How do you make your new home environment perfectly safe for your child? Our childproofing tips below will reveal the answer.
The removal men have done an excellent job of transporting your household goods quickly and safely to your new home and the departure of the removal van marks the busy end of the endless moving day.
Standing among gigantic piles of freshly delivered moving boxes, you somehow manage to gather your thoughts and begin to form some sort of an unpacking strategy for the next few days. And in order to make each unpacking hour count, you must have prioritized your plan of action, as expected.
However, if you’ve just moved to your new house or apartment with a baby or a toddler, there is a very important task ahead of you which you might not be aware of.
In fact, what you must start doing even before getting down to unpacking your items is more than just a single task – it’s an entire process that will ensure your child’s safety.
Welcome to the world of childproofing.
Why should you childproof your home?
Also known as babyproofing, childproofing is all about providing the ultimate safety for your small child against the potential household hazards that can be found in a strange and still unfamiliar setting, such as your new residence. By childproofing your home, you’ll be giving your child a safe place to play, learn and grow without any real risks of accidental injuries.
Experts agree that small children between the ages of 1 and 4 are very susceptible to unintentional traumas from fire (burns), water (drowning), hazardous substances (choking, poisoning) or falls. Therefore, you, as a parent, should do everything in your power to guarantee a safe home environment for your little angel.
Neutralize your toddler’s hyper-curiosity by being hyper-vigilant.
Every proper childproofing process consists of two major stages: identification of the various household dangers and their subsequent elimination.
These two childproofing phases are closely connected and the successful outcome of the entire babyproofing operation depends exclusively on the success of each of the two safety steps. In other words, you can’t eliminate a potential hazard without having identified it first.
Save time and money on your move
Save up to 40% on your upcoming move and get a quote from reputable moving experts.
The following room by room babyproofing checklist will help greatly in identifying and eliminating the dangers that could be lurking around each corner in each room. It’s important to remember that your baby or toddler does not perceive the world around them the way a grown-up does, so the best way you can determine what may cause harm to your child is to turn into a small child yourself. But how can you possibly do that?
The answer is simple: when inspecting every nook and cranny in your new home, simply get down on your hands and knees and crawl around the perimeter of the room to see the environment through your child’s vantage point.
Nursery room
The room where your precious one will be spending most of their time needs to be babyproofed without delay.
Keep your child’s stuffed toys outside their cot.
Cot: The cot should contain nothing but the fitted mattress sheet and your baby or toddler. Any toys, blankets, comforters and pillows have no business inside your child’s bed as they increase the risk of suffocation – the leading cause of accidental death in babies under the age of 1. Furthermore, placing your baby to sleep on their back, having a firm mattress and keeping a fairly cool sleeping environment are one of the few things you must do in order to fight the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Changing table: Make sure the changing table is secured well to the wall and is stable enough so that it won’t tip over.
Windows: Assess carefully the immediate area around the nursery room windows and its possible threats. If necessary, you can consider installing window guards to cut off any escape routes for your little explorer, as well as cordless blinds that pose no strangulation hazard.
Carpet: Just to be on the safe side, consider placing a soft thick carpet around the cot to serve as a fall breaker if you child happens to somehow breach the safety of their bed.
Kitchen
Safety comes first, the ambitions to become the world’ greatest chef come second.
It’s important to childproof the kitchen as well, as that is the room where things can get really dangerous really fast. Ironically, the most delicious room in your home could produce the most bitter tears, so make sure you go carefully through your kitchen and babyproof it properly.
Storage area: If you store your various cleaning products in the cabinet under the sink, like most people do, then it’s your primary concern to make that hazardous storage place safe so that your child can keep you company while you cook. You are encouraged to either install a secure latch on the cabinet doors or move the chemicals to a higher level where they won’t be reached by your little trouble-maker.
Cooker: Remember to put on the protective knob covers on your cooker when you’re not using it so that they can’t be unintentionally turned on. Moreover, it’s advisable to use the back hot plates or burners so that your toddler cannot reach out and turn over any pans containing hot food.
Bathroom
Together with unintentional suffocation, accidental drowning tops the injury-related child deaths, so you should be extremely careful when bathing your baby or toddler. The bathroom must be as safe as it can go and you should be aware in advance of what could go wrong in there.
Bath time should be a fun experience for both children and parents.
Bathtub: The bathtub is probably the single most dangerous place in your entire home. You should never leave your child unattended in the tub, not even for a moment simply because a moment might prove to be too long. If you are forced to leave the bathroom in an emergency, don’t forget to take your infant with you.
Slip resistance: Improve the overall safety of your entire bathroom by using anti-slippery mats or non-skid strips on the floor and inside the bathtub. Also, use a towel for a better grip when taking your child off the tub.
Temperature: The water temperature should be around 50 °C or lower to avoid scalding.
Medicine cabinet: If you happen to keep your medications in the bathroom, make sure the medicine cabinet is safely closed and well out of your kid’s reach.
Living room
Our babyproofing house checklist won’t be complete without the inclusion of the living room where most dangers for your small child are often hidden.
If there’s even a single potentially dangerous item left carelessly in the room, your little detective will surely find it.
TV set: The obvious assailant in your living room is the TV set which is just waiting ominously to be accidentally tipped over onto your defenseless child. Make sure the TV is securely mounted on the wall or placed safely on a stable and sturdy piece of furniture.
Remote controls: Each household has at least a few remote controls and they are usually kept in the living room. And dangerously enough, each remote control is powered by button batteries which could prove to be extremely harmful if accidentally swallowed. So, always keep your controls out of child’s reach or secure their battery compartments so that they cannot be opened.
Bookcase: Inspect your bookcases and make sure they cannot be tipped over in any way. Your heaviest books (or other items) should always be on the bottom of the bookcase to minimize any risks of injuries.
Extra Childproofing Tips
In order to provide your child with a perfectly safe home environment, be sure to observe the following extra tips for childproofing your home after the move.
Electric shock: Install electrical outlet protectors throughout your new apartment or house so that your baby or toddler is 100% protected against electric shocks.
Fire prevention: Keep operating fire extinguishers on strategic places around your home and be sure to know how to use them in case of emergency. Also, consider installing smoke detectors for an extra layer of protection.
Stairs: If you’ve just moved to a multi-storey house, then you should be aware that the stairs can pose a serious threat to your crawling toddler. Consider having safety gates installed at the foot and head of your staircase to block any unwanted access to the stairs themselves. Also, make sure all staircases and hallways are sufficiently lit and don’t forget to hold on to the staircase railings for support while you carry your baby or toddler up and down your new house.
Sharp corners: Consider placing special corner guards to any pieces of furniture with reachable sharp corners to avoid any danger of dangerous puncture wounds.
First-aid kit: You must prepare an emergency medical kit for your baby or toddler in case of unfortunate accidents. You can easily buy a prepackaged one from the nearest pharmacy or get one ready yourself with the help of this first-aid kit shopping list.
Without a doubt, the relocation you have just experienced must have left you with little or no energy to do anything else until you have your well-deserved break to get your usual strength back.
Ideally, you may have proved your resourcefulness and conserved your energy by contacting a professional removal company to help you out with the organization and execution of the move.
Either way, your child’s needs come first, so be sure to use the last relocation drops of fuel in your tank and do what’s necessary to childproof your new home immediately upon your arrival. And by keeping accidents, injuries and tears away, you’ll guarantee your precious child the happy, healthy and safe childhood that they deserve.
*At RemovalReviews we will connect you with a professional moving company. Please note that we may not be affiliated with
and you may be speaking with another licensed provider.
Best removals nearby
We use cookies to optimise your experience.Accept and close or Learn more
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment