Keeping your children safe is one of your top priorities as a parent. Your children should be especially safe in their own home, but the arrival of a new baby often means that some changes need to be made around the house. Here’s what you need to do to make sure your home is safe for crawling babies and curious toddlers.

Eliminate Choking Hazards

Little kids, and particularly teething babies, seem to put everything they see into their mouths. Take the following steps to eliminate choking hazards.

• Make sure electrical cords are secure behind furniture.
• Replace curtains or blinds with looped cords.
• Make sure any hanging cords or strings are out of reach.
• Don’t dress your babies in clothing with small buttons that could be torn off.
• Keep toys for older children away from your baby.
• Secure cabinets and storage containers to keep your baby away from small items that could fit in her mouth.

Prevent Burns and Fires

Protect your curious children from painful burns and prevent dangerous fires with these tips:

• Install a smoke detector and make sure it has fresh batteries.
• Cover outlets.
• Unplug appliances, such as hair dryers, when you aren’t using them.
• Block off your fireplace.
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove while cooking.

Block Access To Poisonous Chemicals

It’s hard to predict what might look tasty to your toddler. Protect your kids by blocking access to poisonous chemicals:

• Move cleaning supplies and other chemicals to high shelves and lock them up.
• Get a carbon monoxide detector.
• Check your home for lead if it was built before 1978.
• Secure cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Prevent Drowning

It takes only a very small of water for a young child to drown—take steps to keep your kids safe.

• Never leave your baby alone in the tub.
• Keep the toilet locked.
• Put doorknob covers on bathroom doors and any doors leading to a pool.
• Never leave your child unattended near a pool.

Prevent Falls And Other Injuries

Take the following steps to prevent falls and other injuries around the house.

• Keep windows locked.
• Install window stops or window guards.
• Put up a gate at the stairs.
• Move furniture away from windows so children can’t climb up to them.
• Close dresser drawers so children don’t use them as a ladder.
• Anchor bookshelves, dressers, TV stands, and other heavy furniture to the walls.
• Install doorstops to protect your children’s fingers.
• Place heavy items on low shelves.
• Keep tall, unstable lamps behind furniture so they can’t be easily pulled over.

Following the above recommendations will help keep your new baby safe and ease your worries. Get started babyproofing your house today.