Once your baby becomes a toddler nothing is safe, especially your toddler. What can a parent do? The answer is simple. You have reached the time to toddler proof your home! This is the only answer that ensures that your precious child, and your possessions are safe. With this article I will show you how to make sure that your toddler is safe in the one room of the house they spend the most time in . . . their bedroom!
Your child’s bedroom started out as his or her nursery. It was a cosy and inviting place to care for a new baby. Babies are pretty much safe from their surroundings in the first few months. They are immobile, in a crib or bassinet. However, as they grow their level of safety declines. They begin to creep and then to crawl. They learn to sit up and to roll over. They begin to pull up, and then they take off walking! These developments present a whole new world of opportunities for your child to explore. They also present a whole new world of dangers and risks to your child’s safety.
Your child’s bedroom is the one room in the house that is especially designed for him or her. Given the amount of time that your child spends in his or her bedroom is absolutely a must to make sure that it is as safe as it can possibly be. There are many things that may have been safe for a newborn or infants that are not safe for a toddler. A newborn can’t topple over a shelf, or pull a lamp’s cord until it crashes down, for example. An infant doesn’t know how to stack large toys in order to enable himself to climb over a crib rail or baby gate. A toddler can do amazing things. All of those precious knick knacks on the shelf in a baby’s room are no longer just decorative, but they are now dangerous. A toddler will not hesitate to extend his reach with a long toy, or to throw a toy toward the shelf in order to knock them down to his level. The same goes for any wall hangings that have a glass pane. Replace it with a piece of plastic saran wrap! This simple trick will get the hazzard of breaking glass out of your child’s room while still protecting the picture itself from damage! There is so much to look at and to consider! Take it one thing at a time . . .
Look around your child’s room. What do you see that could pose a threat to their safety? Cords! As we all know, a baby monitor is a must have, even for a toddler. The thing about baby monitors though is that they have cords. So do lamps. Cords can be pulled causing things to topple and crash down. In the case of a lamp this could mean a cut from a broken light bulb, or worse, electrocution. What you can do to reduce the risk is to use Conduit to secure the cord to the wall. It leaves an attractive appearance, and makes the cord untouchable, and not pullable to your toddler. Ask your local hardware store for more information on interior Conduit, and explain to them why you’d like to use it. They can assist you. The conduit is inexpensive and could save your toddlers life in this case.
Electric is a big risk to anyone, but especially to a toddler. A curious toddler may grab the car keys you left in the kitchen and sneak to his room to try to make them fit into the little holes on the wall. It has happened before, and toddlers have gotten seriously shocked from such happenings, even killed. Electrocution is not in a child’s vocabulary. They do not fear electricity. They just like putting things into little holes! You can find outlet safety plugs at almost every department store and at most baby item stores. They slip into the outlet easily, but are terribly difficult to get back out. Trust me, I fight with them every time I vacuum! The little outlet holes disappear, making it impossible for your child to stick a finger or a key or anything else into the outlet. No more risk of electric shock!
One of the main parts of any toddler’s bedroom is their bed! A crib is no longer safe once your baby becomes a toddler. Toddlers can climb out of cribs, causing the risk of a fall. Once your baby becomes a toddler they’ll need to be moved to a toddler bed. A twin sized bed may pose a threat to a toddler because it is usually much higher off of the floor than a toddler bed is. Also, a twin sized bed most often do not have side rails. Side rails are essential for a toddler who can easily roll off their bed at night, falling to the floor. A toddler bed is also a toddler sized. It will not be intimidating, but rather it will be fun and friendly. There is good news about safety concerning your child’s bedding! Now that your baby is a toddler they can safely sleep with a stuffed animal or two, and it’s safe to use a toddler size pillow and comforter. The risk of suffocation has greatly decreased, as has the risk of SIDS once your baby turns into a toddler. However, using adult sized bedding for a toddler bed is never safe. Make sure to always use appropriate sized bedding that will fit the pillow or mattress securely. Another thing to make sure to keep safe about a toddler bed are the bolts that hold it together. As a toddler wriggles and bounces they loosen up the screw. The loose screw can lead to the bed collapsing, a big risk to a toddler. Check them for tightness once a week or so. A simple screwdriver or allen wrench is all it takes to tighten them back up.
Windows also need looking at when considering what is safe and what is not in your toddler’s bedroom. Many times we don’t realize our children can do something until they actually do it. Toddlers are so often underestimated. Toddlers have opened windows and taken great falls before. Make sure your windows are securely locked, and use a child safety window device that only allow the window to open five or six inches. Mini blind cords pose a strangulation hazzard. You’ll want to keep them knotted or tied up and out of reach. Long curtains can pose a threat as well.
A toddler’s bedroom contains his or her treasured toys. Toys are a big, big part of your toddler’s world. It is very important that you do not allow older siblings toys into your toddler’s room. Toys such as some marbles, Legos, etc. pose a very big chocking hazzard to a toddler. When purchasing toys, or advising for a gift, make sure to remember to check the packaging. If it says not for children three and under, heed the warning, it could save your child’s life!
Their other items that you’ll find in your toddler’s bedroom are his or her clothing item. Little shoes and belts. Hang-up-able items like shirts, sleepers, and overalls. Dressers packed full of little socks, diapers, ointments, pants, shorts, and all other fold-ables. Hanging clothes do not pose a risk to your child, per se, but I’m not so sure you’ll want to pick them up and hang them all back up three times a day! Toddlers are always thinking of something! If the clothes are hung down to low, they will most likely be all pulled of their hangers and thrown onto the floor. Toddlers’ clothes should be hung up high, out of their reach. You can move the rod down very easily in a couple of years, when they are ready to learn how to dress themselves, responsibly. Belts should be kept on a hook out of reach. A toddler can strangle them on anything like a belt, string, strap, or cord. You wouldn’t think a belt could hurt a toddler, but it’s always best to play it safe when it comes to safety! Dressers can be unsafe because they can topple over if pulled or climbed on. The way to fix that problem is to pull a drawer out at the top, and one out at the bottom. If you look inside where the drawers belong you’ll see pieces of wood, about two inches wide and about an inch thick. Take a drill or a screw driver and four screws to it! Make sure you hit a stud. Sheetrock or paneling will not hold the weight of a dresser. You’ll know if you have or have not hit a stud because you’ll will not be able to pull the crew out if it is in a stud. You will be able to pull it back out with a good tug if the screw is only in Sheetrock, and it will not feel secure if you’ve only gone through paneling. It will wiggle. You’ll want to put one screw in each side, left and right, on the top and the bottom. When you’re done, you’ll be able to replace the drawers and walk away from a done project, knowing your toddler is safe from the risk of the dresser falling onto him. The same idea and concept can work for shelving units! Use screws that are at least 3 inches long. Sheetrock screws work like a charm!
More on clothing . . . toddlers love shoes! They absolutely do! However, toddlers also love to put things in their mouths! In the case of shoes this poses many risks of disease. Shoes that have been worn outside may contain a whole ton of yucky things that can make your child very ill. Never allow your child to put shoes worn outside in their mouths at any time. Store your toddlers outside shoes out of their bedroom! Leave the inside shoes in their bedroom so that they can safely have fun learning how to wear, walk in and put on their shoes!
Once your toddler’s bedroom has been safety proofed, you will be able to let your child rest and play feeling safe that he or she is safe. There is the first step in toddler proofing your home . . . next come the rest of the rooms! LOL . . . happy parenting!
