Childproofing Your Home

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Your baby's due next month, or maybe you've just delivered. Now is a great time to plan for the future and investigate childproofing your home. If the thought of locking toilets, securing cabinets or gating off stairs has you in a panic, have no fear: childproofing experts say that most people can keep their babies and toddlers safe with just a few important devices.

Step One: Start with the things that can save your or your child's life, like taking an infant CPR class. Create a fire escape plan for your family, and practice it one or two times a year. Also, make sure you have working smoke detectors with fresh batteries in your home.

Step Two: Once you've covered the basic life-saving procedures, you can move onto one-time baby-proofing tasks. These include lowering the temperature of your water heater to 120°F to decrease the chance of burns. The temperature gauge should be located on the water heater itself. If your model doesn't have an actual temperature reading, here's a simple way to check the temperature of your water: run the hot water until it's really hot, fill a coffee mug, and check the temperature with a meat thermometer.

Step Three: Your next stop involves some purchased items, so get ready for a trip to your local retailer or online baby store for safety gates, wall outlet protectors, cabinet-locking devices and a few other safety gadgets.

The safety gates can help block off entire rooms, stairs, or fireplaces. According to experts, you should always use a safety gate at the top and the bottom of the stairs, but be sure to use a wall-mounted device for this purpose rather than a pressure-mounted gate. Gates needn't be expensive — most cost around $30 to $40 — but the wall-mounted versions will require installation.

You'll also need to cover your wall outlets to prevent curious kids from poking fingers, pencils or toys where they shouldn't go. There are several types of devices available for this job, ranging from the simple plastic plugs that you insert into the wall to little gadgets that replace the existing face plate and the covering slides to the side when you want to plug something in.

Cabinet-locking devices also come in several different versions (and at several price points), ranging from simple devices that slide through the cabinet handle to magnetized versions that require installation. Keep in mind, however, that the types of products found in bathroom and kitchen cabinets are very dangerous if ingested (especially dishwashing soap, cleaning products and toiletries), so experts stress the importance of locking all cabinets, regardless of location.

Last but not least, consider these other devices: a carbon dioxide detector, which you simply plug into a wall; toilet seat locks, which help prevent toddlers from both playing or drowning in the toilet; and locks for the oven and fridge, which keeps little hands from opening a hot oven or a cold freezer.

And if the thought of buying all these products and installing them yourself seems overwhelming, there's another option available: baby-proofing services. The solutions these companies offer include home-safety inspections, baby safety items for purchase and installation of safety items if needed.

Visit www.huggiesbabynetwork.com for more information.

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