What Every Home Needs for Kids

After you have children, there are changes that you should make to your home to make it safer. Here is what every home that has children needs added to it to prevent dangerous situations.

Requirement 1: Safety Gates

If your home has stairs, then you need to install safety gates at the top of the steps to prevent falls. As your children begin to walk, it is also a good idea to place a safety gate at the bottom of the steps. Safety gates are also recommended in dangerous areas inside your home such as a doorway that leads to a room with a fireplace or as a way to keep youngsters from entering a workroom that has dangerous tools and machinery.

Requirement 2: Cabinet Locks

When your home has items such as chemical cleansers or medications, you should store these things in cabinets that are difficult to reach. In addition, it is easy to install special cabinet locks that only an adult can open. This can prevent dangerous accidental poisonings in children who learn how to climb to reach the cabinets that are above the stove or the sink in the kitchen.

Requirement 3: Proper Escape Routes

If you have areas of your home that are below the ground, then you need to have special escape routes during an emergency such as a fire or an earthquake. Egress window wells are designed so that you can open a window in a basement before stepping out into an area where you can stand and exit the dangerous area.

Requirement 4: Electrical Outlet Covers

Look for plastic covers that you can place over the electrical outlets in your home. Many of the electrical outlets in your home are located behind furniture where infants or toddlers may crawl while playing. These children will often insert their fingers or toys into the electrical outlets, leading to an injury from an electrical shock.

Requirement 5: Smoke Detectors

When you have children, it is a good idea to add more smoke detectors to your home. Adding smoke detectors near a nursery or playroom will give you peace of mind while your children are playing or sleeping. You can also upgrade to better smoke detectors that have automatic lighting systems or alarms that notify the local firefighters immediately.

Requirement 6: Soft Bumper Covers

You can protect your children from having bruises or lacerations by installing soft bumper covers on the sharp corners of furniture or other items. If you crawl along the floor of your home, then you may notice objects that have sharp edges where children can get hurt. You can find bumper covers at nearby or online specialty stores.

Requirement 7: Carbon Monoxide

To avoid exposure to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide gas, you should have carbon monoxide detectors inside your home. Infants and toddlers are more susceptible to the dangers from carbon monoxide poisoning, and they can’t tell you that they are feeling sick from the odorless and invisible gas. Make sure to install a carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home.

Requirement 8: Faucet Controls

It is possible to buy devices that will keep young children from turning on the hot water faucet in a bathroom or a kitchen. You can use these devices on the faucets of a sink or a bathtub to prevent scalding injuries from hot water. You can also use these faucet control devices on cold-water handles to prevent accidental drowning. The devices are made so that only an adult can turn the items on to have water flowing into a sink or a bathtub.

Do-it-yourself or Call an Expert

It is possible for parents to install many types of safety devices on their own, but you can also contact an expert to install certain types of devices so that your children are safer.