X
theAsianparent Logo
theAsianparent Logo
Product GuideSign in
  • Pregnancy
    • Due date calculator
    • I'm pregnant
    • Trying To Conceive
    • Labour
    • After birth
    • Baby loss
  • Parenting
    • Parenting & Play by Friso
    • Parent's Guide
    • Relationship & Sex
  • Ages & Stages
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Pre-schooler
    • Kids
    • Pre-teen & Teen
  • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diseases-Injuries
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Meal Planner
    • Health
    • Allergies & Conditions
    • Vaccinations
  • Education
    • Pre-School
    • Primary School
    • Secondary School
    • Primary School Directory
  • Lifestyle
    • Money
    • Travel & Leisure
    • Fashion
    • Home
    • Fitness
    • Contests & promotions
  • News
    • International
    • Health
    • Celebrity
    • Singapore
  • Money Parenting
    • Tips for Parents
    • Tips for Toddlers
    • Tips for Older Kids
    • The 5 Personas
  • TAP Recommends
  • Shopping
  • Press Releases
  • Project Sidekicks
  • Community
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Become A Contributor
  • VIP

18 Fail-Safe Ways To Baby Proof The House

9 min read
18 Fail-Safe Ways To Baby Proof The House18 Fail-Safe Ways To Baby Proof The House

When your little one has arrived, it's time to start thinking of ways to baby proof the house. Find out tips on keeping the home safe and ready for your children.

Your baby may be swaddled up at this point, but there are chances that the minute he gets more mobile, he would bump into things and hurt himself.

And if you have bought a baby walker, thinking you have averted an unfortunate incident, think again. A walker alone will not save the day, and neither will confining your baby with those child-friendly gates. You need to think of the right ways on how to baby proof the house right away!

Table of Contents

  • When to baby proof the house?
  • How to baby proof each room in the house 
  • More babyproofing tips 
  • How to psychologically baby proof the house?

When to baby proof the house?

18 Fail-Safe Ways To Baby Proof The House

Baby proofing the home allows baby to safely explore his surroundings, hence boosting his sense of curiosity and adventure. | Image source: iStock

It is advisable to start as early as the baby is born. Smriti Sawhney, Chief Psychologist at ePsyClinic.com, Delhi, says,

“Babies are explorers by nature and once they start crawling around a house that’s not ‘baby proofed,’ it can become a hazardous zone for them.”

To baby proof the house, look at it from your baby’s perspective.

“You have to make your home baby-friendly so that the baby’s movement and play are safe,” advises Dr Tarlochan Singh Randhawa, paediatrician, BM New Born & Child Care Centre, Jalandhar.

“Concentrate on major danger areas such as toys, kitchen, stairs, bathroom and the bath tub, furniture, ramp, pets in the house, window blind cords and plants,” he points out.

Child safety should be held with the utmost importance with kids in the house, regardless of their age. In Singapore, there have been several accidents and deaths that have taken place due to negligence, and parents should address this before it’s too late.

How to baby proof each room in the house 

18 Fail-Safe Ways To Baby Proof The House

Identify potentially dangerous gadgets such as computers, laptops, drills and hammers and keep them locked. | Image source: iStock

Be methodical and survey the different rooms of your home one by one. This checklist of ways to baby proof the house should help:

  • Bedrooms

Keep your baby’s room clean. Remove those super-cute bumpers, blankets, pillows and stuffed animals from your baby’s crib. These have the potential to suffocate your child.

“Mobiles with small hanging parts should also come out as soon as baby can pull herself upright,” says Dr Ragini Agrawal, director, W-Hospital by Pratiksha, Gurgaon.

  • Bathrooms

Identify the water source in and around the house. Safeguard your child from slips by using non-slip mats in and out of the tub as well as on any hard-surface floors near the bathroom. Chances are you’ll be chasing a naked, wet baby through the house at some point, reminded Agrawal. 

  • Kitchen and prayer rooms

Identify areas that use heat or flames such as a kitchen or a religious place. The stove is a potential hazard, especially for curious fingers wanting to fiddle with knobs or reach out to that pot sitting over the flames. Prayer essentials such as joss sticks and candles should be away from the floor level where your baby would usually do all his explorations. 

  • Living room

Use doorknob covers for doors that lock easily, especially in your living room. Also, avoid leaving the key in the door locks.

  • Stairs

Got a second floor? If so, a baby gate is a must. It comes in various styles and colours to match your home’s decor. This helps keep your little one away from the stairs and prevents accidents.

  • Laundry room

If your laundry area has its own designated room, it’s best to keep the door locked and off-limits from small babies. But if it’s just in an open area in your home, make sure to remove all the hazardous products like boxes of detergent and bottles of fabric conditioner in a locked cabinet. 

Utilise the child-lock feature of your washing machine and dryer to prevent babies from crawling inside the machine and getting stuck there.

Finally, make sure that the water source is fixed and properly installed to avoid water from leaking on the floor where your child can slip.

  • Garage

If your house has a separate garage or a designated parking area, you need to baby proof it as well. Always lock your vehicle doors and trunk before leaving the garage. If you have bicycles or motorcycles, make sure they are parked securely and won’t fall on a small child.

All chemicals and toxic liquids (gasoline, motor oil, cleaning solutions, pest control, etc) should be tightly sealed and out of reach of children. Make sure to lock all power tools as well. And of course, clean it regularly to prevent rodents and pests from invading your house.

ALSO READ:

How To Baby Proof Your House in 4 Easy Steps

15 Ways Paediatricians Recommend You Babyproof Your Home

6 Best Floor Cleaners in Singapore To Keep Your Home Safe For Your Little One

More babyproofing tips 

In every room of the house, take a thorough inspection of the following:

  • Crib: Identify areas that can create a risk of a fall such as a crib. Move the crib mattress to the lower level. Also, make sure the safety rails are sturdy and the gap between the rails is not too large for the baby to slip through and fall out.
  • Cabinets: Identify areas where you keep toxic substances. Babies and toddlers explore a lot using their mouths. So the medicine cabinets, the garage or garden shed, or even in a purse or other place where medications are stored, should be above the height of your kid and not easily reached.
  • Drawers: Always keep dresser drawers closed properly and make sure they have their handles on securely as babies may use an open drawer to climb on or may accidentally get their hands stuck in a partially-opened drawer.
  • Flooring: Keep the floor clean and remove objects on the floor that pose choking hazards. Anything that can be swallowed and can choke your baby should be removed immediately. If there is a spillage, clean dry as soon as possible to prevent slipping, which can happen to adults too.
  • Electrical chords: Identify areas to prevent electric shocks. Install outlet covers for sockets if you have small babies just learning to crawl. They can easily insert their fingers into the open socket.
  • Electronic gadgets: Identify potentially dangerous gadgets such as computers, laptops, drills and hammers and keep them locked. Try to also keep your fridge locked. “Babies find the refrigerator a very interesting place to explore. However, it’s a dangerous place as they risk eating items they can choke on,” says Sawhney of ePsyClinic.com.
  • Entertainment units: Place the television behind closed doors in an entertainment centre, or mount a flat-panel model to the wall to avoid fiddly fingers playing around with the buttons, electrical wires or sockets.

Baby proofing also means arming yourself with emergency tools and know-how:

  • First-aid box cabinet: When you baby proof the house, keep a first-aid box ready to deal with cuts, burns and bug bites. You can also train the elder sibling if he or she is old enough to handle a first-aid kit.

The Singapore Red Cross Society offers first aid classes. Be trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as well to provide for timely help with suffocation or any other grievous injury before actual medical help arrives.

  • Arrange for pest control: Make sure to get pest control done regularly to avoid the presence of rats or mosquitoes to avoid various forms of infections and bug bites, especially Dengue Fever.

The Singapore government and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have launched the ‘Mozzie Wipe-out’ Campaign to garner everyone’s involvement to check their own homes for breeding areas that attract the dreaded Aedes mosquitoes.

How to psychologically baby proof the house?

18 Fail-Safe Ways To Baby Proof The House

Look for avoidance and fearful reactions in your kids when they are with strangers. Never leave your kids unattended with them. | Image source: iStock

Partner Stories
The Ultimate Guide For Parents About Newborn Baby Weight Loss And Gain
The Ultimate Guide For Parents About Newborn Baby Weight Loss And Gain
How To Baby Proof Your House in 4 Easy Steps
How To Baby Proof Your House in 4 Easy Steps
Screen Or No Screen? Here’s Why Your Child Needs More Off-Screen Activities!
Screen Or No Screen? Here’s Why Your Child Needs More Off-Screen Activities!
Montessori Education For Your Child: What You Should Know
Montessori Education For Your Child: What You Should Know

Apart from these physical changes, baby proofing also entails psychological changes around the house in order to facilitate a safe environment for the baby.

This translates to making sure that the home is a safe haven for the baby or child, providing an emotionally safe yet cognitively-stimulating environment for healthy development.

Sawhney of ePsyClinic.com lists four changes to psychologically baby proof the house:

  • Avoid aggressive or emotional outbursts in the presence of your baby. Babies bloom the best in physically safe, warm and loving homes. Anger or other negative emotions can scare and scar our kids for life. Learn more effective and less violent ways of reacting to negative stimuli and remember your kids are learning from you.
  • Know your kids’ reactions to people who visit your house. All visitors may not be safe for your kids. Look for fearful reactions from your baby towards specific people. Never leave your kids unattended with these people and never force your children to get friendly with people they are uncomfortable with.
  • Provide cognitive stimulation. When you baby proof the house, keep things that are safe and that can stimulate your baby or child within their reach. For instance, keep interactive books for babies within reach or keep some appropriately sized cloth pieces on a side-table.
  • Do not use TV/laptops/iPads as a babysitter for long hours. This may reduce the child’s exploring needs and may make your child technology-dependent from a very early age. (READ: New AAP guidelines for children’s screentime)

While you chart out the various ways to babyproof the house, remember that exploration is the key to a healthy baby. Physically, it provides exercise and is a source of learning for the baby or your toddler. However, baby proofing the house alone cannot replace your supervision.

For whatever reasons, you should never leave your baby alone in the home without an adult. This is to prevent any undesirable mishaps or accidents that can happen within the house.

Parents, let your child explore and enjoy every moment of their growing up years by creating a physically and psychologically safe environment.

Republished with permission from: theIndusparent

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

img
Written by

Deepshikha Punj

  • Home
  • /
  • Ages & Stages
  • /
  • 18 Fail-Safe Ways To Baby Proof The House
Share:
  • 7 Budget-Friendly Ways To Childproof Your Home

    7 Budget-Friendly Ways To Childproof Your Home

  • Is your home baby-proof enough?

    Is your home baby-proof enough?

  • Why it's getting harder to keep baby safe in this world

    Why it's getting harder to keep baby safe in this world

  • 5 Ways A Narcissistic Parent Can Negatively Affect A Child's Personality

    5 Ways A Narcissistic Parent Can Negatively Affect A Child's Personality

app info
get app banner
Author Image

Deepshikha Punj

Deepshikha worked as the Head of Web Content and was previously the Regional Dy. Head of Content and Partnerships Director at theAsianparent. She also worked as the Director of HerStyleAsia.com and handled content strategy and management for APAC markets.
  • 7 Budget-Friendly Ways To Childproof Your Home

    7 Budget-Friendly Ways To Childproof Your Home

  • Is your home baby-proof enough?

    Is your home baby-proof enough?

  • Why it's getting harder to keep baby safe in this world

    Why it's getting harder to keep baby safe in this world

  • 5 Ways A Narcissistic Parent Can Negatively Affect A Child's Personality

    5 Ways A Narcissistic Parent Can Negatively Affect A Child's Personality

Get advice on your pregnancy and growing baby. Sign up for our newsletter
  • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Education
    • Events
    • Allergies & Conditions
  • Family Occasions
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Child Safety
    • Health
    • Diseases-Injuries
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Money
    • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diet & Weightloss
  • Normal Delivery
    • Cesarean Delivery
    • Behaviour
    • Secondary School
    • Formula Feeding
  • Ages & Stages
    • Latching & Concerns
    • Festivals & Holidays
    • Education
    • Pre-teen & Teen
  • More
    • TAP Community
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Become a Contributor


  • Singapore flag Singapore
  • Thailand flag Thailand
  • Indonesia flag Indonesia
  • Philippines flag Philippines
  • Malaysia flag Malaysia
  • Sri-Lanka flag Sri Lanka
  • India flag India
  • Vietnam flag Vietnam
  • Australia flag Australia
  • Japan flag Japan
  • Nigeria flag Nigeria
  • Kenya flag Kenya
© Copyright theAsianparent 2022. All rights reserved
About Us|Team|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use |Sitemap HTML
  • Tools
  • Articles
  • Feed
  • Poll

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

theAsianparent heart icon
We’d like to send you notifications for the latest news and lifestyle updates.