Category Archives: Baby Proofing

Welcoming a baby into your life is an exciting and joyful time. But it’s understandable if you’re also nervous about it. It doesn’t take long for them to start crawling around and learning how to walk. Once they’re mobile, it’s important to make sure your home is a safe place for them. Keep the following tips in mind for babyproofing your home.

Secure Furniture and Electronics

As babies get older, they enjoy climbing on furniture and reaching for items on shelves and other high places. Bookcases, televisions, dressers and other large pieces of furniture and electronic equipment can tip over, resulting in serious injuries. In fact, furniture and other items tipping over sent roughly 21,000 children to the hospital with injuries between 2011 and 2013. In order to lower this risk, you should use anti-tip brackets to secure dressers, bookcases, and similar items to the wall. You should mount televisions to the wall or place them on TV stands or media centers.

Cover Electrical Outlets

Electrical outlets are typically located on the lower part of walls, which makes them easy targets for babies. Young children can be severely shocked or burned if they stick items, such as paperclips, into electrical outlets. Roughly 2,400 children end up with these kinds of injuries each year from outlets. Putting outlet caps or covers over electrical outlets helps reduce the risk of these injuries. However, it\’s too easy for your little one to remove caps and they also present a choking hazard. Keep in mind that these aren’t the only ways to make outlets safe. Installing tamper-resistant electrical outlets provides even more safety than caps and covers. If your home was built prior to 2008 it\’s likely you don\’t have tamper-resistant outlets.

Hide Electrical Cords and Wires

Babies learn about their environment by sticking objects in their mouth. Electrical cords and wires can cause serious injuries if babies put them in their mouth while they’re plugged in. Cords and wires are also tripping hazards for babies who are learning how to walk. They’re also dangerous if young children play with them or put them around their neck. Keep cords and wires hidden away with cord covers or by securing them to the wall in an area that your baby can’t reach. If you find yourself running extension cords because your outlets are in an inconvenient location, it may be time to add a few outlets to your home.

Babyproof Cabinets and Drawers

Babies are curious by nature, which means that they love to explore cabinets, drawers, and cupboards. Since these areas often contain items that could harm your baby, such as knives or cleaning products, you should make sure to lock them from tiny hands. Use childproof locks on drawers, cabinets, and cupboards, which helps keep your baby from opening them. You’ll still be able to get them open easily enough, but your baby will be safe from any harmful items in these areas.

Unplug Unused Appliances and Electronics

Leaving toasters, hair dryers and other electronics and small appliances plugged in when you’re not using them can be dangerous if your baby is able to reach them. To reduce the risk of electric shocks and other injuries, make sure to unplug these items when they’re not in use.

If you find yourself worrying about the electrical hazards in your home, contact Turn It On Electric to learn more about our babyproofing services. Our expert electricians can help you make your Phoenix home safer for your baby.

Statistics show unintentional death (accidents, injuries, poisoning, falls, etc.) as one of the 10 leading causes of death for babies and children ages 1-19. Some of these dangers can be reduced or eliminated by childproofing and babyproofing your home.

When to Babyproof Your Home

Babyproofing your home is something most parents-to-be consider before the birth of their first child. But no matter the ages of your children, childproofing and babyproofing your home is a safety solution that minimizes danger zones in your house. It’s also something that is age-specific for your property, too.

For example, if you have an older home, you should check to be sure lead paint has not been used (poisoning hazard). There’s also a chance you may have an electrical panel known for its design flaws and subsequent dangers (fires, shocks, and short circuits). We encourage our friends and neighbors to replace your Zinsco panel for peace of mind – yours and ours! Here are some additional parenting tips for babyproofing your home:

1. Choking risks – Anything small enough to put in a child’s mouth located in lower drawers or cabinets is a choking risk. Move small items to a higher space. Also, remove pet bowls after feeding time; dry pet food on the floor can pose a choking hazard.
2. Crawl through the house – Visualize the world from their point of view. Scoot around the floor to see what dangers might attract a crawler/toddler.
3. Electrical outlet covers – These can help keep prying fingers away from danger and give you time to relocate your child to a safer area. But they can be removed by crawlers and toddlers. If you\’re concerned, call us to learn about tamper-resistant outlets so you don\’t have to worry about covering your outlets.
4. Furniture – Babies begin pulling themselves up on furniture almost as soon as they learn to crawl. Between 2000-2006, over 130 youngsters died from furniture tip-overs. Bolt entertainment units, bookcases, dressers, and any top-heavy furniture that could fall on a pulling-up child. Move heavy items to bottom drawers and shelves. Cover sharp furniture edges/corners with bumpers.
5. Monitor visitors – Auntie Jane’s purse, dropped casually on the floor near the front door, can hold makeup, medicines, sharp objects – all hazards for a toddler.
6. Poison potentials – Lock up every potential for poisoning. That includes cleaning products and medicines.
7. Safety gate – Don’t pinch pennies when buying a safety gate! They should be easy for you to open and close and impossible for your toddler to open. At the top of stairways, use a gate that screws to the wall.
8. Supervision – This is first and foremost the very best way to prevent accidents and falls. There are plenty of “gadgets” you can buy, but nothing replaces adult supervision. “I’d rather not recommend a product than suggest one that gives parents a false sense of security,” says Anne Altman, childproofing consultant.
9. Window coverings – Cords on window blinds, etc. are frequent causes of strangulation in the U.S. Use cordless window treatments and don’t place baby’s crib or playpen near a window.
10. Windows and doors – Keep them latched. Window screens do not prevent falls, and if you live in a high-rise, consider window stops or guards.

Babyproofing Your Home

Electrical babyproofing your home means making safety a priority for every age of your child, from infant to toddler to teen. Whether you’re building new this year or planning a renovation project, homeowners who want the best turn to Turn It On Electric for electrical solutions. Simply put, at Turn It On Electric we care about your home and business property. Safety and installation regulatory compliance is critical for our customers. We’re invested in the quality and integrity of our work because we live here, too. Sometimes we can provide over-the-phone estimates, so call us today to learn more about our electrical services.