Home Safety for your Little One
• Early
preparation reduces frustration and safety worries.
• Getting started will make changing safety focus seem like
child’s play as your little one grows up.
• Taking a focused look around will make researching the types
of child proof supplies you really need easier to identify.
Congratulation on creating a new life, you are about to begin
the experience of a life time and one that I refer to a “the
best party I was ever invited to attend”.
There will be many ups
and downs in this journey, but as the grandmother in the movie
Parenthood said,
“Life is a roller-coaster, full of thrills,
highs and lows, ….
you get more out of it…it’s just so
interesting, that a ride could
make me so frightened, so scared,
so sick, so excited, and so
thrilled all together!"
Baby Proofing Your Home
When should the baby proofing of our home begin? Well a lot
depends on the size of your home and how quickly you feel you
adapt to change. I usually recommend that it begin no later than
your last trimester. Regardless, the sooner you begin on the
task before the blessed event happens, the smoother your family
will make the transition to a baby safe home.
Why should you begin this task so early, you ask? Well as in
changing any habit it takes approximately 21 days to alter a
behavior. This time allows you to begin feeling comfortable with
the change and any additional time adjusting will make it seem
like second nature.
Add into the mix the factor that the baby
will take up so much attention in the beginning plus the reduced
sleep, it will make beginning this emphasis more daunting. So
find the time to begin making your home safe well before your
off spring arrives.
Yes, I did say begin to make your home safe. As any parent of a
toddler or five year old will tell you, the changing task of
safety from baby proofing to child proofing is an on going
element of a parent’s life and in the case of special need
children never stops.
The good news is you have begun to research the experience early
while you have time to focus on it.
How do you start?
I suggest playing a look and see game as a
couple. Sit on the floor in any room and look around at
everything that is the height of your shoulder. Once you child
begins to move around, these items will be the things that will
attract their attention first.
So in the kitchen and bath begin looking at the types of child
proof latches or locks you want on cabinet doors and drawers.
Think about where medicines and cleaning supplies need to be
located to keep your little one safe.
Begin thinking of where you will display any breakables that
you have on lower shelves and put away or sell any sharp or
breakable objects that might cause an avoidable cut or accident.The Newborn
Your bundle of joy needs little besides food and warmth to be
safe and happy. Well at least safe, because they are often not
to happy at first which is related to the adjustment to the
world at large. Who can blame them?
Home from the Hospital
You do however need to think about how you will get the baby
home from the hospital. In most cases your hospital will not
allow you to bring a baby home unless you have an installed a
car seat. This should be installed approximately 30 days before
your due date. That way if the baby comes early the Dad is not
scrambling to get it put in and checked. Yes, it is best to have
it checked by a para-professional like ----- and it is my
understanding that most fire departments will do this free of
charge.
Now you’ve got the baby home the next thing that is important to
baby proof is the crib. Please take the time to invest in a
“current” crib. This does not mean your crib has to be new, just
be sure that that is newer than say 15 years. Crib safety
changes and the newer the crib will allow you to rest more
easily knowing that there won’t be a possible accident.
When
using a hand me down crib it is often a good idea to invest in a
new mattress, as sometimes toddlers break down the springs
jumping in bed depending on how long they stay in a crib.