Baby Proofing Your Kitchen and Bathroom
Babies develop and learn extremely quickly the first year. For Mom and Dad, it’s exciting to see how fast they become mobile. Your little baby has gone from cooing on the floor to racing across the room towards the nearest outlet. Children are naturally curious. Tasting, touching and feeling are how infants and toddlers learn about the world around them. Take a moment to look at your surroundings from a baby’s point of view. Then make any necessary adjustments to baby proof your home.
The bathroom and kitchen are the two most dangerous rooms in your house. Here are some ideas to help you with your baby proofing in those rooms:
The Kitchen:
Put baby locks on all cabinets and drawers below your waist level. Most baby locks are easily installed with nothing more than a screwdriver. Baby proofing your drawers is vital as a baby or toddler can pull out an entire drawer on top of himself (not to mention what hazards may be inside them). Heavy pots, pans and cans of food can injure a baby if she drops them on her toes. You might want to leave one cabinet unlocked and fill it with plastic dishes and wooden spoons for your baby to play with.
Remove all cleaning chemicals, dish soaps, plastic grocery bags and any other hazardous materials from lower cabinets. Even if your cabinets have locks installed it is better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes babies can figure out the locks faster than adults. If a cabinet door gets left open you know who will be the first one to notice.
Put outlet covers on every kitchen outlet. A fork found in the kitchen is just begging to be stuck into something!
Put a baby proof lock on your refrigerator door. Refrigerators do not contain much oxygen and a curious baby may get trapped inside. At the very least a baby could drop a heavy jar on her toes or even get a hold of alcoholic beverages.
Place a baby proof lock on your oven door. Oven doors are easy for a baby to pull open and serious burns could occur. When you are cooking always remember to use the rear burners whenever possible and turn pan handles in toward the back of the stove so they can’t be pulled on top of baby.
Push all items back on the counter. A baby or toddler will try to grab anything within his reach so keep all sharp knives, heavy objects and things that could burn far back on the countertop.
The Bathroom:
Install a slide-bolt latch on the outside of the bathroom door to prevent young children from entering.
Install toilet and cabinet locks and keep all medications and cleaners and caustic chemicals up high and locked up. Colognes and perfumes and hair products can be extremely damaging to children if swallowed.
Use a non-skid mat under slippery area rugs and in the tub, and always stay in the bathroom with a child who is bathing. A baby can drown in only one inch of water. Your water heater should be set at 125 degrees or lower and you should test baby’s bathwater with your arm, not your fingertips.
Keep all of your flat irons, curling irons and other appliances off the counters of the bathroom and unplugged. Even an appliance that is turned off, but still plugged in can be dangerous.
Images: ohdeedoh.com, parentingpink.com
Safety tips: National Safety Council
