Your toddler’s safety is of utmost importance to you. You make sure everything and every area is clean and secure for your little one. But, have you taken some time to childproof your home? Often times, parents fuss over too many things that they tend to overlook the place with the biggest threats to their child’s safety and well-being – their own home. It is where most accidents take place. Thus, precautionary measures must be exercised.
During this stage, your toddler knows how to crawl, walk, jump and sit. His day to day activities include tinkering with every visible object around the house and everything is up for grabs. To give you peace of mind, here is a toddler safety checklist along with toddler safety products to help ensure your toddler’s safety around your house.
In The Kitchen
Cupboard and Drawer Padlocks
Place a child-guard lock such as a plastic tag or a magnet fastening on your kitchen cabinets and drawers to keep your toddler away from exploring its contents. As much as possible, keep knives and any sharp and fragile items locked and stored at the uppermost cabinet.
Stove and Oven Covers
Keep your toddler’s hands away from the heat and the stove knob controls by placing stove covers and stove guards in your kitchen stove. A heat resilient cover is best installed to your oven.
In The Bedroom and Living Area
Baby Monitors
Baby monitors are invaluable tools that give you an extra pair of eyes and ears to help keep your toddler safe and secure especially when you are not around (e.g. your little one is in his bedroom and you are in the living room vacuuming the carpet). A baby monitor allows you to instantly detect any problem especially during night time when toddlers are prone to wake up in the wee hours of the morning or have nightmares.
Corner Cushions and Straps
Your toddler may not yet master his balance and perfect his walking. With his wobbly feet, he is prone to constantly fall or bump into sharp edged items and furnitures. Cover sharp points with corner cushions and table padding to prevent bumps and bruises. If your toddler is a climber, always secure your cupboards, bookshelves, TV, dressers and other cabinets to the wall with safety straps to prevent furnitures from falling if he tries to scale them.
Catchers, Grippers and Stoppers
With your toddler being too busy roaming around the house, there is a big chance for his fingers and toes to get squashed between doors. Prevent your toddler’s fingers and toes from getting trapped in or under doors by using different child-friendly catchers, stoppers and grippers.
Electric Cable Shortener
Electrical cables (e.g. TV, lamps, computer and other electronic gadgets) scattered around the floor is very dangerous for your toddler. This invites him to pull and tug the cables that may lead to a head bump or worse, a short circuit. Use electric cable shortener’s to keep them from lying on the floor or hanging in the wall.
Electrical or Socket Plasters
With your toddler’s innate inquisitiveness, you can be sure the holes of electric sockets will excite him. Covering electric plug sockets should be on top of your toddler safety checklist. For every visible electric socket in your bedroom and living room, install removable socket covers or replace the cover itself with built-in sliding covers. These electrical covers are guaranteed to be safe since they are too big for your toddler’s tiny hands.
Window Safety Guards
Secure windows with an easy to install and adjustable window safety guard. You can choose from mesh covers that also serve as a home decoration or opt for window bars made from metal.
In The Bathroom
Faucet Covers
Your toddler can be extremely giddy when it is time for bathing. Prevent your toddler from flooding your bathroom or from getting head bumps and cuts with a faucet cover. These faucet covers come in various colors and shapes that can add extra fun to his bath time.
Toilet and Toilet Cabinet Locks
Secure your toddler from reaching the toilet seat cleansers, disinfectants and other poisonous toilet essentials with cabinet padlocks. Toilet locks keeps the lid tightly closed averting your toddler from drowning or from touching the toilet water.
Take a crawl tour to ensure these toddler safety products are properly installed around the different areas of your house. With the help of these products, childproofing your home will get easier and spotting danger even from outside your home becomes effortless.