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Make Your Home Infant Friendly

I was at Nursing Home for my regular check-up for pregnancy when suddenly chaos set in without any warning. A Maruti Van skid into the parking lot with people rushing in wailing loudly. At first, I could not understand what was happening, but then I saw this lovely infant, laying still in the arm of a man rushing inside. For a moment, as the doctor checked the infant, everything was quiet and I held my breath as well, but then the loud wailing that followed told me that the terrible thing had happened. 

Later on I learned that the beautiful 2 year old boy, aptly named Krishna had drowned in the bucket of water kept to wash clothes in the bathroom. Isn’t is so unfortunate that an innocent life was nipped in bud due to avertable accident? Why don’t we pay some attention to make our homes infant friendly even when we do love our children to bits? Let us be alert and prevent accidents and callous injuries to toddlers, who have no idea of danger when they run around our homes. 

Here are few tips that would make your home infant friendly:

  • Pad sharp edges of sofas, coffee tables, or any other corners where there is a possibility of your baby banging its head
  • Keep your stairs gated and remember to close the gates every time
  • If you have pets at home, vacuum regularly to remove pet hairs
  • Cover electrical switchboards if they are accessible by children
  • Keep cords, plastic bags and other dangerous products out of reach
  • Prevent drowning with right precautions. Indian parents should take caution not to keep open buckets of water accessible to children
  • Never leave medicines and chemicals where child can pick it up
  • Lock cabinets 
  • Make sure that the book shelves are steady and safe
  • Ensure you have door safety latches that will prevent the doors from slamming on the tiny fingers
  • Home plants and the mud are favourites with toddlers. Keep them out of their reach so that they will not ingest the mud
  • Never leave toilet and bathroom doors open
  • Read warning labels on toys before buying them
  • Check for the latest baby proofing products available in the market and install them if required

All toddlers, no matter how smart, they are innocent and are unable to understand how they can easily hurt themselves. This is the reason why leaving them unattended can be very risky.

Finally let me tell you that no matter how many child proofing gadgets you buy from market, nothing is ever going to replace your supervision when it comes to keeping your baby safe. Be there and watch your child play around your home, so that you will be alert to dangers that may turn into accidents in future. It is always better to be safe than sorry.