Child-Proofing Misconceptions

When it comes to child-proofing your home, not all children are created equal. What I mean by this is that not all children are going to climb into your toilet for a swim or make a disaster of your bathroom with toothpaste and cotton. Not all children are going to get into your refrigerator and throw food all over your carpet, and not all children are going to jump off the couch onto the coffee table.

I learned this lesson when I was a nanny, and I helped to child-proof everything with the mother of the house. What I learned was that this particular child hardly needed any of these things. Now, you might say better safe than sorry but say this within reason. Of course low cabinets with cleaning fluids or poisons should be locked, and when you cook you should turn the pan handles away from the front of the stove. And of course if you have a pool, you want to make sure you have a fence around it with a self-closing and locking gate. You may also want to remove your coffee table while your baby is learning to walk. But it is best to take a "wait and see approach" sometimes with all the new gadgets on the market. Quite frankly you could easily drive yourself to paranoia.

It is good to know all the ways you can child proof your home, but it doesn't mean you will need them all. Companies make lots of money by instilling fear in regards to the safety of your child because it's in their best interest.

Now, don't mix-up child-proofing with earthquake proofing which involves bolting cabinets to the wall, securing hanging pictures that could fall, and moving heavy items off shelves in a baby or child's room. This is important! But before you spend hundreds of dollars on child-proofing your home, make sure your child needs it.

Keep Your Bathroom Safe for Children

The bathroom is probably one of the most widely used and favorite rooms in the house.  This is especially true for children.  Unfortunately this room of fun is also very dangerous and statistics report that thousands of kids each year are severely injured or killed in the bathroom.  So what can you do to make sure your bathroom is safe?  You can use some of the basic and inexpensive products and implement bathroom safety methods to keep your busiest room in the house safe!

One of the most common bathroom related injuries is burns and scalds.  By using a digital thermometer to test water temperatures or installing anti-scald devices on your faucets you will ensure a young child never gets into hot water!  Also keep in mind that hot water running through a metal faucet can be very hot and easily burn a small child.  Always run the cold water through the faucet last to cool down the metal! 

Overflowing bath tubs do not only cause a mess, they can be dangerous as well.  When water levels get to high they can reach hairdryers or electrical hazards and turn deadly.  There are alarms that can be attached to your tub that will notify you when water is running and when it is too high!  These are a great idea for busy parents. 

Another product that you will want to get are faucet protectors.  These blow up, cushioned trinkets protect your child’s head from injury if they slip and hit the faucet.  Chances are at some point they will.  They are cheap and easy to install.  Non-slip adhesives can be a fun way to keep your kids from slipping as well.  They easily affix to the floor of the tub or shower and are a big help for unsteady kids.  While your child bathes use safety seat that suction to the tub to keep them upright and from falling, but never trust them to stay in place.  Supervision is necessary!

Bathroom Hazards Can Be Fixed in an Instant
The bathroom rugs should also be non-slip backed.  Buying toilet seat locks will also keep your children out of the toilet which does present a drowning risk.  Many children have fallen head first into the toilet and drown.  Other safety products for the bathroom include switch plate outlet covers that will make it very difficult for a child to plug anything in.  Many parents resort to using high locks on the outside of the doors that will keep kids out of the bathroom unless intended.  This may be a good means to closing off the bathroom from injury.

The most important thing in bathroom safety is supervision.  Never leave to answer a phone or turn down the stove as it only takes a few seconds for a child to drown!  Your supervision is something that can’t be bought and is truly priceless in preventing injury!

Keeping your kids safe is your number one responsibility; by visiting www.ChildProofingTips.com you can get even more baby safety and childproofing help on various topics from Safety Gates to Baby safety monitors

To buy child proofing products request a catalog or browse online at: www.onestepahead.com