This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by. The winner is Michelle F. Congrats!
Today, I’m delighted to bring you a guest post from Kimberlee Mitchell, Child Safety Expert & Founder of Boo Boo Busters. I first met Kimberlee nearly 4 years ago when we partnered to childproof our home. I credit her with making our home a safe place for our children to grow, develop, and explore.
It’s rare to have a guest post here on Rockin’ Mama, but Kimberlee is so knowledgeable and an incredible resource for parents, I couldn’t help but share her valuable tips.
5 Things Your Forgot When Babyproofing
Childproofing has become the norm for families with babies. In fact the safety movement has made a huge difference for millions of families. A recent Safe Kids Worldwide survey reports that many developed countries have reduced child injury deaths by 50 percent in the last 25 years. Below are some often-neglected areas that require the attention of any new mom, dad or care provider.
1) The Baby Monitor – You can babyproof your home like Fort Knox, but supervision is still the best way to ensure your child’s safety. One innovation in technology that allows parents peace of mind and eyes on their babies is the VTech’s Safe&Sound® Pan & Tilt Full-Color Video & Audio Monitor. Wondering if he’s sleeping? New infrared LED lights allow for better viewing even in the dark. Have multiples? Connect your monitor to as many as four cameras in different rooms. CAUTION: Many parents don’t realize that the monitor itself should never fall into the hands of the baby. I’ve seen monitors placed into the bassinet and crib or on the crib rail right next to baby, which is a strangulation risk. By installing your monitor according to the manufacturer’s instructions and the tips below you can childproof your monitor.
Safety Tips:
- Install the monitor more than 3 feet away from crib, bassinet, play yard, etc. and adjust as your child grows; you’ll move it further away over time.
- Never place monitor in or on the side of the crib giving your baby access to cords.
- Plug the monitor into an outlet that has been childproofed with an auto-close sliding outlet cover.
- Use wire cover molding to conceal excess electrical wire to prevent entanglement. Or use a monitor with a cord wind up feature.
2) The Laundry Room – Deem the laundry room area “off limits” to little ones. Keep all cleaning products stored up high and out of reach behind locked or childproofed cabinets. Why? In 2011, poison control centers received more than 6,000 reports of unintentional exposure of children 5 and under to single load liquid laundry packets. Educate your family about safe laundry routine habits provided by The American Cleaning Institute and never allow your baby or child to handle the laundry packets. Join me and 16,000 proactive parents and take the pledge to be the KEY to a safe laundry room and routine today!
Safety Tips:
- Lock laundry room door and never allow children to play in the laundry room.
- Install locks on front load washer/dryer appliances to prevent children from climbing in.
- Store all cleaning products in a childproofed and out-of-reach cabinet.
- Educate your family about proper use, handling and storage of the laundry packets.
- Never let children handle laundry packets or any cleaning supplies.
- Do laundry when children are not present.
3) Second Story Windows – I see too many kids in my neighborhood with their sweet little faces pressed up against window screens. A window screen is NOT a childproofing device, but many folks mistakenly think they provide protection. According to Safe Kids, window falls account for approximately eight deaths and 3,300 injuries among children ages 5 and under annually. Parents, the only way to properly childproof a window is with a window guard or lock. Guards are installed like gates into the window jamb but choosing the correct guard can be challenging. Guardian Window devised a great online tool to help consumers match a specific window type and size to the correct guard(s). You also can opt to use a window lock (or two), but keep in mind not all locks work on all windows. If you find a lock that works for your window, my recommendation is to install two.
Safety Tips
- Choose a window guard with an emergency release mechanism.
- Install a guard according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- If you prefer to use window locks, install two.
- Only allow a locked window to open 3 inches at the maximum.
- Keep furniture (including cribs), or anything children can climb, away from windows.
4) Electrical Cords – We‘re living in a digital age with handy wireless technology, but we’re still buried in electrical cords. Our cellphones, laptops, iPads, tablets, iPods — you name it — all have charger cords to which babies should never have access. Little ones are creative outside-of-the-box thinkers and like to play with these items in imaginative and often unsafe ways. I’ve had many parents share stories of their babies getting entangled so quickly. Strangulation or cutting off circulation in extremities is a potential hazard along with electrical shock so being sure your baby does not have access to these cords is key to his or her safety.
Safety Tips
- Bundle all electrical cords into a cord control kit.
- Move charging stations to high counters so cords are out of reach of children.
- Make sure all cords in the home are out of reach of babies or have cord molding.
- Be aware that babies can reach up higher than they can see, so keep items pushed far back on counters or to the center of a table.
5) Blind Cords – According to the CPSC, corded window coverings are among the top five hidden hazards in American homes, so when designing your baby nursery be sure to address the safety of the window coverings. I recommend using the new child-safe cordless window treatments and to refrain from using Roman blinds, which have hidden long cords that are very hazardous. Once the nursery is safe, assess every window covering in your home. Click here for free retrofit kits to make older window treatments child safe.
Safety Tips
- Check your window coverings for exposed or dangling cords and childproof them or replace them with today’s safer products.
- Move all furniture, cribs, beds and climbable surfaces away from windows and cords.
- Keep all window cords well out of reach of children by childproofing them.
- Install only cordless window coverings in homes with young children.
- Make sure tasseled pull cords are adjusted to be as short as possible.
- Continuous-loop pull cords on draperies and vertical blinds should be pulled tight and anchored to the floor or wall with a tension device.
- Be sure cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit movement on inner cords on blinds and shades.
- Remove and discontinue use of all Roman blind window coverings.
Injury prevention education and implementation is an ongoing job for all parents until we send them off to college! For parents, taking on the role of a practitioner with a mindset that’s open to continued child safety information is key. We can’t prevent every bump or bruise, however, a keen eye and honed safety perspective can help prevent unnecessary visits to the ER.
A huge thank you to Kimberlee for her valuable tips! And to help get you started on your way to child safety, Kimberlee has a fantastic giveaway for one of you!
Win It! One of you will win a Safe & Sound Pan & Tilt Full-Color Video & Audio Monitor from VTech. This is the latest monitor which features side-to-side and up-and-down camera mobility. When my kids were younger, we found that a video monitor gave us a lot of peace of mind so that we could keep an eye on our children at all times.
To enter, tell me one thing you learned from Kimberlee’s post and complete the Rafflecopter form by December 31st, 2013.
US Residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.
Images: Kimberlee Mitchell/VTech
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I had not thought about the laundry room! Great ideas 😉
inalak at msn dot com
These are some very helpful tips.
Hi, I think the window guard is a really great idea. Definitely good info there! Thanks. Vicki.
I learned about the dangers of the laundry room, I had no idea that in 2011, poison control centers received more than 6,000 reports of unintentional exposure of children 5 and under to single load liquid laundry packets – See more at: https://rockinmama.net/5-things-you-forgot-when-babyproofing/#sthash.nQpqIkAT.dpuf
I learned to never place monitor in or on the side of the crib giving your baby access to cords.
I learned to never let kids play with detergent packs…
I learned that indow falls account for about 8 deaths and 3,300 injuries among children ages 5 and under every year.
i have never really thought about the laundry room so i learned a lot
i learned that blind cords are the top 5 hazards in the home for children which is so true! my 9 month old was on the couch right next to me and she got a hold of the cord and got it around her neck. i freaked out! now i keep it away from her and have a hook we can hang them up high on. i am so lucky i was right there …it scared me so much…
I never gave it much thought when my kids were small… but I HAVE since seen several instances where locking a window to only open 3 inches would DEFINITELY be a good idea… My kids were NEVER ones to stand on the window sils… but OH, my HEART every time I see a child do it… and I have heard many instances of children falling through a screen…
I like the reminder to lock the laundry room door and never allow children to play in the laundry room.
Use wire cover molding to conceal excess electrical wire to prevent entanglement. Or use a monitor with a cord wind up feature.
Keep locked pen windows open only up to three inches.
Do laundry when kids are not around!
I learned to Install locks on front load washer/dryer appliances to prevent children from climbing in. – See more at: https://rockinmama.net/5-things-you-forgot-when-babyproofing/#sthash.kE6WmY8Q.dpuf
i realized that blind cords can be a hazard for babies… this just never clicked in my head
I learned babies reach higher than they see so keep things back on counters
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You should only have cordless window coverings
I hadn’t thought to need to Install locks on front load washer/dryer appliances to prevent children from climbing in.
I learned that blind cords are the top 5 hazards in the home for children.
I learned that blind cords are the top 5 hazards in the home for children.
I learned that it’s good to use wire cover molding to conceal excess electrical wire to prevent entanglement.
The laundry room never throught about that
I learned to keep detergent packets in a safe spot!
Plug the monitor into an outlet that has been childproofed with an auto-close sliding outlet cover.
I would have never thought about a lock on my front load washer.
I learned to never place monitor in or on the side of the crib where the baby could reach the cords.
I learned I should lock the washing machine door!
The dangers of the laundry room.
I learned that I should lock laundry room.
The electrical cords! I have been wondering the best way to control that hot mess and never knew about a cord control item! I will have to look into that!
Baby proofing the monitor itself. The cord is always a duh (in my opinion) BUT it is hard when you want the monitor close to your child esp if it’s a video one. We have an angelcare one that were just “recalled” for the motion detector wire and strangulation of 2 children. They sent us the “fix” right away and I think that they should sell them in store since they are very nifty and can be used for other wires.
I learned that corded window coverings are among the top five hidden hazards in American homes. I was really surprised by this because I would not have thought about the blinds as a hazard.
It’s a good idea to,lock the laundry room door
I learned to Install the monitor more than 3 feet away from crib, bassinet, play yard, etc. and adjust as your child grows; you’ll move it further away over time.
This is new to me: “Use wire cover molding to conceal excess electrical wire to prevent entanglement. Or use a monitor with a cord wind up feature”
do laundry when kids are not around
Only allow windows to open 3 inches. Makes since but something you don’t think about when baby proofing!
The safety tips were extremely helpful. I’m letting my daughter know about these today, especially the one about the blind cords, and no Roman blinds…period.
i didnt think of window guards upstairs since our windows are high and have screens
I learned to install it more than 3 feet away from crib
I learned that it is a good idea to install two window locks!
I learned that babies can reach up higher than they can see, so keep items pushed far back on counters or to the center of a table! Great tips!
I learned about the importance of keeping your laundry room locked. It is something I’ve never really thought of before