If you just moved to a new house or apartment with a baby or toddler, there are specific precautionary measures that you must take immediately for the safety of your little angel. What you shouldn’t delay doing, not even with a day, is called babyproofing – the process of identifying and eliminating potential hazards for your child in the new home.
In fact, babyproofing your new home should be a top-priority task for you simply because the safety and health of your little one is your top priority as well.
You must babyproof your home soon as you can, even before you’ve started unpacking the boxes. Remember that your baby or toddler doesn’t look at the world from an adult’s point of view, so go from room to room, get on your knees, and start looking for those household hazards that could prove to be problematic later on.
Here’s the best way to babyproof a house after moving into it – a room-by-room childproofing checklist that should give you the peace of mind you need in order to concentrate on another important post-relocation job as well – unpacking.
Is babyproofing a new house really necessary?
The short answer is: YES!
The main issue when moving into a new home is that the new place will be completely unfamiliar to you, in a sense that you won’t know all of its secrets yet. Such a strange setting can hide potential dangers even for experienced adults, let alone for really young children who are starting the learning process from zero.
It is believed that children between the ages of 1 and 4 are very susceptible to accidental injuries from fire, water, hazardous substances, and falls. So, until you’ve made sure every room in the new home is 100% safe for your baby or toddler, you have to assume that it may contain possible hazards and threats that could hurt your little one.
Babyproofing a new house is a must-do safety measure that consists of two separate yet closely interconnected tasks: 1) identifying all conceivable dangers for your child, and 2) eliminating those risks and hazards so that the new environment is completely safe and risk-free for your kid to explore and enjoy.
See also: Is it better to move before or after a baby is born?
Babyproofing checklist: NURSERY ROOM
The nursery is the room where your baby or toddler will spend the most time in the new home. And that’s exactly why it should be the first room you make completely safe for your son or daughter.
- EMPTY the crib of any stuffed animals or other toys, blankets, bumpers, comforters, and pillows to minimize the risk of accidental suffocation. The only thing you should leave inside the baby crib is a fitted mattress sheet.
- PLACE a thick carpet by the crib to break the fall if somehow your baby manages to escape the confines of their own bed.
- MAKE SURE the changing table is stable enough so that it can’t possibly tip over and hurt anyone. Secure it to the wall right away.
- INSTALL cordless window blinds that pose no threat of accidental strangulation for your baby or toddler. Also, install window guards, if necessary.
- PLACE electrical outlet protectors throughout the entire room to eliminate the risk of electric shock. Also, install those protectors throughout the entire home as well.
Babyproofing your house: BATHROOM
You may not regard the bathroom as a dangerous place, but dangerous for your baby it is. Statistically speaking, drowning is one of the leading injury-related deaths of children in the country.
Follow these safety tips for babyproofing the bathroom and stay on your guard at all times!
- NEVER LEAVE your baby or toddler unattended while you’re giving them a bath in the tub. Nothing else matters except one thing – you should never have your hands off your baby, not even for a second! If you must get out of the bathroom for something very urgent, ALWAYS take your little one with you.
- MAKE SURE you have a good grip on your baby while you’re giving them a bath. For increased safety, use a towel when you’re taking him or her out of the tub.
- VERIFY that the water temperature is not higher than 120 °F (49 °C). Otherwise, it can scald the delicate skin of your baby boy or girl.
- PLACE non-skid strips or non-slippery mats throughout the entire bathroom floor to avoid slipping accidents.
- INSTALL a toilet lock and keep the bathroom door locked when not in use.
- SECURE the medicine cabinet, making sure it is well beyond your child’s reach.
Read also: How to move house with a baby
Childrproofing your home: KITCHEN
The kitchen can be a really dangerous place and accidents there usually happen in an instant. After all, that room is full of sharp objects and you, as a parent, can easily get distracted while cooking.
Follow these babyproofing tips for an accident-free kitchen experience.
- BE SURE to either secure the cabinet doors against opening or remove all hazardous chemicals and cleaning supplies under the sink – move those supplies to a safer place.
- USE the back burners of your cooking stove and place specially designed knob covers over the cooker’s knobs.
- MAKE SURE the high chair you use to feed your child is stable enough (high-chair accidents are on the rise) and use the straps to immobilize your baby or toddler and prevent accidental slips out of the chair. Also, position the high chair in such a way that it can’t be accidentally tipped over by another person or a pet.
- KEEP an operational fire extinguisher in the kitchen at all times and be sure to know how to use it properly in case of an emergency.
Babyproofing house checklist: LIVING ROOM
The living room may seem like a fairly safe place for your baby or toddler but it can still hide a number of dangers for your little one. Childproofing a home after a move is not to be underestimated.
Take a good long look around the living room to identify and neutralize any potential threats for your baby boy or baby girl.
- MOUNT securely the TV to the wall so that the danger of the set tipping over and hurting your little child is eliminated.
- SECURE the TV cables using soft cable ties (adjustable cord straps) instead of hard plastic zip ties. Make sure no TV wires are dangling aimlessly around the TV set.
- FIX bookcases securely to the walls so that they cannot possibly tip over. Babyproofing bookshelves is more important than you think! Also, place heavier books at the bottom to minimize the risk of the bookcase tipping over and hurting your child.
- CHILDPROOF all sharp corners of the living room furniture, especially the ones of a low table. Install soft corner guards on all furniture edges to minimize the risk of puncture wounds.
- INSTALL a protective screen in front of the fireplace if the new house has a fireplace in the living room.
- KEEP remote controls in a safe place, out of your child’s reach. Of course, the biggest danger that a remote control hides for children is the batteries inside it.
Babyproofing a house: STAIRS
If you just moved to a house, you must keep in mind that stairs and the immediate area around the staircases in the house are one of the most dangerous places for your baby or toddler.
Make sure you childproof the stairs in the new house as soon as you can:
- INSTALL safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs to cut the access to the staircase itself. Hire a licensed professional to do mount those safety gates if you have no idea how to do it.
- CHECK whether the stairs are well lit. If not, fix that issue ASAP.
- USE the handrails (banisters) for additional support when you’re carrying your baby up or down the stairs.
Use the above house babyproofing steps to keep your child injury-free. Babyproofing a home after moving is a must-do task which you should not postpone for later or discard completely. Remember that prevention is the best medicine so you must act quickly before anything bad happens to your little angel.
