Childproofing your home is a necessary precaution when you start to grow your family. Children view the world differently, and what may seem like an innocuous household item to us, may well be a serious health hazard to young children and toddlers. Childproofing your home may be something you find yourself not particularly looking forward to, this is especially true if you’re worried that adding in these additional safety features will affect the look and feel of your home. To find out how to childproof your home without sacrificing your style, keep reading.
If this sounds like you, don’t worry. I have listed 3 ways to childproof your home without sacrificing your style. These tips will help you to create a safe, nurturing environment for your children without having to forgo your home’s decor.
Decorate main living areas with low furniture.
When it comes to childproofing your home, low furniture is beneficial for several reasons. First and foremost, it’s much safer. Your child will want to be on your furniture with you for cuddles, TV time, stories and snacks. But, as we all know, young children and toddlers can be a little wobbly, and at some point, they may accidentally fall or roll off the furniture in your main living areas. To lessen the chances of injury, stick to low furniture in the rooms that your children will be spending the most amount of time in.
Another benefit to having low furniture in the rooms where your children will be spending most of their time is that it will help them when it comes to learning to walk. Children use the items around them to help pull themselves up onto their feet, and “sofa surfing” is a common method toddlers use to help strengthen their leg muscles and learn to walk by themselves. Having furniture that is low to the ground means that it is easier for your child to reach the furniture and pull themselves up, enabling them to practice their walking.
Make sure that all freestanding furniture is bolted to the wall.
Ever noticed how inviting a bookshelf might look to a small child who’s learning to climb? How about the TV unit or their bedroom wardrobe? These things may seem pretty stable to us, but they are commonly called “hidden dangers” due to how easily overlooked these hazards are.
All freestanding furniture should be securely attached to the wall as this prevents any potentially fatal accidents from occurring when a child tries to climb the unit or use it for support. As mentioned earlier, young children and toddlers often use furniture to help support them on their walking journey, and subsequently, the force of them pulling themselves up on items such as bookshelves can cause the furniture to topple over and land on top of the child.
To prevent this from happening, secure the furniture to the wall using brackets. These are undetectable as they sit behind the furniture, so childproofing your home in this way won’t affect the interior design style.
Forget about unsightly stair gates, create your own, or request a bespoke design to suit your home.
If you’re going to be childproofing your home, the stair gate is an essential bit of kit that you don’t want to forget about. The stairgate helps to prevent your children from climbing and falling down the stairs, so it has to be secure and feature a locking mechanism that your child can’t reach. Luckily, stargates are relatively easy to match with the rest of your decor.
For the luxury option, try looking out for a company that produces bespoke stair gates. These stargates can be custom-made to fit your existing decor and will still feature industry-standard safety features that have been tested and deemed 100% safe.
For a luxury feel on a budget, the other option is to draw up your own design and build a stairgate yourself from material such as treated timber and attach this to your stairs with hinges. Don’t forget to include some kind of lock or latch to prevent your children from being able to open the stair gate and gain access to the stairs.
If you have any tips on how to childproof your home we’d love to hear them!