issue Four.
|
