Your house maybe a safe haven for raising your baby, but it is also full of hidden dangers. Here are some common safety hazards around the house you need to be aware of.
General
Sharp Corners and Edges
Many furnitures have sharp corner and edges that may bruise or cut your baby. Glass coffee table with exposed edges or corners is particularly hazardous since they are at right height for accidentally cutting your child.
House Plants
Once your baby is old enough to crawl around, a house plant may attract the curious adventurer to put it in his or her mouth. Certain house plants are poisonous to ingest. Make sure all your house plants are safe if accidentally eaten.
Power Strip
It is perhaps the first thing you could think about as a potential danger to your baby.You should try to have them hidden behind inaccessible furnitures. For the exposed ones, install power strip cover so your baby will never accidentally jam a metal object into the sockets.
Heavy Furniture Tip-Over
Many serious accidents have happened due to young children climbing up opened drawers and causing the furniture to tip over and crash on them. Check around the house to make sure all such furnitures are securely anchored to the wall.
Small Parts, Plastic Bags and Balloons
Be aware of small parts from toys and applicants that may break off and cause choking. Keep plastic bags away from your baby as there is always the risk of accidental suffocation. Never give your baby access to latex balloons as they can easily drape over the entrance to his or her larynx and completely seal off the passage of air.
Doors
Doors can be very dangerous things to those delicate little fingers. An accidentally slammed door may handicap a child forever. Pay extra attention when your baby is playing around doors. You can also install devices to prevent doors from fully closing.
Bedroom
Keep the crib away from the window; if it has to be by the window then make sure you install window guard to prevent the it from opening wider then your fist. If you use blinds for shading, choose the cordless version to avoid accidental strangulation.
It is a good idea to invest in a baby monitor so that you can keep an eye on the child at all times.
Put your baby to sleep on his or her back. Research has shown sleeping on the back greatly reduce the risk of SID (sudden infant death).
Kitchen
Lower cabinets in kitchen are where cleaning products are usually stored. But if you have young children around, move these products to higher storage spaces.
Store cutleries and small applicants in places out of your baby’s reach.
Lock your dish washer since knifes and other sharp utensils may cause injury to your baby if they gain access. The dish washing detergent is also poisonous if accidentally ingested.
To reduce the risk of choking, don’t feeding your baby a whole grape, peanuts, hard candy and other small hard pieces of food until they are much older, and sit your baby upright when feeding.
Bathroom
Make sure your bathroom door can’t be accidentally locked, and keep it closed so your baby won’t have unplanned access to it.
Install a rubber spout cover to avoid painful bumps.
Wipe puddles dry immediately to avoid slipping.
Keep the toilet cover closed or purchase a toilet cover lock. A few inches of water is a big enough drowning risk for your baby.
Make sure your bath tub never contains standing water.
Lock away all your pills.
Unplug your hair drier to avoid the risk of electrocution when it comes in contact with water.
Read More
Parenting.com, “20+ Tips for Babyproofing Your Home”, available at <http://www.parenting.com/gallery/babyproofing-your-home?page=0>, accessed on March 6 2017.
Parents.com, “Home Safe Home: Childproof Your Home Room by Room”, available at <http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/safety/toddlerproofing/childproofing-home-room-by-room/>, accessed on March 6 2017.
Pampers.ca, “Baby safety around the house”, available at <https://www.pampers.ca/en-ca/mommy-corner/home/article/baby-safety-around-the-house>, accessed on March 6 2017.
Baby Home Safety, “SAFETY TIPS”, available at <http://www.babyhomesafety.net/safety_tips.htm>, accessed on March 6 2017.
Your house maybe a safe haven for raising your baby, but it is also full of hidden dangers. Here are some common safety hazards around the house you need to be aware of.
General
Sharp Corners and Edges
Many furnitures have sharp corner and edges that may bruise or cut your baby. Glass coffee table with exposed edges or corners is particularly hazardous since they are at right height for accidentally cutting your child.
House Plants
Once your baby is old enough to crawl around, a house plant may attract the curious adventurer to put it in his or her mouth. Certain house plants are poisonous to ingest. Make sure all your house plants are safe if accidentally eaten.
Power Strip
It is perhaps the first thing you could think about as a potential danger to your baby.You should try to have them hidden behind inaccessible furnitures. For the exposed ones, install power strip cover so your baby will never accidentally jam a metal object into the sockets.
Heavy Furniture Tip-Over
Many serious accidents have happened due to young children climbing up opened drawers and causing the furniture to tip over and crash on them. Check around the house to make sure all such furnitures are securely anchored to the wall.
Small Parts, Plastic Bags and Balloons
Be aware of small parts from toys and applicants that may break off and cause choking. Keep plastic bags away from your baby as there is always the risk of accidental suffocation. Never give your baby access to latex balloons as they can easily drape over the entrance to his or her larynx and completely seal off the passage of air.
Doors
Doors can be very dangerous things to those delicate little fingers. An accidentally slammed door may handicap a child forever. Pay extra attention when your baby is playing around doors. You can also install devices to prevent doors from fully closing.
Bedroom
Keep the crib away from the window; if it has to be by the window then make sure you install window guard to prevent the it from opening wider then your fist. If you use blinds for shading, choose the cordless version to avoid accidental strangulation.
It is a good idea to invest in a baby monitor so that you can keep an eye on the child at all times.
Put your baby to sleep on his or her back. Research has shown sleeping on the back greatly reduce the risk of SID (sudden infant death).
Kitchen
Lower cabinets in kitchen are where cleaning products are usually stored. But if you have young children around, move these products to higher storage spaces.
Store cutleries and small applicants in places out of your baby’s reach.
Lock your dish washer since knifes and other sharp utensils may cause injury to your baby if they gain access. The dish washing detergent is also poisonous if accidentally ingested.
To reduce the risk of choking, don’t feeding your baby a whole grape, peanuts, hard candy and other small hard pieces of food until they are much older, and sit your baby upright when feeding.
Bathroom
Make sure your bathroom door can’t be accidentally locked, and keep it closed so your baby won’t have unplanned access to it.
Install a rubber spout cover to avoid painful bumps.
Wipe puddles dry immediately to avoid slipping.
Keep the toilet cover closed or purchase a toilet cover lock. A few inches of water is a big enough drowning risk for your baby.
Make sure your bath tub never contains standing water.
Lock away all your pills.
Unplug your hair drier to avoid the risk of electrocution when it comes in contact with water.
Read More
Parenting.com, “20+ Tips for Babyproofing Your Home”, available at <http://www.parenting.com/gallery/babyproofing-your-home?page=0>, accessed on March 6 2017.
Parents.com, “Home Safe Home: Childproof Your Home Room by Room”, available at <http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/safety/toddlerproofing/childproofing-home-room-by-room/>, accessed on March 6 2017.
Pampers.ca, “Baby safety around the house”, available at <https://www.pampers.ca/en-ca/mommy-corner/home/article/baby-safety-around-the-house>, accessed on March 6 2017.
Baby Home Safety, “SAFETY TIPS”, available at <http://www.babyhomesafety.net/safety_tips.htm>, accessed on March 6 2017.
