Children are curious by nature, and it is every parent’s responsibility to provide or create a safe and secure environment for them to explore and play in. Childproofing your home is important in ensuring your child’s safety without compromising their curious and playful nature. It is crucial to make sure your home is safe for your child; that way, you can prevent potential accidents and bad injuries from happening.

Here are some steps you can take to make your home childproof:

Install safety gates

Installing safety gates, especially at the top and bottom of the stairways, will help prevent your child from having access to the stairs, which could potentially cause accidents and injuries from falling. Safety gates can also help prevent children from freely going in and out of adult spaces that do not have a door, like a kitchen, where dangerous things such as fire and sharp objects are commonly used when cooking.

Cover all electrical outlets

Electrical outlets can be dangerous, especially for children who may be curious and want to explore. To keep them safe, it is a good idea to use outlet safety covers to prevent children from sticking their fingers or other objects into the outlets, which could result in electrical shock. While it is possible to place outlets in higher areas to keep them out of reach, this is not always practical in homes. Outlet safety covers are an easy and effective way to protect children from potential harm.

Secure furniture and appliances to the wall

The Philippines is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire which means experiencing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes is common in the country. For this reason, it is crucial for homeowners to secure their furniture and appliances from easily tipping over when earthquakes happen. In addition to this, playful activities such as moving furniture and climbing onto them are quite common among children. These playful activities are dangerous as they can cause the furniture to tip over and crush small children. As additional security and preventive measures, it is best to anchor big furniture, shelves, and appliances to walls or floors and ensure they are immovable for children.

Install window guards or safety netting

Balconies and windows are areas at home that are not safe for children. To secure their safety from falling or getting into other types of accidents keeping the windows locked at all times is a must. It is also important to keep children from accessing these areas easily; hence, installing window guards or safety netting should be done.

Use corner and edge safety bumpers

Using corner and edge safety bumpers will prevent not just your children but also yourself and other adults from injuries, falls, or getting in contact with sharp edges of furniture such as tables or cabinets. Make sure to choose the type that stays securely in place once put.

Install cabinet and drawer locks

Installing locks on cabinets and drawers will help prevent your child from getting into potentially dangerous items such as cleaning supplies, sharp objects, and medications. It is also important to make sure that all toys are properly stored, especially all the small items that can easily be ingested, which should be kept out of their reach. 

Install door knob covers

This will help prevent your child from opening doors and entering potentially dangerous areas of your home. Areas, where you keep things unsafe for children include cleaning tools and chemicals, sharp objects like knives, etc.

Key Takeaway

No parent wants to compromise their child’s safety, but some accidents are unavoidable. However, by taking the time to childproof your home, you can help ensure your child’s safety or, at the very least, minimize the likelihood of an accident. It is important to regularly check your home for any potential hazards and take the necessary steps to ensure it is safe for your child. That being said, it is still important to keep your child supervised at all times until they are old and mature enough to be left unattended. After all, your space is only as safe as the number of precautions you take.

While not everyone has the time and capacity to child-proof their home from scratch, one can simply look for properties that are already made child-proof with only minimal changes and improvements needed. Also note that real estate agents are trained to determine a house's potential risks and suggest possible solutions to reduce or eliminate them.