Sleep well, eat well, and do well. Everything in one place – your home. Since you have some kids of your own though, you simply gotta think about the safety on your room.
Forget about the lying bottle of beer all around the floor from your bachelor’s flat. Forget about leaving your boots just like that in the corridor.
From now on you have to think properly and creatively in order to make sure that your toddler lives in safety and clean area, without any kinds of risks.
We are not messing around, it’s serious. You will step on Legos and action figures, you will slip on banana leftovers and step on cookie crumbs, but nevertheless you will stand strong and deal with it as a grown up.
So let’s think about the safety space in your kid’s room. It’s a tricky one, because probably everything you thought you knew till now is wrong. Hence, there we go with some useful tips and trends for good and safety sake.
First things in the list
Start with the obvious stuff.
DO NOT leave any hardware or heavy things hanging on the walls for no reason. Framed pictures, photos, paintings, mirrors, unnecessary shelves or mirrors- your kid does not need them. Yet. He barely knows what he wants for a snack. So keep it cool for now with those paintings and framed art for at least…let’s say the next fifteen years.
Secure the cables
Secure any kind of feeder cables or dangling around lamp cords, TV set cables and stuff like that.
Any kind of electricity is not OK with the children’s room atmosphere, because such devices could be pulled off by the kids, just because they find everything interesting and curious.
So use socket covers in case you need them, cause little fingers could “peep” in everything that looks worth touching.
The staircase
Avoid any kind of stair-like constructions- drawers for example. They can be used as a ladders by your kid (read the article “How to babyproof stairs“). And since there is a ladder, it is very interesting for him to climb it and see what’s going on up there.
It’s also probably not alright to leave shiny, colorful and breakable items which will attend the children’s interest and make him trying to reach them. Just you need it use child-proof latches on lower drawers.
Bunk beds – a bad idea for a small children
Bunk beds look very cool and just to be honest even grown-ups find them fun to sleep in. There’s nothing more cool actually in having a fun childish night talks and jokes with your buddies on each floor of the bed.
But that kind of bed is probably for the already big kids. Since you have got yourself a toddler, it’s better not to try this at their room. Especially if they are under six years old.
Instead try the idea of cabin beds near to the floor or thematic ones- connected with the child imagination.
The Furniture
Secure or just get rid of freestanding furniture, especially if it’s not so much needed in the room. Or at least deal with it by fixing it to the wall with anti-toppling devices such.
Straps or fixing brackets are a perfect decision for the task. This way you will be sure that every tall piece of furniture is well fixed and there is no way for it to fall down and create mess or injuries to someone.
The right place of the things
Think about the location of the bed. It’s probably the most important thing to be decided in arranging the kid’s room for a start.
Beds ought to be away from any windows. Nearby positioned devices, radiators, ledges, shelves and appliances are not OK.
Speaking of windows, if there are any, think about childproofing them. For this purpose you could use latches that will not let the window to be opened from no one except you.
Such special appliances could allow you to open the window about ten centimeters, allowing fresh air in the room, and in the same time no harm for the children in the room.
Pillows
If your kid is still a baby keep pillows, fluffy comforters, and even soft stuffed animals out of the crib in the first four to six months – all this for safety sake.
Bumper pads
Since the child is old enough to stand on his/her feet, remove bumper pads and any toys from the crib.
They could serve as “stepping stones” to climb out, especially when everything in the room is already super interesting for him/her.
Choking hazard
Do not forget about them.
There is a time when toddlers stop putting as many things in their mouths as when they were babies, BUT kids are still kids and they are pretty unpredictable.
Make sure you rid the room of any choking hazards when you are toddler proofing the room.
Anything that fits into an empty toilet paper roll is a good rule of thumb to use when considering a potential choking hazard. So…be aware and prepare yourself.
Look at me
And last but definitely not least – you must have some kind of monitoring devise and methods for the kids.
Video monitors, baby phones are pretty good decision. It’s kind of weird to monitor a sleeping toddler, but, hey – you can’t be too careful.
