Toddler proofing your home = baby proofing turned up a few notches.
Remember that sweet, peaceful little baby whose only activities for the day included eating, pooping and sleeping? If your child has hit the 1 year mark you know those days are long gone. You now have on your hands a little person whose just discovered that the home they live in is a very interesting place to be and every inch of it must be inspected and explored.
While it’s delightful that theyre exploring with such gusto there is a slight problem. These tiny people have no understanding of concepts such as falling down, getting cut, choking or getting burnt.
Enter: toddler proofing. Our attempts as parents and caregivers to make our homes as safe as possible for our little ones to explore their surroundings.
Toddler proofing your home is not just about keeping medicines and cleaning products in high up cabinets. It’s about understanding what kinds of dangerous things your toddler is capable of doing and then making sure to create an environment where they can’t possibly carry out such acts of danger.
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Because truth be told, I can no longer leave a cupboard ajar, a drawer unlocked or a breakable item within my little one’s reach without disaster striking.
So here in this blog post I’ve complied a comprehensive list of everything I did/ am doing to toddler proof my home (along with toddler safety dos and dont’s you should keep in mind).
I hope you find it useful and it helps make your home a safer place for your little one. Also, please keep in mind that these tips are not just to keep them safe but also help reduce unneccesary messes as well as promote independent play.
TODDLER PROOFING YOUR HOME
Before we dive into this post, here’s a super helpful hack:
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to even begin when starting to baby proof your house. Evenflow lets you take a baby proofing home walkthrough that enables you to make a custom kit. This is very helpful if you’re just starting out.
Alternatively, you can choose from their individual baby proofing products that are not only super affordable but also very high quality.
Get cabinet locks
My toddler’s favorite pastime is opening up kitchen cabinet drawers and dumping out everything on the floor. I have an open plan kitchen so that means whenever I’m in the kitchen, my toddler is right there. Getting into EVERYTHING she can get her hands on. At first I just identified the dangerous objects like knives, kitchen scissors and cheese graters and put them on a higher up cabinet.
But soon I got tired of cleaning up all the things she was dumping out on the floor. So we got these cabinet locks and it made life so much simpler.
Get fridge and oven locks
Once the kitchen cabinets got locked, my little one refocused all her energy to opening the fridge, freezer and oven door. Luckily the cabinet locks we got came in a pack of 6 and were perfect for locking up the fridge, freezer and oven. What I really like about these locks is that they are designed in such a way that toddlers can’t open them but adults can quickly slide it open in one quick motion.
Keep them away from the stove and oven when cooking
This sounds obvious… but on busy days when you’re hurriedly scrambling around trying to get dinner on the table, you tend to get lax about this. Hot liquids bubbling in a pan can splatter on your child if they are standing too close to the stove. Also, the outside of the oven door can get very hot. So always make sure that your kids are a safe distance away from the cooking range.
As a parent to a super clingy toddler who wants to follow me everyehere, I know this is definitely easier said than done. Just try that before you go to the kitchen to start your work, get your toddler busy with some engaging activity. If you’re looking for some ideas, here’s a post I wrote on easy, no prep toddler activities using household items.
12 Easy Toddler Activities to Keep your Toddler Out of Trouble | No Prep Indoor Activities
Psst…a superb way to keep your little one busy (and out of trouble) is a Busy Book – TheΒ Sweet n Sour Busy BookΒ is an insanely cute Toddler Busy Book. Featuring bright and unique illustrations, each page has been crafted to perfection. Designed to keep toddlers busy, engaged, learning and out of trouble, this little printable bundle is a life saver for toddler parents. Take it along during travel, in the car, at the restaurant or anywhere youβd prefer to replace screen time with something that actually benefits your child.
Check out theΒ Sweet n Sour Busy BookΒ (we promise you wonβt be disappointed!).
Always cook on the back stove with cooking handles turned inwards
With little ones running around, you should always make sure to only cook on the back stove. This way, even if your child is near the cooking range, she won’t get burnt with any bubbling liquid. Also, make sure to turn the cooking pot handles inwards. If they’re jutting outwards, there’s a risk your child might knock it off the stove and onto themselves.
Get stove knob covers
By the time my toddler was 22 months old, she realized she could turn the stove handles by herself. This was a real discovery for her and she was quite pleased with herself.
You don’t need me to tell you that this is highly dangerous. The best solution is to get stove knob covers which prevent kids (and pets) from turning the stove knob.
Are you interested in toddler proofing the whole house? Take the home walkthrough to make a baby proofing custom kit!
Keep sharp/breakable objects in higher up cupboards/shelves
After getting kitchen drawer locks you might feel this false sense of security. Like you can put whatever you want in the drawers without having to worry. With toddlers in a house, you can NEVER be too careful. If anyone in the house forgets to latch back the lock, the drawer will be open and your toddler WILL get into it.
Kitchen items to definitely keep in a higher up cabinet include: knives, cheese graters, tin openers and kitchen scissors.
As for those beautiful, deliacte decoration pieces you love so much…either find them a home WAY out of reach of your toddler or box it up and keep it away. You can always take out your fancy decor once your little one has outgrown the toddler phase.
Get toilet locks
Once upon a time I was walking past the bathroom. I stopped dead in my tracks. My toddler had a large spatula in her hands and was happily scooping out water from the toilet bowl and DRINKING it. Please excuse me while I go throw up.
So yes, please get some toilet locks. It will save you a ton of grossness. If you’re not comfortable with getting locks for the toilet then another option is to get a lock that you can put on the outside door. This way you can simply lock the bathroom door from the outside when it’s not in use.
We’ve used these locks and put them on the door of our laundry room too. My toddler was literally OBSESSED with the washing machine buttons and kept turning it on and off so we had to get a lock for the door.
Anti slip mat
Once your little one learns to stand up and is bathing in the bath tub, slipping and getting injured can be a real danger. This is a good anti slip tub mat that has good suction and will prevent slips and falls. It’s also extra long and will cover the whole surface of the tub. Alternatively, if you don’t need one for the tub you could use this for the bathroom flooring right next to the tub, which is where most accidents happen.
Keep cleaning products in a locked cabinet or high up
Toddlers are like little squirrels, always on the loose and ready to explore every inch of the house. Just because cleaning products come with locked lids doesn’t mean you should leave them around. Always keep them in a locked cabinet or somewhere high up out of reach of your toddler’s tiny hands.
Keep your bathroom items high up
It’s always best to keep your shower things in a cadddy high up and out of reach of your curious toddler. Toddlers love to experiment so don’t be surprised if they grab your shampoo, empty out the entire bottle on the floor, cut themselves with a razor and try to taste your lavender scented body scrub lotion.
RELATED: Stop Toddler Turning On the Tap β 5 Brilliant Strategies
Electronics such as blow dryers, hair straightener and epilator should especially be safely stored high up with no wires dangling.
Doors
By the age of around 20 months, a lot of toddlers have learnt to open and close doors. But they aren’t nearly as careful as they should be in making sure that they shouldn’t leave their fingers holding the edge of the door when they slam it shut.
The injury can vary ranging from a small graze or even an entire finger being cut off and requiring surgery. There’s no need to get a stopper for every door in the house. Rather, you can ask yourslef which one your toddler tends to slam the most which would vary in every home.
In ours it’s the door between the kids room and living room. A great toddler safety hack can be to use a pool noodle and cut it into small sections, cut it in half and then put it on the side of the door; this will prevent the door from slamming shut. Alternatively, you can get door stoppers from amazon that snugly fit to your door without being too visually obtrusive.
RELATED: 5 Genius Strategies to Stop Your Toddler Slamming Doors
Socket covers
Toddlers love poking their fingers into anything. Sockets are no exception. Get socket covers to prevent electric shocks.
Don’t leave charging wires plugged in
Another popular toddler pastime is trying to shove everythig (except for food) into their mouth. If a charging wire is plugged in and a child puts the end of the wire into their mouth it could be fatal.
So one of the first things to do when toddler proofing your home is to be extra extra careful about making sure that all wires are pulled out of the socket and not dangling around. Also, always charge phones, laptops and other electronics on a high surface where your toddler can’t reach for the wire.
RELATED: 5 Helpful Tips to Stop Toddler Unplugging Things
Plastic covers for sharp edges
If you have a table or surface in the house with sharp edges, then it’s really important to get these corner protectors to prevent serious injuries. This is especially true if it’s a glass table with sharp edges… kids can be running, fall down and hit their head or poke their eye directly into the glass corner.
Foam play mats to absorb shock of falls
Toddlers tend to fall down. Like a lot. Especially during the time when they are just learning to walk. Try to have a rug or a play mat where your little one is practising walking. These are some great ones for toddlers; they’re interlinking foam mats but it actually looks like a super chic rug and will blend with the decor in almost any room.
Sofa antislip pads
My 22 month old loved to push our 3 seater sofa all over the wooden floor. She’d push it towards the kitchen counters and then climb the sofa to get to the counter tops. Then she’d find all sorts of objects on the counter tops like knives and glass serving bowls and start playing with those.
This would literally happen within a span of a few minutes so sometimes I’d come back from the bathroom and find she’d already reached the counter top.
RELATED: Toddler Keeps Moving Furniture β 5 Brilliant Tactics To Handle the Madness
I was really desperate for a solution and found these anti slip pads on Amazon. They help stabilize the feet of the sofa and it becomes difficult for kids to move around the furniture. We used these for the sofa and they worked great.
We also tried using them for our dining chairs but it didn’t work. It’s only designed to be used with heavier furniture pieces and our chairs are extremely lightwieght. I’m still looking for a way to stop my toddler from dragging the dining chairs towards the stove and counter tops (for right now I just have to hide the chairs away whenever it’s not mealtime).
Cord shortener to avoid tripping
Loose wires around the house can become a source of tripping and falling for little ones. You can use a cord shortener to keep long wires neatly and compactly organized. It allows you to store the excess cord inside a receptacle which your child canβt touch.
Baby gate at stairs
If you have stairs in your home or a particular area in the house where you don’t want your child tottering about then you’ll need to use a baby gate to cordon off the area.
Always make sure to measure the area in your home first. If you’re looking for a baby gate that is sturdy, extendable and doesnt require tools to install by drilling into the wall then this one is a great option.
Keep objects away from the side of any surface
At first, your little one will just be trying to grab objects on the floor and at his height. But soon enough, hell be making a grab for anything that he can get his tiny hands on.
So a rule of thumb for toddler proofing your home is to make sure not to leave objects on the sides of any surface. Don’t leave knives, plates and serving dishes at the side of a kitchen counter.
Similarly, don’t leave a cup of hot coffee or a plate of food at the side of a table. Your toddler can get cut, burnt or badly injured if any of these things fall on him.
Note to slef: never leave a place mat on the edge of a table. Your toddler will tug at the placemat and everything on the mat like a plate, glass or cutlery will come tumbling down on your child and cause serious injury.
Prevent fall outs from crib
As your little one transitions from a baby to a toddler he’s going to learn to start climbing. This means that without warning, your child might one day surprise you by climbing out of his cot. This could cause serious injury if they fall off, especially if they fall on their head.
One option can be to keep pillows around the crib so if they fall it’s a soft landing. Another more peramnat solution would be to transition your child from a cot to a toddler bed.
Anchor shelves to the wall
You might think that there’s no way your tiny little one would be able to topple off a shelf on themselves. But toddlers never cease to surprise. They will try to climb on the shelf and also deliberately try to topple it off.
Unfortunately there have been some very sad incidents in the past when toddlers have tried to climb on the shelves in their home and have been crushed to death.
Always anchor furniture pieces like book shelves and toy racks to the wall. You can do this using sturdy furniture straps like these to anchor furniture pieces to the wall and prevent kids and pets from toppling over furniture.
Furniture Anchors for Baby Proofing
Keep plastic bags away
Keep plastic bags well out of the reach of your little one. Toddlers can try placing the plastic bags on their head and it can become a cause of suffocation.
Wrapping Up
By following these tips for toddler proofing your home you can rest easy that you’ve done all you can to make your home as safe as possible for your little one. You can also let your toddler explore his surroundings without having to constantly supervise.
Added bonus: next time you’re in a different room from your toddler and all you hear is silence….you no longer need to freak out that he’s playing with a knife in the kitchen or drinking from the toilet bowl.
You can also stop having to repeatedly move things away or stress out about your toddler not going into certain parts of the house.
I hope these tips help you out in toddler proofing your home and making it a safer place for your little one!
Ready to start toddler proofing your house? Check out the wide variety of safety products at Evenflow, designed to make your house safer. You can use their Baby Proofing Virtual Kit Builder to identify potential troublespots in each room and customize a kit with the necessary items.
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