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When it comes to young children, it seems that risk factors lie in wait for them at every turn: sockets, doors, sharp corners of furniture and even thresholds. This review contains brilliantly simple tips that will help make your home absolutely harmless for children.

1. Sockets



Babies are tireless explorers who often show interest in things that are completely unsuitable for play, such as sockets, electrical appliances, cords and plugs. To prevent your child from getting injured, you should take care of the safety of sockets in advance: buy special plugs and install them as soon as the baby starts crawling.

2. Locks on cabinets



From about 6 months, the child begins to crawl and actively explore the world. During this period, the contents of all cabinets in the house are at risk. Special locks that are attached to cabinet handles and prevent doors from opening will help preserve the integrity of fragile items and also protect the child from injury. However, this order of things can upset the young researcher so much that a couple of cabinets with unbreakable and child-safe things should still be left open.

3. Non-slip sole



To prevent your child from slipping during active games, take care of the safety of his shoes. This can be done using rubber glue or special paint. Simply decorate the soles of your baby's slippers and socks with simple messages or pictures to improve traction and prevent slipping.

4. Door stops



For a child, a door is a source of potential danger. Careless handling of the door can lead to pinched fingers and bruised legs. To prevent such troubles, door stops will help, which should be installed on all doors and used until the child learns to handle this functional component of the house.

5. Open doors



Equip all doors with homemade lock “blockers”, which can be made from ordinary rubber bands, so that all interior doors always remain open.

6. Gate



Special low gates, which you can purchase or make yourself from PVC pipes, will help limit your child’s movements around the house, as well as prevent them from visiting potentially dangerous places. Unlike doors, such gates do not obstruct the view and do not absorb sound so that parents can observe the actions of their children. Furniture stability



All furniture that could hypothetically fall should be prevented from doing so. Therefore, when preparing for the arrival of your baby, make sure that chests of drawers, cabinets and sideboards stand firmly on their feet, and ideally are completely screwed to the walls.

8. Corners



Furniture corners can be protected with bright silicone pads. They will not only prevent many injuries, but will also make the interior brighter and more cheerful.

9. Window protection



Doors and sharp corners, of course, pose a danger to the child, but this danger is insignificant compared to that posed by windows. It is worth noting that the presence of a mosquito net is not at all a guarantee of safety; in fact, it will collapse even from the pressure of a cat. The best way to secure windows is to install frameless bars on them. It is also worth noting that glass windows should be strengthened with a special film, which, in the event of an impact, will not allow the glass to crumble.

10. Fixing carpets



To prevent carpets from moving around during active children's games, attach them to the floor with Velcro. This can be done as easily as possible by gluing one part of the Velcro to the floor, and the second directly to the carpet.

11. Finger protection



Soft pool bolsters attached to the door will prevent it from slamming shut and protect children's fingers from possible pinching.

12. Wires



Almost all children show interest in the wires that stretch along the floor. To eliminate the possibility of electrical injuries, it is better to hide the wires in special boxes in advance.

13. Switches



Switches are not a toy. Homemade pads made of thick fabric or oilcloth will help make them safe and less noticeable.

14. Wardrobe



A regular hanger will help protect the contents of your closet, as well as prevent colossal clutter. Hang it on the cabinet handles, and the child will not be able to get into the middle.

15. Toilet protection



Most kids have an unhealthy interest in toilets. They happily collect water, swim, and also drown valuables in them. Special toilet locks will help prevent all these troubles, which should be used until the child understands the structure of this important element.

Video bonus:

16. Chest lock



A thin plastic tube will help protect the chest of drawers from the interference of a curious little one.

17. Safe bath



Bright rubber bath stickers will prevent slipping and will also make it fun and interesting for your child.

Video bonus:

As soon as a child is born, his parents begin to look at the world around him with completely different eyes: even ordinary household objects can be dangerous for the baby. In order to avoid difficult and unpleasant situations in advance, The Village decided to figure out how to make the house comfortable and safe for a family with a child.

Setting up a safe space for your child is easy, the main thing is to approach this problem responsibly, and not limit yourself to installing elementary plugs on sockets. This is certainly an important point, but far from the only one.

Kitchen

A lot of drawers are a real attraction for any baby. In an effort to understand this world, the child will try to look into all corners of the kitchen. The task of parents is to make these studies safe. Boxes containing sharp objects or kitchen household chemicals must be equipped with special locking mechanisms that a child cannot handle. Or these items should be moved to higher boxes. Bottom drawers that are not fraught with danger and in which, for example, pots are stored, do not need to be locked. But it is better to check whether they open smoothly and install closers so that the child cannot pinch his fingers.

If you are renovating while expecting a baby, think about the location of the stove. When cutting the slab into the countertop, ask to move it as far away from the edge as possible. If it is a domino type stove (two burners) and the length of the countertop allows it, then you can cut it along the kitchen front, and not across it. And get used to placing pans on the stove so that the handle faces the wall, not the edge. Otherwise, the baby may come up, grab the handle and turn the entire contents on itself.

If the oven is located low and a child can reach it, make sure that the buttons and handles are always locked.


Living room

Anything that is breakable, piercing, cutting, valuable or dangerous must be raised to a height beyond the reach of a child. It is better to equip accessible lower cabinets and drawers with locks, just in case, or fill them with children's books and toys - the child will study them for a long time. Make sure that the baby cannot drop anything heavy on himself. It is better to mount the bookcase and TV on the wall. Cover sharp corners with special soft plugs.

Windows and doors

Install locking mechanisms on the windows - this is especially important if the windows are low. You can make the window open at an angle and not all the way - that will be enough for ventilation. Limit the number of mosquito nets and do not open windows equipped with them wide open. They form a ghostly sense of security in the child: he can lean on this net, but it is practically not secured and cannot serve as a support. Install a chain on the balcony door at a level of 1.7 meters so that the child cannot go out onto the balcony on his own. If you choose a forging pattern for the balcony, pay attention to ensure that the baby cannot climb it like a ladder. Equip interior doors with shock-absorber stops that will prevent the doors from closing all the way so that a child cannot get their fingers pinched.

Bathroom

The child should not be alone in the bathroom: even if it seems to you that you have thought of everything, all possible dangers are collected here. All household chemicals and first aid kits should be placed as high as possible and, if possible, locked. While the child is small and it is impossible to explain to him what can be touched and what cannot, it is better to put soap, shampoos, and toothpaste in a separate drawer.

Children's

When starting a renovation in a nursery, pay attention to what building materials you use. Choose the most environmentally friendly ones. Do not place mirrors in the nursery; a TV in this room is also unnecessary. There should be no shelves, cabinets or pictures above the baby’s bed. If there is already a shelf, then let only light toys be stored on it, and not books. By the way, there should be a minimum number of books in the nursery so that they do not collect dust, which is a strong allergen.

Place a light switch or small sconce directly next to the crib so that the baby is not afraid of monsters under the bed and can easily turn on the light on his own.


- Try to delay moving to an apartment where renovations have just been completed. Fine dust remains in the air for several months after repairs, and the corresponding strong odors do not disappear for a very long time.

- In a house with stairs, it would be useful to have special partition bars that will prevent the child from falling down the stairs. The distance between stair balusters should not be more than 15 centimeters.

- Place flowers out of reach of children so that he cannot drop heavy pots on himself or taste their contents. If the balcony is glazed, you can temporarily install a winter garden there.

If your baby has reached crawling age, then it’s time to turn the house upside down. Your cozy home with an interior thought out to the smallest detail, with cute trinkets on the shelves and flowers on the windowsills is completely unsafe for a child. Kids are very curious and persistent in their attempts to reach, examine and taste the object that interests them. To avoid injury, you should eliminate all sources of potential danger in advance.

The main condition for the safety of a child is constant supervision.

Even if your baby is just starting to crawl or is taking his first steps, don’t underestimate his ability to instantly climb into places he shouldn’t. And every day he becomes faster and faster.

Yourbestdigs/flickr.com

Playpens, protective barriers and safety gates (especially on stairs, if you have them) will help make life easier for parents and protect children from injury. But they do not guarantee one hundred percent protection, so try to keep the child in sight at all times.

Sources of potential danger

Try to look at your surroundings through the eyes of a child. You can even get on all fours and crawl around the house: this way you will immediately understand what is within reach. Keep in mind that he will eventually reach for everything he can reach. Think about what you could hit, what you could swallow, what you could drop on yourself, and what you could get entangled in.

This is what poses a potential threat.

1. Small items

Anything that fits in the mouth can be swallowed, so it is better to put all the little things away and higher up. This is especially true for coins and batteries.

2. Plants

Some are poisonous. Check to see if you have any, and if so, move them to a place where your child can't reach them.

3. Wires and cords

We are talking not only about wires from electrical appliances, which a child can pull and drop the device itself, but also about cords from curtains. Wrap them up so they don't hang, and secure them so they can't be pulled.

4. Sharp corners, doors, sources of burns

Install special soft attachments on the corners of tables, bedside tables and other furniture with hard edges. If you have a fireplace or very hot radiators, it is worth putting protective barriers around them. It also wouldn’t hurt to purchase locks for interior doors that will prevent your child from slamming the door and pinching his fingers.

5. Sockets

Chances are you already have plastic plugs for your outlets. They are, of course, better than nothing, but it is still worth installing special sockets with child protection. There are several modifications of such sockets: for example, sockets that open only when the plug is turned.

6. Hazardous substances

Medicines, cleaning agents and detergents, vinegar - all this must be kept out of the child’s reach. Place all chemicals and medications on the highest shelves, where even you will have difficulty getting them.

7. Sharp objects

First of all, prevent access to knives and forks. Install special locks or locks on cutlery drawers.

8. Windows


donnieray/flickr.com

If your baby has learned to climb onto sofas and chairs, then the day is not far off when he will be able to climb onto the windowsill. It is better to worry about its safety in advance and install either handles with locks that can be locked with a key, or special locks on the window sashes.

What you will need

So, you've inspected your home and found out what could pose a threat to a small but omnipresent family member. Let's summarize and make a list of what is worth purchasing:

  • attachments for corners and edges of furniture;
  • child-proof sockets or plugs;
  • brackets for curtain cords;
  • window handles with locks or sash locks;
  • locks or locks on cabinet and drawer doors;
  • interior door locks;
  • devices for fastening furniture to walls (for example, special belts);
  • playpen, barriers and baby safety gates that are attached to the walls.

Of course, it’s impossible to foresee everything, and the child will still hit himself with more than one bump before he learns to be careful. Your task is to make sure that you get by only with bumps, and not with something more serious.

Before you let the little one off your hands!

A small child, even in his own home, faces a lot of dangers, and although it can be very difficult to keep track of an exploring toddler, parents still have the opportunity to reduce the number of threats to a minimum. The PIK group of companies and the Social Projects and Programs Foundation have launched a new social project, “Information program on home safety for children,” which provides advice on how to protect a child. The RIA Real Estate website selected the 10 most important recommendations.

Soft protection

While the child is very small and spends most of his time in the crib, it would seem that creating a safe environment around him is not difficult - just keep the house clean. However, when buying a crib for a newborn, you should not forget about such a simple thing as a bumper, which will protect the child from possible impacts on the hard walls of the crib and will not allow him to stick his head between the bars.

The playpen should also be safe - if you choose a wooden playpen, make sure that the distance between the rods is no more than 6 centimeters. If you decide on a playpen with a mesh, then prefer a model with a coarse mesh, in which clothing buttons will not get stuck.

Often babies do not like to lie in a crib or they get tired of this limited space, and they are laid out on a bed or sofa. In this case, in order to protect the surrounding space, you must place pillows or something soft on the floor around the sofa.

Limiters, blockers and plugs

Children are very curious, and children who can crawl become real explorers who are interested in literally everything around them. To make your child’s acquaintance with your home as safe as possible, you can use special limiters on drawers and cabinet doors that prevent your child from opening them. Door locks will help prevent pinching and injury to your baby's fingers.

Sockets that need to be closed with special plugs deserve special attention. If there are wires in the rooms, they need to be removed behind cabinets or tables, and ideally, hidden under the baseboard. And such a simple thing as covers for the sharp corners of the table will save the child from bruises and deep scratches.

Edible – inedible

Since children get to know the world not only “by touch”, but also “by taste”, parents should also control this process - household chemicals and medicines should be stored in places inaccessible to children.

Also, although houseplants enrich the air with oxygen and decorate the apartment, it is worth keeping in mind that the leaves and milky sap of some species can be dangerous for children. When purchasing houseplants, you need to make sure that they are safe, and if you already have dangerous species in your home, they need to be removed away.

It is better to keep food in the kitchen in wall cabinets so that children cannot get to them. Special care should be taken when storing vinegar and alcoholic beverages.

The stove is not a toy for children

The kitchen in general is fraught with many dangers for the baby. Regardless of whether you have a gas stove or an electric one, the burners must be protected from children's curiosity - install a protective barrier on the stove. It will not interfere with cooking, but will significantly increase the safety of the stove.

If you decide from a young age to teach your child to help in the kitchen, then at first do not give him sharp objects - first let the child peel boiled potatoes or tear salad. Once your child is comfortable in the kitchen, give him a plastic safety knife and encourage him to cut soft ingredients. Only when your child feels confident in the kitchen should you trust him with a real knife.

Non-slip path

Do you have gleaming hardwood floors in your home or have you opted for tile flooring? In any case, it doesn't hurt to make sure the coating won't allow you to slip. House slippers help prevent slipping, but children often wear only socks or tights and may fall.

Carpets, by the way, can also slide on the floor, so when buying them you need to make sure that the back side does not slip. And for existing carpets, you can buy anti-slip pads that are attached to the back side.

If there are stairs in the house, they also need to be inspected for safety for the baby, for example, a special rough tape can be glued to each step to protect the child from slipping.
No synthetics!

Even minor burns can leave scars on the body that are difficult to get rid of. Synthetic clothing can increase their severity, so it is better not to use it.

And not only babies can get burns with hot water due to the carelessness of their parents, but also older children who are not always able to immediately adjust the desired water temperature. To prevent such incidents, bathrooms can be equipped with installations that limit the water temperature to 50 degrees.

By the way, although bathing gives children a lot of positive emotions, the bathroom is considered by doctors to be one of the most dangerous in the apartment. Small children should not be left unattended in the bathroom, even if there is little water in it - in a few minutes of your absence, the baby may choke on water, taste the shampoo, or drop a razor into the water. An older child may fall when trying to get out of the bathtub on his own.

Correct balcony and windows

Cases of children falling from windows and balconies, unfortunately, are not so rare. Many countries already have certain standards that must be observed when constructing buildings. For example, in Portugal a project is being prepared, according to which the height of the balcony wall should be no lower than 110 centimeters, and the distance between the rods should not be more than 9 centimeters. Such a fence seems difficult for children to overcome, so they will not even try to climb over it or stick their head through. You can also install special fittings on windows and balcony doors, which allow you to open the window or door wide only with the help of keys.

Windows, as well as glass cabinet doors, are also dangerous because children, playing, for example, with a ball, can break them and get hurt. To prevent this from happening, stick bright stickers on glass surfaces that will remind your child of the danger.

Alone at home

But if the presence of adults in the house does not always protect children from danger, then what about those cases when parents have to leave the child alone for a while. Several rules will help minimize the danger of your baby staying at home on his own.

First of all, before leaving, you need to check whether you left the water or gas on and turned off the electric heating devices. Matches, all piercing and cutting objects and other objects that could injure a child should be removed.

You also need to close the windows. If your apartment is located on the ground floor, you need to curtain the windows and teach your child this technique: if someone knocks on the window, your child, without approaching him, should shout: “Dad! Come here!". In the evening, you should also turn on the lights in the rooms - this will scare away intruders.

Always in touch

Every child must know the phone numbers of their parents. Remembering long telephone numbers is not easy, so a list of necessary telephone numbers should hang in a visible place in the apartment - in addition to work and parent s' mobile phones, there should be telephone numbers for the police, ambulance, and fire department. Teach your child to call you in any situation and be sure to notify you if any unusual events occur at home, especially if it is an emergency.

At the same time, it is necessary to explain to children that they need to call the fire department not only when a fire is visible, but also when they smell smoke or there is smoke in the house. You should also call 01 in situations where a fire occurs on the street or a child sees fire or smoke from a window in a neighboring house or on the street.

If your child already has a mobile phone, be sure to save in your phone book the single emergency number 112, which operates on all Russian cellular networks. Explain to your child that you should call this number in any emergency if you don’t have a regular landline phone at hand. You also need to learn with the child what his name is, the names of his parents, his home address and telephone number.

To safety through play

And finally, a piece of advice that will make it easier for your child to remember all the numerous safety rules. When teaching children these rules, do not try to appeal to logic - children perceive learning much better in the form of a game. For example, read the fairy tale “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats” with your child. Explain to your child how important it is to ask who is behind the door and why you shouldn’t open the door to strangers.

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Any achievement of the baby causes joy and pride in the parents: he holds his head up, begins to rise on his arms, grabs toys, holds his back, tries to get on all fours - how much a child learns in the first months of his life. But when you realize that your baby is ready to soon begin to move around in space on his own, you will first need to soberly evaluate the apartment from a safety point of view. What should you do first? Get down on the floor! This is the only way you can see the room as your baby sees it. Have you seen a wire from a fragile table lamp leading to an outlet? What about a pill that accidentally rolled under the sofa? Notice how delicious the shoes look on the rug by the front door. And how temptingly a light bulb shines in a hot oven... Many surprises await you, don’t be shy - crawl around the room several times, you will be surprised how many objects and places that are potentially dangerous for a child you will find. And the older the baby gets, the wider his capabilities, the more attention you will need to pay to home safety.

I hasten to please you, manufacturers of children's products will help you with this. Finding all kinds of plugs, stoppers and other protective devices today is not difficult; you just have to visit the nearest pharmacy or children's store - you can definitely buy the minimum set.

First of all let's mention plugs for sockets . My advice is to choose flat ones that need to be opened with a special key; children’s fingers will not be able to pull them out even if they want to, unlike simpler and cheaper analogues. With a little effort you can pick them up and pull them out with your finger, and children's fingers cope with this task very quickly.

Children love to open doors and drawers , examine their contents and throw them on the floor. To prevent this from becoming a problem for mom, you can put blockers, preventing the child from opening them uncontrollably. At the same time, it is better not to close absolutely all the cabinets, but leave one or two sections freely accessible for the baby, naturally removing everything fragile and dangerous from there. The child will learn to open and close doors, will have a lot of fun, and the mother will be able to allow herself to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Protective corner covers will save your baby's forehead from a traumatic collision with a coffee table or nightstand. They will especially help you when your baby learns to stand up from a support and begins to walk.
pay attention to door stops , they can be attached to the top, side or bottom of the door and will prevent the child from pinching his fingers.

If you have cabinets at home that are not very stable, get a special fastening belt . If the baby tries to climb onto the shelf or hangs on the open door, the belt will hold the cabinet in an upright position and prevent it from falling.

Will also be useful limiters for balcony doors and windows. You should not assume that mosquito nets are sufficiently reliable protection; often they are simply squeezed out if you press on one of the edges. Don’t risk your most valuable possessions; it’s much easier to install child protection and enjoy fresh air and a calm environment.

Worth purchasing for the bathroom non-slip mat , which is placed on the bottom of the bath. Even if your baby is bathing in a high chair, the time is not far off when he will want to get up in the bath. If your child has access to a toilet, consider purchasing stopper, which will not allow him to open the lid and rinse his hands in water or lick the seat.

We should also talk about safety in the kitchen. Door locks refrigerator and oven, protective heat insulation screen for the oven, barriers that fence off the heating surface of the stove, covers for regulators household appliances - all this will help you protect your home and safely take your baby with you to the kitchen.

And finally, it must be said about security barriers . Initially, they are designed to limit the baby’s movement on the stairs in the house, but they can also be used in the apartment. They are easily installed in a doorway and will help you out if, for example, you don’t want to let your child from a room without a door into the corridor.

But, having secured the whole house in this way, we should not forget that our main task is not to protect the child from danger, but to teach him to recognize it. Even after putting plugs on the sockets, you should not allow your child to pick them with his finger! Already at 9 months, a child is quite capable of understanding the words “impossible” and “dangerous.” But do not abuse them, otherwise the baby will simply stop responding to them; experts in the field of child psychology advise setting no more than 3-5 prohibitions, and even less for children under one year old. It is better to have all dangerous objects removed from the access area than for the child to constantly hear his mother’s screams.

As your child grows up, gradually explain to him the reason for your prohibitions. Gently introduce him to what “hot” and “cold” are, so that the next time he reaches for your cup of tea, your words “careful, it’s hot!” will not be an empty phrase for him. Be patient and calm while teaching your child safety rules, the day will come when you will see the results of your efforts.