It might seem like only yesterday that your baby first started crawling, but in fact, he/she is now a ball of energy, always on the move. You can be sure that he/she will do anything in his/her power to display his/her newly acquired skills in crawling and walking. Allow your baby the necessary freedom on this road to discovery. Let him/her climb up, roll down and continue his/her development without any barriers. You can ensure his/her safety without limiting his/her freedom of movement.
Safety Measures For The 5 senses
Your baby is full of enthusiasm to discover everything in the house using his/her 5 senses. There is no problem when these concern the foods he/she is allowed to taste, safe items lying around waiting for him/her touch or smell. However, there are also things that you should keep away from his/her 5 senses. Ensure you keep things that could be hazardous to your child, such as batteries, medicine, lighters, matches, knives, scissors, pins, coins, nails, glass articles, plastic bags, etc., out of his/her reach.
Be aware of Active hands!
After turning one, the hand and feet dexterity of your baby will improve. As a precaution against the things he/she can do with his/her improved capabilities, you can install vent sashes and child locks on your windows, plug the night light in an outlet out of his/her reach, cover the plugs not in use with protective lids and place the easy to remove plugs into sockets he/she cannot reach.
It would improve safety if you gather the power cables that are constantly used either behind furniture or at places that your child cannot reach, or use means including cable clamps to hide away cables and also remove the cables of small appliances such as toasters, blow dryers and similar from the plug when these are not in use.
The following are some of the precautions you can take regarding large pieces of furniture in your house: You can install special child safety locks on drawers, cupboard lids, oven and cooker top buttons, fridge, and washing machine lids. You can use door guards to prevent doors closing on your child’s fingers. You should always make sure you lock the door to your house. It will keep your baby safe if you anchor large pieces of furniture like bookshelves and glass cabinets to the wall, if possible, and place the TV set and similar items in a manner to prevent them from toppling over.
Kitchen and Dinner Table Safety
Keeping hot drinks and meals away from your baby and placing plates containing hot food items in the middle of the table rather than the sides would be a good choice. Take care to keep your baby away from the top of the cooker when cooking food and place the handles away from the sides of the cooker top.
Make sure that the table cloth is placed to prevent your baby from pulling it down in excitement. You can eliminate this hazard by using place mats instead of a table cloth.
Regardless of how comfortable and calm your baby may appear seated in his/her highchair, it would be best to take the necessary measures and not leave him/her alone when he/she is in the highchair.
For further suggestions regarding safety measures you can check our recommendations for age groups 6-12 months and older than 24 months.
Content provided by: ZNN Network www.znnnetwork.com
Label: baby proof, child development, child safety, crawling, Security, senses
