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When you find out you are expecting a little bundle of joy, you are naturally filled with joy and excitement (and undoubtedly more than a little bit of anxiety). When the initial burst of emotions has waned, you begin to look at the practicalities of raising a child.
That means looking at your living space in a completely different way. It is true that, when you are a parent (or at least an expecting one), you notice things that never would have captured your attention before. For example, a reclining chair may have just been a great place to relax and unwind but, with a little pottering around, there are numerous ways for them to hurt themselves.
As the living room is where you spend most of your time when you are at home, baby-proofing this space should be top of your agenda. Here, we provide some top tips on how to make sure baby stays safe in your home’s living room.
Watch Out for Sharp Corners
All manner of furniture can feature sharp corners, such as coffee tables, television stands and other storage units. For adults, the likely worst-case scenario is accidentally brushing past a sharp edge as you walk past. For little one’s, particularly as the begin to find their feet (which happens sooner than you might think) this presents an almighty hazard.
As they toddle around and experimenting by climbing and cruising along the furniture, their heads will be at the same height as the exposed corner. To combat this, it will worth sanding down sharp edges of wooden furniture and/or investing in corner protectors that can be placed over problem areas.
Keep Any DIY Tools Out of Reach
If you are a DIY enthusiast and always looking for your next project, it is likely that you will have your tool kit, drill and accessories close by at all times. Here’s the thing, children have an uncanny knack of finding and playing with things they shouldn’t, and that certainly includes your drill fittings. It doesn’t even bear thinking about what could happen should a toddler get their hands on your tools.
Make sure to keep your tools away from areas of the home where the baby is most likely to be. Safely store away in your bedroom, garage or another room that will be out of bounds for the little one – and even then, make sure that they are unable to easily grab hold of them.
Non-Slip Rugs
This is especially important if your living room features hard flooring, and you are not willing to make the move over to carpeting. A rug, although a stylish interior design trait, is a hazard just waiting to happen without proper precautions in place. A non-slip rug will safeguard against the child from experiencing a nasty tumble.
As little one’s firmly find their feet and experiment with running, a rug can easily slip from underneath their feet. It would be bad enough for them to fall on the floor, potentially banging their head, but if there is other furniture close by that the child could easily fall into, causing serious injury.
Clear Surfaces
Anything in baby’s reach is fair game, as you will soon learn. Make sure that surfaces, such as the coffee table, are kept clear of clutter (especially anything that could cause damage to baby). Invest in storage units where you can keep anything such as keys, magazines, books and other paperwork that you might otherwise pile up on the side.
This is just the tip of the iceberg and, we guarantee, no matter how thorough a job you feel you have done, baby will find something else that you did not even consider. Just make sure to be mindful and try to consider all eventualities, even the most ludicrous, because if there is even the smallest risk it is best to avoid where possible.