Are you looking for a baby proofing checklist that covers all areas of the house? I got you covered.
Now don’t worry, you don’t need all the baby proofing items as soon as the baby comes. But, depending on the age and stage of development you will need to add more and more layers of safety around your house.
As the baby enters the toddler years, the need for exploration is key for child development and having a safe environment to explore is important.
Children getting hurt is the most heartbreaking moment for parents, therefore start baby-proofing the house little by little even before the baby arrives.
In this post, we will cover the basic baby proofing checklist. We will go over the general areas you need to secure as you baby proof your house.
HOW TO BABY PROOF THE HOUSE: A BABY PROOFING CHECKLIST
1. Safety Gates
If you have stairs in the house or an open room structure, you may want to restrict the baby’s movement to a few spots of the home. In this case, you need safety gates. When safety gates are not suited to your home layout you can consider a playpen. A playpen can be used for short periods of time (say, when you are cooking) to keep baby safe and away from entering risky parts of the house when not monitored.
Baybee Auto Close Wooden Safety Baby Gate
Baby Center India Baby Room (Play Pen)
2. Fireplace Screen
The first thing to install when you have a crawling baby in the house is a fireplace screen.
Panacea Products Panel Arch Screen For Fireplace
3. Table Corner Guards
Protect your little ones head from bumping against sharp table edges by fitting table corner guards.
4. Window Grills or Window Guards
Depending on the type of windows you have, you can either install a window grill or a window guard.
Safe-O-Kid- Sliding Door/Window Locks/Stopper for Baby Safety
Market Yard Zinc Sliding Window Patio Screw Door Locking Pin Push Child Safety Lock
Vanpower Zinc Alloy Child Safety Sliding Window Restrictor Press Lock
HIPPO Indoor Balcony Safety Net
5. Baby proofing Drawers and Cabinets
One way to discourage a curious toddler from fiddling and opening drawers and cabinets is to use stick-on safety locks.
KidDough Furniture Safety Locks for Kids
6. Plastic Cover on Electrical Outlets
Put plastic covers over all low lying electrical outlets and keep electrical instruments like hair irons and clothing irons out of reach from children’s play area. When these are in use, make sure your child is in a secure location away from these electric gadgets.
KidDough Baby Proofing Electrical Protector Socket
7. Baby proofing Furniture
All heavy furniture like dressers, wardrobes, bookshelves should be fit to the wall.
As toddlers learn to climb, these heavy objects can pose a real danger. In the case of baby proofing furniture better safe than sorry.
8. Keep Glassware To A Minimum
We had a few incidents of glassware like bowls, plates, and glasses breaking. In our old place, the kitchen was open, so there were instances of glass breaking and pieces flying off into our son’s play space. After these incidents, we decided to switch out from using glass. Now we try and use sturdy natural materials like bamboo wood, stainless steel, or reusable plastic ware wherever possible.
9. Design Your House With Minimal Furniture
One thing I cannot stress enough is providing the child freedom to move in a safe space. If the house is overcrowded with furniture there is not much space for movement and there are bound to be some accidents.
Keep minimum furniture and an open floor plan in your living room and playroom so that your child can move around freely without hurting himself.
Find furniture that has smooth edges and cabinets without knobs. Especially if the cabinet is low and the baby is figuring out how to stand or walk, he might just land face-first into the knob on the cabinet. This happened with us, and ever since we removed all the knobs from cabinets and bought only knobless cabinets.
10. Secure Curtains
One object in the house that gets the most attention from babies and toddlers is floor-length curtains. Make sure to secure your curtains safely with rings. If this is not possible, try and install cordless blinds.
Chicology Cordless Magnetic Roman Shades
11. Use Door Stoppers
There are many variants of door stoppers available online. No matter how old the child I find having door stoppers on all doors in the house a necessity. I even carry door stoppers on vacation to install on doors in our Air BnB’s.
Party Propz Door Stopper Cartoon for Kids and Baby Safety Pinch Guard
Dorver Aluminium Fully Automatic Door Closer (For the main entrance door, if your child has a habit of banging the main door for fun)
Rubber Door Stopper with Holder
12. Anchor TV To The Wall
TV is one of the most unsafe items in the living room. Getting the T.V anchored to the wall is one way to avoid any accidents with the baby trying to grab and pull at it.
13. Get Rid Of Glass Top Furniture
Glass top coffee tables especially ones where the glass moves are a big no-no in a house with a baby. We once visited the grandparent’s place where there is a glass top coffee table. On this occasion, it took less than a second for our son to topple over the coffee table with a glass top. Luckily I was sitting nearby and avoided an accident in the knick of time.
14. Invest in a good Baby High Chair for mealtimes
Toddlers love pulling at table cloths or throwing cutlery off the table and for this reason I prefer a designated seat aka the highchair for our son. It’s a safe place for him to sit away from hot foods and glass plates on the table.
15. Safety In The Bath
Invest in a good bath chair, non-slip mats and plastic cover for the tap. All of these together make for safe bath time with a baby.
Cartoon Elephant Shaped Bath Spout Cover
16. Keep Poisonous Items Locked Away
All cleaning supplies, medicines, cosmetics, and perfumes should be locked up or stored in high wall cabinets. In one of my previous jobs as a drug safety specialist, I remember getting many reports about babies or toddlers eating chapstick or some medicine that belonged to their parents or grandparents.
This is a serious danger, please keep all such items out of sight, preferably locked away.
Related reading:
10 Best Natural And Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products For Your Home
I hope this baby proofing checklist helps you as you baby proof your home. Over the years we have realized there are many areas that can be easily missed as you baby proof the house.
Sometimes we don’t perceive some household items or locations as dangerous until an accident happens. Therefore vigilance is very important. Baby proofing the house does not mean you stop being vigilant. There is no substitute for a watchful adult in the room.
If you have some babyproofing tips for us, do take a moment and comment below.