Have a youngster or two at home? These home safety tips will ensure they can stay & play with minimal risk of accidents or injuries

A couple months back, we shared tips on how to baby-proof your home. 

But once your little one becomes a toddler and starts zooming around the house, there’s a lot more to watch out for.

To help you keep up with your youngster’s boundless curiosity, we put together this list of ten home safety tips to promote a risk-free environment for them and peace of mind for you.

Child Safety Tip #1: Keep the Floors Clear of Clutter & Choking Hazards

To give your child a safe environment to play in, it’s important to keep the hallways and open spaces clear of anything they can trip or choke on.

Whenever you walk around the house, keep an eye out for clutter and remove any you see along the way.

If you have an especially busy home, you may need to check the floors several times a day to ensure they stay clear of hazards.

Child Safety Tip #2: Cover All Open Outlets With Safety Plugs

Unused outlets are often irresistible for the wayward youngster. Whether it’s their fingers or small objects, they’re bound to try and stick something in them and risk getting shocked.

To prevent these mishaps, it’s essential to put childproof safety plugs in all open outlets around your home—even in those rooms you keep blocked off with safety gates.

Child Safety Tip #3: Keep Dangerous Items Out of Reach

As your child grows, it’s important to adjust where you store hazardous objects to ensure they stay out of reach. 

These items include batteries (and items with batteries in them), glass, alcohol, plastic bags, knives and other sharp objects, chemicals, cords, wires, and anything else they can get tangled up in or choke on.

Child Safety Tip #4:Invest in Childproof Window Guards

Unfortunately, window screens aren’t strong enough to prevent a curious child from falling through. Even if your home is only one story, install childproof window guards on all accessible windows to prevent falls.

Child Safety Tip #5: Go Cordless With All Blinds & Drapes

If you have blinds or drapes with cords that hang down within reach of your toddler, you’ll either need to secure them high on the wall or invest in cordless window coverings. 

These pull cords are a big entanglement and strangulation risk and, like unused outlets, look very fun to play with for a young child. 

Cordless blinds or drapes typically come with a twistable bar that serves the same function as a cord but doesn’t hang as low and isn’t flexible enough to be a safety hazard.

Child Safety Tip #6: Secure All Furniture to Avoid Tipping & Falling

As they learn to walk, trot, and run around the house, your little one is bound to bump into things. That’s why it’s crucial to ensure all your furniture is stable and secure. Even heavy pieces can tip and topple if they’re on an uneven surface or have loose legs or supports.

This also goes for loose items. Make sure there’s nothing that can fall off your furniture and harm your toddler if they accidentally run into it.

Child Safety Tip #7: Childproof Furniture With Sharp/Hard Corners

Some pieces of furniture, especially those made of wood and glass, have hard or even sharp edges that can injure your little one.

When childproofing your home, you can purchase padded corner covers or simply remove these furniture pieces entirely to prevent injuries.

Child Safety Tip #8: Invest in Childproof Cabinet Locks

Whether it’s chemicals, knives, or alcohol, it’s not always possible to store potentially dangerous items out of reach.

But a childproof lock on every cabinet can protect these household staples from prying eyes. 

Child Safety Tip #9: Install a Childproof Lid on Your Trashcan

Many items we throw away in our day-to-day lives can pose a threat to a child’s health and safety. Open cans with sharp edges, glass bottles, batteries, empty chemical containers—these are just a few examples. 

To keep these hazardous items out of your little one’s reach, be sure to put a childproof lid on any trash can you use to dispose of them.

Child Safety Tip #10: Prevent Unwanted Access to Risky Areas With Safety Gates

The stairs, your home office, heat sources—the fireplace, stove/oven, radiator, etc.—any areas of your home that you want to keep off limits are the perfect candidates for childproof safety gates.

Just be sure to secure any and all gates to wall studs (drywall alone isn’t enough) so they can withstand the unrelenting force of an adventurous toddler.

Ready for Anything

As a parent, you want your little one to have a fun, relaxed, and carefree childhood. 

And while it’s impossible to completely avoid accidents and injuries, these child safety tips can help you make your home a safe environment for them to explore, play, and grow.