Baby-Proofing the Home

CEBU, Philippines — In the light of the current economic hurdle, both husbands and wives have to go to work in order to earn enough to cover the needs of the family. To the kids, it means both their parents are out of the home – leaving no one to carry out the parental function. For the most part, the children are left on their own to learn the fundamentals of life and living.

Even a most dedicated “yaya” can never take the place of any child’s parent. And so parents always have guilt of being away from the home when they – the mothers especially – should be around to help mold their growing young ones.

And yet a more immediate drawback worries ‘absentee’ parents more. It’s the danger of getting small babies into accidents. And the possibilities are just all around at home.

The website www.bounty.com notes: “Toddlers, in particular, like to get themselves into sticky situations. For them it’s called exploring.” The behavior keeps parents on their toes and a couple of heart-stopping moments when the little ones find they can climb the bookcase – their version of Mount Everest, the website adds. It’s such a horror, of course.

“No one wants to wrap their little explorer in cotton wool,” the www.bounty.com website continues. “But, even the liveliest of parents gets flattened by constantly sprinting over to stop their toddler poking their fingers in sockets, climbing on stools or grabbing at bottles.” To assuage the parental anguish, the website shares tips for baby-proofing the home:

Soften hard edges.

It may look like an innocent piece of furniture, but for a toddler, a coffee table is an accident waiting to happen. In fact, any furniture that has hard sharp edges below knee-height is a potential for bangs on the head. You could take it extremes, banishing pointy furniture to the storeroom (but it might take a whole warehouse, and that would be costly). Or more realistically, you can save your money by investing in those highly affordable cushioned corner guards and edge protector strips.

Wiley wires.

Little adventurers love the tangle potential of these loose wires, especially if they’re attached to heavy lamps, kettles and irons. You could invest in everything solar-powered. Or you could just unplug some electrical appliances when you are not using them. Never run leads or cables under carpets or rugs – you won’t be able to see if they become damaged. And keep an eye out for signs of loose wiring, faulty plugs or sockets – scorch marks or flickering lights are warning signs. Always replace worn, damaged or taped up leads and cables.

Safe stairs.

Stairs are a truly exciting challenge for your budding Olympian climber. So you could take it to the extreme – moving to a bunglalow or employing a 24-hour guard to man the stairs. Or you could just buy stair-gates. There are various styles available, including those which can be slotted into a space without the need for drilling any holes.

Lock kitchen cupboards.

To little imaginations, opening up those kitchen cupboards is like taking the first steps into “Narnia,” with colorful bottles of bleach, dishwasher tablets and sprays just begging to be played with.

You could arm your tot with gloves, an apron and goggles – it’s never too early to teach them about chemical reactions! Or more realistically you could just store all those household substances in a cupboard far away from prying hands, and snap on cupboard and draw locks.

Fires and heaters.

Fires and toddlers do not mix. You could relocate your family to an igloo in Greenland – or you could just make your house fire-proof. Where kids and fires are both present, fireguards are most necessary. It’s also a good idea to keep a fire-extinguisher in the house. Fit and regularly test smoke alarms to keep you and your family safe.

There are many more baby-proofing ideas that may come to mind. The few given here may work to start the parents into thinking.