Babyproofing Your House: A Child-Safety Checklist

When you bring your little one home, it's normal to be focused on things like a crib, diapers, and bottles. But as your baby gets older — and more mobile — you'll need to start thinking about creating a safe home environment.

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Babyproofing a house involves removing hazards and installing safety devices, so your child can move around without getting hurt.

Checklist: How Do I Babyproof My Home?

Your home might appear perfectly safe at first glance, but look closer, and you'll probably find that it's full of potential hazards. Curious, active babies have a way of getting into everything, from digging through your kitchen drawers to finding a random quarter that's fallen under the sofa.

Start thinking about babyproofing your house well before your baby starts to crawl. Kids can develop quickly, and it's better to be prepared when they start to move around on their own.

Not sure where to start? Follow this babyproofing checklist:

Install Safety Gates

Prevent little ones from getting into dangerous areas, like the stairwell or your sewing room, by installing baby gates in the doorway. The gates prevent kids from getting in, even if you forget to close the door.

Cover Outlets

Curious babies love to stick toys, small objects, and their fingers into power outlets. Prevent shocks by blocking them with plastic covers. You can also buy covers for your power strips.

Cover Vents

Little ones love to drop things down air vents, so it's a good idea to invest in vent covers.

Anchor Heavy Furniture

Use anti-tip hardware to anchor bookshelves, dressers, and other tall, heavy items to the wall. Anchors stop the furniture from falling when your child pulls on it.

Childproof Windows

If your windows are located low to the ground or if you have furniture located under windows, make sure to install window guards. They have bars that prevent accidental falls when the window is open.

Cover Sharp Corners

Install corner protectors on the corners of your coffee table, side tables, counters, benches, and other low-slung furniture. You can also add edge protectors on glass or metal furniture for extra padding.

Install Pinch Guards

These devices fit around the edge of your doors and prevent them from closing on your child's fingers.

Move Electrical Cords

Loose cables and cords can put your little one at risk for strangulation and electrical shock. Use cord covers and cable ties to corral loose cords, and install outlet locks to prevent your child from pulling cords out of power outlets.

Tie Up Blind Cords

If your window blinds are corded, tie up the cords so they're well out of reach of your child. For a safer option, replace them with cordless blinds or shades.

Use Child Locks on Toilets, Cabinets and Doors

Kids love to open cabinets and pull out everything from cleaning supplies to heavy pots. Install child-proof drawer locks and cabinet locks to block access. It's also a good idea to lock the toilet lid.

Install Stove Knob Covers

If your stove knobs are located just above the oven door, covers can prevent your child from turning on the burners.

Use Non-Slip Rug Pads

These pads prevent your area rugs from sliding, so kids don't accidentally trip and fall when they start to walk and pull themselves up.

Move Dangerous Items

Relocate items that could be dangerous to your child, such as matches, heavy statues perched on bookcases, glass vases, or leaning mirrors.

Secure Hazardous Substances

Move all medications, cleaning supplies, alcohol, and other hazardous substances to an upper cabinet. That way, they're out of reach if your child figures out how to bypass a cabinet lock.

Store Small Items

Babies often put small items, including batteries and small toys, directly into their mouths. Go around the house and move anything that's a choking hazard, such as coins, magnets, hardware, pens, craft supplies, safety pins, and lip balm.

Check Safety Systems

Change the batteries in your smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and alarm system. Test each system to ensure it's working correctly.

Adjust the Water Heater

When kids start playing with faucets, they can easily get scalded if the water temperature is too high. Prevent accidents by lowering the maximum temperature on your water heater to 120° Fahrenheit.

Lower Your Crib Mattress

Once a child is mobile, they're more likely to start climbing out of their crib. Lowering the mattress keeps them safer for longer.

Create a Baby-Friendly First Aid Kit

Stock your first aid kit with children's painkillers, a digital thermometer, a nasal aspirator, bandages, antibiotic cream, and an airway clearance tool.

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Babyproofing Advice: Think Like a Baby

It's not always easy to spot hazards from an adult's height, so make sure to get on the floor in each room. Look around for things at your child's eye level that could be dangerous, such as a piece of pottery on the lower shelf of your coffee table or a forgotten pocket knife tucked into your bedside drawer.

Babyproofing a house is an ongoing process — you might need to close doors, vacuum more regularly, and be more mindful of small items like earrings and loose change. As you get used to life with a little one, it can be helpful to set up a safe play area. Buy a playpen gate, line it with soft mats, and fill it with kid-safe toys. That way, you can let your child loose without worrying about safety.

How Much Does It Cost to Babyproof a House?

Child-proofing a house requires a small upfront investment, especially for your first child. The majority of the cost comes from buying safety devices:

• Anti-tip hardware: Up to $15 (CAD 21)

• Safety latches for drawers and doors: $10 to $35 (CAD 14 to CAD 48)

• Corner and edge protectors $25 (CAD 34)

• Outlet covers: $10 (CAD 14)

• Cord management tools: $6 to $35 (CAD 8.27 to CAD 48)

• Safety gates: $40 to $100 (CAD 55 to CAD 138)

You can also hire a babyproofing service to handle the process for you. A professional might be able to identify risks in your home that you might overlook. These services typically charge up to $300 (CAD 414) for a consultation and up to $6,000 (CAD 8,273) for babyproofing. However, costs could vary significantly based on where you live and the size of your home.

Bringing a baby into the house is a big transition — especially when they start to crawl and walk. But with a babyproofing checklist, the right babyproofing items, and a little bit of time, you can protect your child from household hazards.