As an adult, you have a pretty good idea of what things in your home are dangerous and how to use them safely. You’ve had your whole life to learn these things. In comparison, children are incredibly inexperienced. They don’t have anywhere near the breadth of knowledge you do. When combined with their impulsive natures, that lack of understanding can be incredibly dangerous. The best thing to do is to keep as many of those dangers out of reach as possible.
Cleaning Supplies
This isn’t an advocation to remove all cleaning supplies from your house. That isn’t practical. What is practical, however, is to move them so they are out of the reach of children. There are a few ways to do this. First, you can move them higher so children can’t reach them.
If you choose this option, watch out for children scooting chairs and stools around to access things out of reach. The second option is to put them in cupboards with child locks on them. There are different types of child locks. Choose the one that you feel the most comfortable using since you’ll have to interact with the lock any time you want access to the cupboard’s contents.
Cords
Cords of all sorts are hazardous to children. The cords on windows are fun to pull on, but children can easily become tangled in them, especially if their bed or crib is close to the window.
Moving your baby’s crib away from the window can prevent them from grabbing the cord. Shorten window cords or switch your blinds to cordless options. Keep electrical cords as inaccessible as possible too. Children may bite them or wrap them around their necks, both of which are highly dangerous.
Access to Outlets
Electrical outlets are another danger you might not think about. You’d better believe that your new crawler sure does though. They look funny and have little holes that are the perfect size for tiny fingers to poke into. That’s incredibly dangerous though. Limit child access to outlets with outlet covers. Like child locks, there are different kinds of outlet covers to choose from. Choose one that makes sense for your home and your budget.
You know sharp corners and knives are dangerous to children. Those hazards are easy to identify and address. Other dangers are less quickly brought to mind. You use things like cleaning supplies and cords all the time. You plug things in and out of outlets all day. They aren’t dangerous to you because you know how to interact with these things safely. Until children have the same understanding, however, it’s best to keep access as limited as possible.
Did you enjoy reading this article? Here’s more to read: What to Be Mindful of When Feeding Your Kids
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