crawling baby, walking toddler 10 safety tips for your little one
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Crawling Baby, Walking Toddler - 10 Safety Tips for Your Little One
That first step your little one takes is one of the biggest and most exciting
milestones for you as well as your child. However, as exciting as it may be, it comes
with its set of risks. Once a baby starts crawling or walking, you would be surprised
at how quickly the skill is mastered and how quickly they gain speed! They can go
from one corner of the room to another in just a few seconds. However, as quickly
as they may gain speed, it takes them a good long while to be able to balance well.
So watch out for frequent tumbles and wobbles. In short, if you think you can take
your eye off them for even a few seconds, you are sorely mistaken.
Your baby’s newfound mobility brings along with it excitement and pride for you but
curiosity for your baby. He is excited to try his new skill out all the time and explore
every corner of the house. That’s where babyproofing comes in. Child safety is
kicked up to a whole new level once your baby starts moving independently.
Now, it isn’t always necessary to call in an expert to baby proof your house. You can
buy child safety kits and baby proof your home on your own, too.
So here are a few easy safety tips and tricks you can use to make your home safer
for the baby to explore.
Keep Dangerous Stuff Out of
Reach
Most of us have specific places for all our stuff.
When your baby is crawling, anything hazardous
or even potentially dangerous has to be stored
out of reach. Find tables and other surfaces that
are at least 3½ or 4 feet high to keep your stuff.
Chemicals like cleaners and bleach should be out
of sight in a lockable cabinet.
Phone chargers, laptop adapters, ashtrays,
money, candles, fragile decorative ornaments,
and anything your child would potentially use as
a “teether” should be well out of reach.
Get Rid of Floor Lamps
and Vases
Once your baby is crawling, it is time for
decorative household items like floor vases
and lamps to go straight into storage. You
don’t want your baby to get tangled in the
lamp wire or knock over the vase and get cut
on broken glass.
Clear out Some
Furniture to Make the
Room More Spacious
Once your baby is crawling, it makes sense to
rearrange your furniture in a way that there is
plenty of uninterrupted floor space for your little
one to crawl around. You don’t have to do this to all
rooms, just the one in which your baby spends
most of his day. Relocate some furniture to other
rooms, or put some furniture away into storage.
This will significantly lower the chances of your
little one bumping into things or knocking his head
on the corner of a table.
Bring Back the Furniture
to Support
Your Walking
Baby
Once your baby graduates to the walking
stage, it is time to bring back the furniture.
Walking babies will initially need support to
stand up. While they learn to balance while
walking, they will often stumble and having low
furniture around will give them something to
grab on to (thus preventing falls and potential
injuries).
Baby Safety Gates are a Must for Homes with
Staircases
If you have a staircase in your home, you
have to get a baby safety gate . There are no
two ways about it. A crawling baby can easily
tumble down the stairs if left unwatched
even for a second. Walking babies may
attempt to climb down themselves and get
seriously injured in the bargain.
Lock Away
Dangerous Tools
This one is a no-brainer. Especially if tools
are in the garage, and the garage door is
left unlocked, you don’t want your baby to
get anywhere near them. You could
consider having a lockable toolbox or
cabinet to store your tools.
Hanging them on the wall may also be
dangerous once the baby learns to climb
onto the work surface.
Secure Heavy
Furniture
Babies go from walking to climbing in no
time at all. They will attempt to climb
everything in sight and it is therefore
imperative that all the furniture in your
house that could potentially topple over, be
secured to the wall or the floor. You don’t
want your bookshelf toppling over on to
your precious little one.
Cover Your Pool
with a Net
If you have a pool, you have to be extremely
cautious about pool safety. Covering your pool
with a net should do the trick (provided the net
is tightly fastened to poles near the pool).
Another option would be to install a fence
around the pool with a lockable gate so that
even if your toddler did wander outside
unattended, he would be safe.
Consider Investing
in a Foldable Play Pen
If you have tons of work to catch up on and need
an hour or so of uninterrupted time, consider
buying a foldable play pen. You can block off one
area in your home, fill it up with safe toys, cushions
and blankets and let your baby play in there. You
know that he/she is safe and can’t get out unless
you let him/her out. These play areas are
particularly handy if you have more than one child.
.
Childproofing Is Not a One-time
Thing
It is very important to understand that
childproofing your home is not a one-time
thing. As your baby grows and learns new
skills, you will realize that more and more
things need to be kept out of reach. Be
alert to your child’s habits and skills and
anticipate ahead of time what could be a
potential hazard so that you can eliminate
it before anything serous happens.
In all honesty, no amount of babyproofing or
setting up fancy baby-safe equipment is going
to guarantee that your child will not get hurt.
Babies and toddlers are bound to bump their
heads or take a tumble once in a while, with or
without babyproofing. The best home safety
you can provide is constant, vigilant
supervision.