Childproofing The Kitchen And Bathroom
How can I make bath time safe for my children?
Bath time is such a fun time, and it's so easy to make it safe. In fact, if you have a tiny infant, I find that the safest way to bathe your child is to hop in the tub and bathe with your baby. That way you've got a handhold on your child, they're not slipping under, and you're right there. It's also a nice bonding time with your child. But when your babies get older and you need to step out of the tub and get them washed, it's important to make bathtime safe by making sure that you have a bath mat so that the child isn't slipping and falling. It's also important for bath safety that you have a spout cover, so that your baby isn't getting scalded or burned, or in fact standing up into the faucet and cutting or injuring him- or herself. It's also important for bath safety to make sure that the toys you have in the tub don't pose choking or strangulation hazards. Probably the most important thing for bath safety is to never leave your child unsupervised during bath time.
Do I need to babyproof my toilet?
Childproofing the toilet may be an issue, as some babies have been known to go into the bathroom and reach into the toilet, fall in, and not be able to simply stand up and get out, and have drowned, unfortunately. So, toilet locks are extremely important childproofing devices, because toilets are inviting to babies. So, I've found a toilet lock that I really like that is nonadhesive. It clips to the side of the toilet, and all you simply need to do is put your fingers down on the little buttons simultaneously and it opens up the lock very simply. Some daddies and mommies don't like toilets childproofed with toilet locks, but if you spread the word and explain how to open and close the toilet lock, it can be installed in your home and used effectively.
How should I babyproof my bathroom cabinets?
Baby-proofing the bathroom cabinets is important. Simply installing latches or locks is a great way to make them childproof. Also, being sure to take any type of toxic chemicals out from underneath the cabinet is a great idea. You should always make sure that any type of toxic or hazardous chemical is completely removed and put up in a high, faraway cabinet.
How do I make my kitchen safe for my children?
As a mom you are going to be spending quite a bit of time in your kitchen and it is important to baby proof this area of the home. So it's important to cook on the back burners to make the kitchen safe for children, you've probably all heard that one. Turn the pot handles away so that your baby can't walk past and grab a pot handle, and to keep children safe in the kitchen it is important not to let your children play with pots and pans. I've seen women give their baby a wooden spoon and a pot to bang and have fun and it sounds benign, however, two days later when you're cooking sauce on the range and your baby sees that pot they were playing with, they think, "Oh my toy!" and they go to reach up and grab it. So you don't want to send the wrong message. So think about the message that you're sending to your child. Be sure to change your behaviour in the kitchen, to keep your children safe for example if you're cutting up fruit and you're interrupted, because we know, as mommies, we are interrupted all the time. Be sure that the knife you're using is not in reach of the baby. If it is on a tea towel make sure that you remove the tea towel so that the tea towel can't be pulled down and the knife can drop on the floor and be in reach for the child.
How do I make my kitchen appliances safer for my children?
Babyproofing the kitchen appliances is fairly simple. There are different types of childproof locks that you can use for your refrigerator, for your dishwasher, for your trash compactor, for your range or stove top and then even the oven. When babyproofing your dishwasher, there are different products that you can use. One of my favourites is a lucite piece of plexiglass that goes across the front face of the dishwasher and keeps your child from opening it, pushing the buttons, destroying it, so you don't have to replace it, and keeping your baby out of the dishwasher is important because there is toxic dishwashing liquid right there in the washer and also knives, and you know, other kitchen utensils that aren't safe for your baby. Keeping your child out of the oven is clearly important and there are some great locks that work for that. We have our favourites, and keeping your child off the range or keeping your child away from the knobs is important. We have different products that we can use to keep the baby from turning the knobs. They find that so fascinating. Another way to babyproof your kitchen is locking off the refrigerator, which is important because children can climb into the refrigerator and be deprived of oxygen and that's a safety hazard, but they can also open up the door and pull out condiments and other things and then there's the risk of glass breaking, so it's pretty problematic if they get into the refrigerator as well. And trash compactors are obviously unsafe, and must be childproofed, so locking everything up is a great idea to make sure that you have a babyproofed kitchen.
How can I keep medicines and other dangerous products from my baby?
Keeping medicines and other dangerous items away from your baby is obviously a great idea. There is a product that is a called a medisafe which is in fact a safe and has its own combination code and you can put your medicines in there and be sure that your child will never get into your medicines if you use that product. I find that magnetic locks work wonderfully in bathrooms where you have these items and keeping your child completely out of the bathroom and locking off the bathroom, disallowing access unless you are there to supervise, is another way of keeping your baby safe in the bathroom.
How are doorknob covers used in childproofing?
Doorknob covers can be used to lock off certain rooms, one of the cheapest ways to childproof your home. And doorknob covers work well if the knob of the door is round. Sometimes it's egg-shaped, or sometimes it's a lever shape, and the knob covers clearly won't make these childproof because they won't fit. And when that happens, there are different types of locks that can be used on the door top. We have a door lock here that is one of my favourite products. It's aesthetic and it will work on any door that is the normal standard door height, and these products are wonderful because the baby is disallowed access to wherever it's turned on.
At what age do children need to have doorknob covers installed for their safety?
The doorknob covers work when your child is up and walking and able to do side-to side wrist movement. However, if you have lever locks in your home, your baby can get into that room even before that child is walking age, because all they have to do is crawl over to the door, climb up the door, and then hang on the lever lock and they're in. So, I would say, for crawling-age children, you probably want to put the lever locks or the top door locks on, like I said, when they're crawling. And when your toddler starts to walk, it's a good time to put on those knob covers.
