5 Safety Tips for Families

Raising kids is a daunting task, making sure they are healthy, happy, educated, respectful, and, most importantly, safe. It can be scary bringing a child into this world, but what’s even more scary is once they start moving around, you realize how dangerous your home really is. To stop you from wrapping your child in bubble wrap, we have put together five safety tips to implement in your home design.

Stabilizing The Furniture 

Kids tend to turn your house into their own ninja warrior course, climbing and pulling on things that, without the proper stabilization, can lead to the furniture tipping over and seriously injuring your child. Tall and heavy furniture pieces are an extreme hazard in spaces with little kids. We recommend built-in cabinetry, shelves, and entertainment spaces to keep your child safe from furniture tipping. Having those typically large pieces of furniture built-in saves space in your home, adds storage, and keeps your children safe while they run around. Another way to stabilize your furniture is to install furniture wall straps to anchor large pieces to the wall. Mounting your TV is another way to stabilize tippable pieces. Mounting keeps the TV  out of reach and secure from your kids.

Survey The Space 

Keeping an eye on your kids throughout the day is the best way to keep them safe. With that in mind, your layout is everything. An open floor plan allows you to be in the kitchen while overseeing activities in the living room or playroom. A great way to keep an eye on your kids is to put a window above the kitchen sink that overlooks the yard, allowing you to check on them while they play outside. 

You also want to strategize the placement of your kids’ rooms. If your kids are younger, you may want them to be close to your room or at least on the same floor. For older kids, you may put them on a separate floor for a sense of independence, but be sure not to have their rooms facing the street to ensure no peeping toms. If they must face the street, you can get blackout curtains to keep their privacy.

Lock It Up

Sharp, poisonous, and harmful objects need to be kept out of sight and out of reach of younger children. We recommend storing things like tools, cords, and cleaning products in higher cabinets or in chests with locks on them. You can also install latches or magnetic locks to keep lower cabinets secure. Drawer stops are great features to keep curious hands away from knives and other sharp objects. If you have younger children, outlet covers will keep them from electrocuting themselves, and toilet seat locks keep them from drinking toxic toilet water. 

If you’re looking to keep your children from entire rooms, retractable baby gates are easy to maneuver and aesthetically pleasing. You can also install custom baby gates like half barn doors that make it easy for you to get in and out while keeping your child out.

Cushion The Blow 

From first steps to wrestling and gymnastics, kids of all ages are prone to falling. To keep them from bumps and concussions, we recommend putting throw rugs or padded carpeting in the spaces they use the most, for instance, their bedrooms, basement, or living room. We can all agree that hardwood is the preferred flooring for aesthetics and cleaning, but sometimes, carpet is the most practical with rambunctious children. Another great padded flooring option is rubber or foam floor mats and interlocking squares. Floor mats are soft and easy to customize to the shape and size of your space by adding or removing squares and come in exciting designs and colors that are perfect for any playroom.

Soften The Edges

Furniture with sharp and pointy edges will poke a kid’s eye out. Replacing sharp-edged furniture with pieces with soft, rounded edges is the best way to keep your kids from eye and head injuries. Don’t feel like you can only have circular furniture; there are many square or rectangle pieces that have rounded edges as opposed to sharp ones. You can also purchase corner guards to put on pieces that are on your child’s path. Corner guards keep your kid’s head from harm while allowing you to keep your beloved furniture. They are a great option because they are easily removable once your child is old enough to navigate your home without headbutting the table. 

Your home should be a safe place for your children to play freely without you constantly worrying about them. If you recently had children or want to implement these safety designs, contact us today; we’d love to help you keep your family safe.