This September, we are celebrating the annual National Baby Safety Month so we are sharing a few tips to keep your baby safe at home.

Our home is the only world that our baby knows and as naturally curious as they are, our babies are going to explore every inch of homes and they would most definitely be crawling and reaching every step of the way and it is very important that baby safety is practiced every step of the way. That is why it is very important for us adults to make sure our homes are both baby friendly and child friendly.

It is never too early to start thinking about baby safety

It is actually best to start baby-proofing your home when you are still pregnant so that it’ll be ready for your new baby when you return home from the hospital. Don’t know where to start? Try to go down to your baby’s eye view, yes that means you have to crawl down all around your house and crank your neck up (I guess, baby safety is a good exercise too!) In this way, you can see what object should be removed that might potentially be dangerous to your baby when he tries to reach for it. Keep chemicals, medicines, foods and sharp objects out of the reach of your baby to avoid incidents of  poisoning, choking and cuts.

If there are sections of your house that you do not want your baby to crawl to then install baby safety gates to prevent them from entering unsafe portions of the house. Baby safety gates are most useful to avoid baby’s from crawling towards the stairways.

Cover all sharp edges of your furniture, walls, posts and appliances with pillows or blankets. This baby safety tip is especially useful when your baby is at the stage of crawl from one place to another. Also, make sure that cribs, chairs and other furniture your baby may climb on is away from the windows.

It is very important that you do not leave your baby alone, whether on a high chair or at the bathroom. Supervision for a curious baby is one of the very important rule in baby safety. If you are still left confused on how to practice baby safety then it is best to consult a professional and get some advise on how to keep your baby safe.

How old is your baby now? Is your baby entering the age of 18 months and above? Well, Congratulations! Your baby is now a toddler. Welcome to the toddler years. The next few months will be extra challenging for parents as they can already run, jump and shout amongst other things. They were not called ‘ the terrible twos’ for nothing.  And on that note, it is time for you to increase the safety level around the house (If you haven’t done this already).

Image by Darny via Flickr

Your toddler is bound to be active (for as long as he or she is awake) and an explorer. So they will tend to look, reach and touch many things. They also tend to be attracted to stairs. (I don’t know why but most of them want to climb!) Knowing all this, you have to make sure that your house is toddler proof! Here are some tips.

• Make sure that there are no small objects like coins, pebbles, or crayons on the floor as they will put these in their mouth. (No kidding!) They tend to taste everything. As a matter of fact, they eat everything. If they can eat and taste their potty trainers, they will (I’m not even exaggerating). So make sure everything is sanitized accordingly.
• Position your TV, DVD players and electronic machines in a stand next to a wall to decrease the risk of anything falling on your child. If you can bolt them down, all the better.
• Install child safety gates at the top and bottom part of the staircase to minimize the risk of nasty falls. FYI, they like to climb up and down so you really have to watch out.
• Put a cover on your electrical outlets. Those are a common buy in hardware stores. Kids at this age like to insert stuff or their fingers in every hole they see.
• Put padding on pointed corners and table edges for they are sure to bump into these, however carefully you are watching. It will take time for their peripheral vision to work well!
• Keep all accident prone materials, medications and household chemicals out your child’s reach.

I guess it all comes down to this advice, ‘Don’t ever leave your toddler unattended!’ They are in their ‘exploring-mode’ at this time so they will try out everything, especially when your back is turned. And you will want to be with them as they discover about the world? Of course, it’s understandable that you will not always be with your toddler; just make sure that someone responsible is with them when you’re not around. As they say, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. So, please, be aware of your child’s surroundings for they will really taste, bump, reach, touch and climb on whatever they can, whether you like it or not!