How to baby proof your home in Kenya

Verwell Family

Having a baby-friendly home is one of the most underrated joys of parenting. Once your baby reaches the toddler stage where they want to pull, turn, climb and even eat everything, a baby-safe home becomes a necessity.

Baby-proofing is a little different for large homes than for smaller ones because of space. In small spaces such as studio flats, where dangerous items such as gas cylinders may be within reach, it becomes a challenge.

If you live in a small space, there is still a lot you can do to make sure your baby is safe and out of harm's way. As well as basic rules like making sure you keep all dangerous items such as knives, choking hazards, insecticides and cleaning products out of the way, these additional baby-proofing tips will give you peace of mind.

Close or lock bathroom doors

The bathroom is one of the most dangerous places in the house for both children and adults. But for babies who are exploring, the risk of injury is very high because they don't yet know how to look after themselves.

If you leave the door open, your baby could walk in, dip his hands in the toilet or even slip on the floor. Even the door can be a hazard, as they may accidentally close it on their fingers.

The simple act of always closing the bathroom door is a step towards safety.

Install socket covers

The risk of electrocution is another important issue to consider. Babies love to put things into sockets and even if you tell them to stop, they will do it again minutes later.

Keep Reading

An easy way to prevent accidents is to install socket covers, which will prevent your baby from sticking things into sockets.

Install child safety locks

The fridge, cupboards and drawers may look like sources of entertainment to your baby, but they're not safe. You don't want them to have access to anything they shouldn't play with or hurt their fingers with, so safety locks are a good idea.

The locks will prevent your baby from accessing these high-risk areas at any time. They usually come in sets of two or more so you can use them in different places around your home.

Use corner guards

Sharp furniture edges can hurt your baby when they're playing. They can injure their head or even their eyes.

Reduce the risk by placing soft corner guards on all sharp edges such as table and counter corners. You will never have to panic when they run around during playtime.

Install a baby gate

Small spaces often have no doors to separate certain areas, such as the kitchen and living room. You may find it difficult to prevent your baby from accessing certain areas unsupervised; this is where a baby gate comes in.

With a baby gate, you can easily restrict where your baby can go. Some of the best options that are also home-friendly are the folding gates that you can simply place on the area you want to condone off instead of drilling into the wall.