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2torial #0578:
Learn2
Child-Proof Your Home
All the world passes through Baby Gordon's
mouth.
Preparing to have a small, mobile infant in your
home? Whether it's your own or another's, a visit
from a tiny tyrant can disrupt any household's
flow. But some simple preparations can ease the
tension and increase the safety of such visits, so
you can really enjoy your new guest. The aim of
these preparations has a dual (and perhaps
paradoxical) purpose: to protect delicate children
from dangerous things, and to protect expensive or
fragile items from curious children.
Here's the way to look at it: imagine yourself
as a knee-high child with the whole world as your
playground. Take a walk around your house from this
new perspective. Everything is new and to be
explored, tasted, or climbed on. "All the world
passes through Gordon's mouth," goes a famous Greek
saying, and it paints a good picture of an infant's
curiosity. Now let's wander through a few rooms in
your home, making adjustments on the way.
 Child-proof the living room
Since it's the meeting area, the living room is
a place for friends and their children to
congregate. Unfortunately, it's often an area with
many valuable or sentimental items as well. Look
for any items on tables and/or within a toddler's
reach, or on top of a platform that could be shaken
or knocked over. Relocate these items to higher
ground or to a locked room or closet. Here are some
particulars to watch out for:
- Cord yanking: If something can be pulled, you can bet
toddlers will pull on it. Also of concern: children can choke
on mini-blind cords, so keep these out of reach. For electronics
and appliances, tie the various electrical cords together or keep
them together inside an old telephone cord. This will make them
inconspicuous and less likely to appear as playthings. Another
alternative is to use cord shorteners, available at most hardware
stores.
- Outlet testing: a child's explorations can include knee-high
electrical outlets. Place safety guards over unoccupied outlets.
- Lid closing: to avoid squishing little fingers in the
lids of chests or pianos, glue a few pieces of a resilient material
(e.g., cork or thick felt) on the lid to keep it from slamming
shut.
- Plant pulling: keep all floor and hanging plants out
of reach. Even if the child isn't hurt by knocking it over, you'll
have a big mess on your hands.
- Bookcase tumbling: If you have a slightly wobbly or top-heavy
bookcase, consider securing it to the wall. Use shelf brackets screwed
to the side or top of the bookcase, and then screwed to the wall.
 Child-proof the kitchen
The average kitchen might seem relatively
child-friendly, with its tile or acrylic flooring
(easy clean-up) and lack of small, easy-to-reach
items. However, since there's also stoves, knives,
and strong chemical cleaners in a kitchen, one
should never leave a toddler unattended in your
kitchen. Here are some important items to remember:
- Secure any household cleaners in a
locked box.
- On the stove, keep the handles of
pots and pans turned toward the wall--away from
the edge of a stove where a child could reach.
- Plastic bags cause many suffocation
accidents: keep these tucked away and out of
reach.
- Install childproof latches (see
illustration) on any cabinets and appliances
within reach. For a quicker, improvised measure,
tightly tie any cabinet handles together with
wire, twine, or nylon line.
Be extra careful with kitchen drips and
spills: a slippery patch can send a toddler
sprawling to the floor.
 Child-proof the stairs
Kids love to test boundaries and openings.
Stairs are fun to play on, and unfortunately, easy
to fall from. A safety gate is highly recommended
at one or both ends of the staircase, depending on
where the child will be. They attach to the
banister or railpost of the stairs, and often can
swing open on hinges for adult access. If you don't
have a safety gate, improvise one with a firmly
stationed mattress or a table pushed over onto its
side.
- For an inexpensive and portable method of
securing the staircase, purchase some basic
three-foot plastic mesh, available at most
hardware stores. Attach it to the stair banister
with plastic ties, metal wire, or twine.
If you have a deck or balcony in your
home, check that the railings close enough
together to prevent a small child from slipping
through. If they aren't, childproof the railings
with three-foot high plastic mesh. You can tie it
to the inside of the railings with some
strong twine. For a more permanent measure, staple
the mesh in place with heavy staples and a
staplegun.
 Child-proof the windows and
doors
Many accidents can happen in these areas of
entry and exit. But they're easily avoided with a
little pre-planning.
- Window guards are a necessity: a
window screen is not enough to protect a child
from danger. In fact, some local governments
require guards on windows in their housing
safety codes. Otherwise, children can fall out
of windows in the moment your back is turned.
- An excited child running from a playmate can
mistake a sliding glass door for an open
doorway. To prevent a serious accident, mark
the window with decorative tape or stickers to
distinguish it from a doorway.
For doors, you can make a reusable door
stop with four-inch sections of one-inch quarter
molding and coat hangers. To start, cut the molding
into four-inch sections, one for each door you'd
like to stop. Then unwind a coat hanger, and using
your hands (bend the wire back and forth at the
same point) or a strong clipper, break off a
six-inch piece of wire for each door. Make a 90
degree bend about an inch from the end, and make
another bend an inch-and-a-quarter away from the
first bend. This forms a hook that will hang on the
hinge.) Take a moment to file the ends down so
there aren't any rough edges. Hammer along this
bend to drive the wire about an inch into the
molding. It's ready! Just slip it over the hinge
and the door can't slam shut. Make sure that the
molding rest in between the flaps of the hinge.
 Child-proof
the bathroom
Like the kitchen, the bathroom has many slippery
surfaces and dangerous materials requiring
attention:
- Be sure to lock (or tightly tie off) any
cabinets, and move to higher ground any
colorful and sweet-smelling soaps or shampoos.
- Even adults can fall in the tub. For
the whole household's safety, lay down a rubber
no-slip mat or no-slip stickers on the floor of
the tub. For optimum sticking strength, clean
the tub surface thoroughly beforehand.
- Lock all medicine cabinets, even if they
seem out of reach. Children can improve
their climbing skills on a day-to-day basis.
Locks for sliding cabinets are available at
hardware stores.
- Pad the bathtub water spout with a
store-bought cover. Create your own with of a
flexible rubber hosing: slit it part way down
the middle to get it on, and secure it with ring
clamps or nylon line.
Install an anti-scald valve. These valves
attach to most faucets and shower heads, and they
prevent water from reaching a dangerously high
temperature. Hot water that feels fine to adults
can burn an infant.
 Child-proof the garage
Heavy tools, electric devices, and inflammable
materials add up to one thing: keep children out of
the garage. Still, to be safe:
- Keep any dangerous items stashed inside a
wire mesh pen. Depending on the amount of
stuff you have, you can make this pen with a
ten- to fifteen-foot section of wire mesh. Take
the sharp edges and pull them into a cylinder
shape to help you assess how large an area you
need. Then staple (use a staplegun) those sharp
edges to two three-foot sections of one by two
inch wood. Staple each edge onto its own piece.
Make sure to bend back any sharp edges that are
exposed. To lock up the pen, screw two
screw-eyes on the side edge of each wood
piece--one towards the top, one towards the
bottom. Place the screws close enough to the
edge so that a padlock can be passed through the
two screw-eyes. Lock it up and the tots are
safe!
- Store garage door openers and buttons out
of reach. Locking all car doors that are
inside the garage is a good idea, too. Parking
brakes, light and windshield wipers switches are
problems waiting to happen.
- Test your automated garage door. Most
recent models reverse direction when they come
in contact with another object. Check that yours
does also: place a cardboard box in the way of
the door as it closes. If it crushes that, it
can do the same to a child.
A storage freezer or a cabinet can look like
a playpen to a child. Be certain to lock these
doors and hide the keys.
-end-
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