Babyproofing Checklist

Good morning! And to my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I wanted to do a post of babyproofing today. I remember when Don first started to be mobile my husband and I had a moment of anxiety- how are we going to make this place safe for him?! It was important for me to let Don freely roam while also keeping my style. Here are my tips and tricks with a babyproofing checklist.

an Image from when Don was just 6 months old and starting to scoot around!

As a whole, you’d be surprised at how easy it is for our babies to get into any form of trouble at home. In fact, according to Baby Center, close to 2.3 million children are accidentally injured every year. This is why it’s super important to make each room a safe haven, babyproofing every nook and cranny. Sometimes time catches up on us in a blink of an eye. One day we’re capturing videos of our babies crawling and taking his or her first steps, the next thing you know they’re already climbing the kitchen drawers for that freshly baked, homemade cookie.We have a stair gate at the top of our stairs. We love this one that works with our rounded banister on the other side. P.s. this isn’t the best picture of Don- sorry baby! 🙂

Babyproofing the house means ensuring that whatever they might try to climb and open, walk into and play with, they won’t get hurt. In addition, it entails covering all the basics from top to bottom, including smoke alarms, bookshelves, and even carpeting.

To get it all done, it is nice to put aside one weekend to babyproof your home, room by room. For some, it may only take several hours, for others a couple of days. Regardless, it will give peace of mind.

We have cabinet locks on all of our cabinets in our kitchen and bathroom. These are the ones we used and love.

The first room to consider is the kitchen. Move detergents, other cleaning supplies, and mineral supplements from the low cabinets into the top ones. As a rule of thumb, bottom cabinets – even with safety latches – should only have pots and pans, as well as plastic containers and paper products. You may also want to place choking hazards such as refrigerator magnets high up these appliances. Lastly, unplug small appliances like toasters and coffeepots when not in use.When Don started crawling, the first thing he went to was outlets- so we quickly put up outlet covers on every outlet he could reach. We still loving having them on to keep him safe.

Moving to the living room, let’s focus on dangers such as falls and collisions with furniture. Here’s where having a reliable set of power tools becomes handy. One obvious way of going around this is to use a cordless drill to mount bookshelves on walls so it won’t and can’t topple over, as we all know how babies love to climb.

Don loves reading in his nursery. We have an anti-tip bracket added to his bookcase to make sure it doesn’t fall over on him.

It’ll all be elementary once you’re done with your kitchen and your living room. The baby’s nursery, for one, should have a thick carpet – or a rug, at least – to cushion falls. Inside the bathroom, you should have latches for the medicine cabinets, as well as a toilet lock. Similar to the kitchen’s safety measure, it’s also important to unplug small electrical appliances and gadgets to avoid accidents.

Here is a checklist to use to make sure you have everything safe for baby:

You can download it for free here.

All in all, with proper knowledge and the right set of tools, babyproofing your home is as easy and as clear as they come. In hindsight, allotting one weekend to do this can lead to a lifetime’s worth of difference. For more tips about other baby-related topics, be sure to check out the baby section of At Home with Ashley.

 

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