Is Your Home Ready For The Pitter Patter of Tiny Feet?
Whether you’ve just found out you’re expecting or are planning to have children in the near future, chances are there are a million things going through your mind. Baby names, finances, work and maternity leave and everything else. But have you put much thought into your home? While our homes are our happy places, there are many dangers and considerations you need to think about when bringing a baby into it. Here are just a few of them.
Install Baby Gates
One of the main ways you can childproof your home is with the use of baby gates. Keeping your child confined to one room is useful when they start to crawl and walk. It prevents them from entering the kitchen which could be hazardous or climbing stairs which could easily be fallen down. While you will of course need to carefully check each room for hazards and put them right, baby gates are a particularly useful way to keep your child safe.
Have Window Locks Fitted
While it will be some time before your newborn is a curious toddler, this is something worth doing right away. Thousands of children fall from windows each day, many of them to their death- it’s just not something you should risk. Very small children have managed to climb onto furniture, onto window ledges and open the windows, so locks are needed.
Make Sure You Can Control The Temperature
Babies are very sensitive to temperature. In fact, overheating can actually be a cause of sudden infant death syndrome. Keeping an accurate thermometer in your baby’s room is essential, and you need the means to control the temperature. This means air conditioning from a company such as farnendermer.com and central heating. Many systems can now be hooked up to your smartphone so you can keep a close eye on everything and adjust as you need.
Clean Your Carpets
You might pride yourself on having a clean home, and regularly clean the floors to keep them at their best. However, carpets are traps for all kinds of unpleasant things. In fact, the average carpet is home to traces of faeces (from shoes and pets paws), allergens such as dust and pollen, dead insects, vomit and bacteria. Having carpets professionally cleaned twice a year, and creating a ‘no shoes in the house’ policy can help to keep them at their best, When your little one is going to be laying on the floor playing you don’t want them in contact with these kinds of nasties.
Fit Cupboard Latches
Where do you keep your cleaning products in your home? Chances are they’re in a cupboard under your kitchen sink. Bleach, window cleaner, disinfectant and other powerful chemicals- all of these can be highly toxic and cause injury and death in young children. Cupboard latches give you peace of mind that your child isn’t getting into what they shouldn’t when you turn your back for two seconds. Not everyone has high up shelves or additional space they can move these things too, so this way makes more sense.
