Childproofing Tricks for Your Home

Childproofing Your Home

Parenting means putting your child’s safety first, always. In your own home, that means saving your child from his or herself by anticipating and preventing dangerous scenarios. While there are some aspects of childproofing that you simply cannot skimp on, such as securing heavy furniture to the walls, there are other safety measures that can be accomplished on a dime. Many of these quick fixes are simple enough that you can bring them along on trips or can be left up if a family member watches the baby for a long weekend.

Cover Corners

Much like tennis balls are used on the bottoms of walkers to prevent floor scuffs, they can also be cut and placed on the sharp corners of coffee tables and other furniture to soften bumps.

Keep Chemicals Out of Reach

The most important step for keeping your child safe from chemicals is keeping them out of reach, and you can take that one step further by putting them in secured plastic bags before putting them in a safe, unreachable spot. This way, even if a child reached the chemicals, they would not be able to access them.

Repurpose Pool Noodles

Fireplaces, tables, even chairs can pose a threat to your bobbling toddler, but you can neutralize that threat by slicing one side of a pool noodle and slipping it over the edge. Problem solved!

Secure Cabinet Doors with Elastic Bands

As soon as kids realize what wonders can be found behind cabinet doors, they’ll want to pull everything that remotely resembles a knob. If you’re tired of cleaning up pots, cereal, or paper towels strewn around after a cabinet breach, try slipping an elastic hair band around the cabinet handles. Much like store-bought childproofing tools, it keeps little ones from opening the cabinet far enough to wreak havoc.

Remove Stove Knobs

If you’re worried about your child accidentally turning on burners and starting fires, there is an easy fix: simply remove the knobs. Most knobs come off easily with a slight pull and can be stored in a drawer and re-attached when you want to use the stove. You won’t even need any tools to remove them!

Cover Outlets

You don’t need those little clear plastic plugs to keep probing fingers out of outlets– duct-tape will do the trick and hold up just as well. Another great strategy is to strategically rearrange heavy furniture to block access to unused outlets.

Tie Up Blind Cords

Dangling cords can present a choking hazard for little ones, so re-use twistie ties from bread bags and simply tie up cords beyond their reach (and within your own, of course).

Sam Radbil is a contributing member of the marketing and communications team at ABODO, an online apartment marketplace . ABODO was founded in 2013 in Madison, Wisconsin. And in just three years, the company has grown to more than 30 employees, raised over $8M in outside funding and helps more than half a million renters find a new home each month.