Parenting is a full-time and a lifetime job. It’s not something you learn in school or practice during an internship. Your parenting skills and expertise grow with your experiences. But regardless of whether you’re a first-time or an experienced parent, the goal is the same: to keep your children or babies happy, healthy, and safe.
When you’re an expecting parent, you want to make sure that everything is prepared and ready for your baby’s coming. You’ve probably bought all the baby supplies and set up the nursery. But other than these preparations, you must ensure that the entire house is baby-friendly and hazard-free.
Providing a baby-friendly home means you can guarantee that your baby will grow strong, healthy, and safe from dangerous conditions which could put their health or life at risk. With this in mind, here are six essentials you’ll need to make your home baby-friendly.
- Invest In Baby Furniture
Before your baby arrives, you must invest in necessary and appropriate baby furniture pieces. For instance, a baby cot is highly recommended—especially for the newborns—as this will be their sleeping space. As much as possible, avoid co-sleeping with your baby or letting them share the bed with you at night. Doing so puts them at risk of being rolled over or being stuck under the pillows or sheets.
Other baby furniture pieces you need to prepare for your baby’s arrival may include:
- Baby cot
- Changing Table
- Dresser
- Clothes Hamper
- Night light
When shopping for baby furniture, go for pieces that have soft and rounded edges. Avoid buying furniture that has sharp edges to reduce your baby’s risk of being injured. If there are no round edges available, you can apply edge protectors instead.
- Use Anti-Tip Kits For Your Furniture
Babies are naturally playful, especially if they’re starting to crawl, stand, grab, and hold things. As their curiosity heightens, they may begin to crawl and pull on anything their hands touches, such as on dresser handlers or tables. This could put your baby at risk of being hit by toppled furniture pieces. To prevent such an incident, make sure to use anti-tip kits for every furniture piece around the house. These anti-tip kits will keep your furniture pieces safely locked in place despite being grabbed or held onto by your baby.
- Incorporate Area Rugs On Floors
Toddlers and babies are most likely to spend most of their time crawling and playing on the floor. And while they do so, there’s also a higher chance they spill plenty of things on the floor—such as water, milk, or their food bowl. Thus, it may be best to incorporate area rugs on your floors, especially with tile flooring or hardwood. Letting your baby play on the hard floor could put them at risk of slip and fall injuries.
With area rugs and carpets, you can provide a comfier and softer flooring for your baby while they crawl or play on the floor. If they spill something, you can easily pull off those rugs and carpets, replace them with new ones, and put the soiled ones on the laundry.
- Proper Storage Space
Besides having complete baby supplies, it’s also vital that your baby’s belongings are properly stored. Leaving some baby stuff disorganized on the floors or corners could put your baby at risk of stumbling to them and falling on the floor. Don’t worry, as there’s no such thing as too much storage space when it comes to your baby’s things.
So, get creative with your storage space and invest in containers or storage spaces that are attractive for kids and babies. For instance, you can have an animated storage basket for their toys. Once your baby is old enough to understand the importance of organizing the house, the playful storage spaces would keep them interested in organizing the place.
- Install Baby Gates
When your baby starts to crawl, walk, or even run, there’s no stopping them from wanting to explore every corner of the house. To keep your baby safe from going into forbidden places like the stairs, kitchen, laundry room, or even the pool outside, make sure to install baby gates around the house. These baby gates will keep your baby safe from wandering off to risky areas and make it easier for you to keep an eye on them when they crawl or walk around.
- Use Locks And Covers
One of the most critical measures you shouldn’t miss in creating a baby-friendly home is using locks and covers. Locks are essential to secure risky areas around your house, such as the windows, doors, high cabinets, and even the toilet room. On the other hand, outlet covers are essential to keep your baby safe from open plugs, cables, and electrical outlets. These are highly dangerous for anyone, especially your baby when touched.
Takeaway
Many parents say the most challenging part of taking care of your baby is during their early stage (0-3 years old). These essentials mentioned above will make it easier for you to keep your baby healthy and safe anytime and anywhere around the house.
Mo Mulla is a work from home dad who enjoys reading and listening to music, He loves being a dad and husband to a growing family. He also loves writing about his passions and hopes to change the world, 1 blog post at a time!
