Young kids spend the majority of their time at home before schooling starts or in the event of another year like 2020. Your home is the first place young kids will properly explore and discover. While exploration and curiosity are good for little kids to encourage learning, there are many dangerous things in your home that may not pose a threat to adults but can be severe hazards for kids who do not know better. Before kids understand danger and accidents, it is a parent’s nearly full-time job to keep kids out of harm’s way. You cannot keep watch over kids for every minute of the day, but you need some peace of mind that your kid will not find a pitfall the moment they leave your site. While it is not possible to make your home 100% safe for kids, you can use a range of tips and tricks to make your home as safe as possible.
Hidden House Systems
When people think about making their home safer for kids, they picture child locks and socket plugs, but you should also consider less common safety measures. Even most adults don’t think about their heating systems and or water heaters, but some elements of those systems can be dangerous for kids. Check radiator locations and how hot they get, look at gas water heater venting options to ensure the exhaust is adequately vented, and make sure floor vents are correctly supported, so they don’t fall in or leave surprise holes in the floor. You may also have to explain home system noises to young kids as the odd sounds and spurts from appliances can be scary for kids.
Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Alarms
The vast majority of modern homes and apartments come with at least smoke alarms, but some are now coming with carbon monoxide alarms as well. If your home does not have either of these alarms, fix that problem immediately. Smoke alarms may be most famous for waking you up with a low battery chime, but you will regret not having a smoke alarm when you actually need one. Safety measures are rarely fun, pretty, or exciting, but they are a necessary part of living a prudent life. Carbon monoxide alarms are potentially even more critical than smoke alarms because carbon monoxide is a clear gas that can quickly affect you and your family. Carbon monoxide can leak from a range of common household appliances like your furnace, dryer, or fireplace, so take the time to put an alarm on every floor of your home and in every bedroom.
Glass Safety
Glass is a beautiful material, but it is also known for breaking easily and breaking into tiny sharp pieces. Glass cups, plates, and tables are not the best things to have around young kids. A solid glass table might be more resilient than a glass cup that can be easily knocked over. Keep small and light glass objects away from kids and ledges. Even if a kid can’t reach the glass, if the glass gets knocked over and shatters, there is now plenty of sharp glass on the floor for a kid to stumble upon. If you have a glass table, put bumper caps on the hard edges or move the table to a room where young kids will not frequent.
Also, note that very young kids may not realize glass or similarly clear materials are solid. Kids may run face-first into sliding glass doors, windows, or other clear furniture. While most of the time, a bonk against a sliding glass door will leave the child confused but unharmed, it is still a good idea to have a screen or blinds to let your kids know the entryway is blocked until they learn glass is solid.
Put Away The Danger
Kids have a knack for finding their way into places they shouldn’t be, and that includes the cleaning supplies cabinet, pantry, and other small places where potentially dangerous items are stored. Collect all your chemicals like bleach and spray cleaner and store them in one cabinet with a solid child-proof lock. Accidental poisonings are a reported cause of death for young kids every year, so make sure there is no way your kid can get to chemicals. Protecting your pantry may seem like an odd choice, but if your child has allergies, it may be a necessity. A serious or deadly allergy is no laughing matter, and it is worth putting child locks on your food to keep your child safe.
It is only natural for kids to explore and find new areas in your home, but you want to make sure they are safe while they explore. You can never keep kids 100% safe from danger or harm, but you can make your home safer and lower the odds of injury. Consider some of your home’s less visible aspects like vents and heating systems before moving on to the apparent things like smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Be careful with glass and other transparent materials as kids can run into them or get cut on broken shards. Lock away dangerous chemicals and ensure any allergy foods are kept well out of reach. Use these tips and tricks to make your home as safe as possible for your growing young kids.