Safety is the number one priority for every parent. You want your kids to be safe at home, safe at school, and safe online. However, you may have found that, as your child grows up, you’ve become a little more negligent about ensuring that there’s nothing in your home that could cause harm or danger to your child.
While this is totally normal, it’s also something that you should fight against by doing everything you can to keep your home safe for your children to be in from infants all the way to teenagers. To show you how you can get back on the safety train, here are three ways you can make your home safer for your kids.
Keep Your Floors Dry At All Times
One of the biggest hazards for older children that if often forgotten about is slips and falls. As your children get older, they become much more agile on their feet, allowing them to run and jump all throughout your home. But when your floors are wet, it’s so easy for them to slip, fall, and get very hurt.
To combat this, Rebecca Felsenthal Stewart, a contributor to Parents.com, advises that you make it a habit to always wipe up splashes or spills immediately. Especially in areas of your home where the flooring is particularly hard or slippery, like a basement, kitchen or bathroom, you should make keeping the floors dry a top priority.
Unplug Electrical Items When Not In Use
Another potential hazard that’s usually more applicable to older children rather than infants is that of using electrical items. There are likely tons of items you have that require being plugged into the wall in order to use them. When they’re plugged in, the electricity running to them could be very dangerous in the wrong situation.
Because of this, Dr. Dan Brennan, a contributor to WebMD.com, advises that you always unplug your electrical devices when you’re not actively using them. This can help keep your kids from getting shocked, accidentally starting a house fire, or getting burned by something that heats up when plugged in.
Anchor Your Furniture Correctly
As your kids become more mobile and comfortable testing their boundaries physically, it’s not uncommon to find them trying to climb things like shelves or entertainment centers. The problem here is that, when these pieces of furniture aren’t properly anchored, they can fall and crush your child rather easily.
To ensure this doesn’t happen in your home, Carolyn Forte, a contributor to Good Housekeeping, advises that you anchor upright furniture to the walls as soon as you install them. This will keep them from tipping over if and when your children try to scale them or knock into them on accident.
To help your kids stay safe at home regardless of their age, consider using the tips mentioned above to remove potential hazards from your home.
Originally posted on June 26, 2019 @ 10:55 am
