Your living room is the hub of the house. It is the room that you should be able to relax in without being concerned about your child hurting themselves. With a few simple changes your living room can be a place where the whole family can relax and spend time without any blood pressure rising.
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- Get down on your hands and knees, BEFORE your child starts crawling. Look around and see if you can see anything that would be dangerous to a little person. You will be amazed at what you see.
- Make sure that all outlets are covered with receptacle covers. These can be purchased easily at any hardware store and are easily removed when you need to use the plug.
- Secure your television to the wall. Televisions can tip and seriously injure your child.
- Secure any loose wiring with staples, cable tubes or twist ties to make sure that they cannot be grabbed and pulled by the child. This can lead to appliances or lighting falling over on your child.
- Move breakable items to higher ground, beyond the grasp of little fingers.
- Secure bookshelves and large furniture to the wall. If your child chooses to climb up your bookshelf when you are not watching your child will not receive a possible fatal injury.
- Buy an ottoman and use it as a sofa table until your child is able to walk without toppling over. It is a small investment for a huge stress relief.
- Invest in a fireplace guard if you have a working fireplace. Fireplaces draw children like a moth to a flame. Padded kits are also available at most hardware stores to eliminate the terrible injuries that result from a fall into the sharp corners of a fireplace surround. A wise and sound investment.
- Make sure that there is a gate, whether permanently affixed or portable, on any stairway access just in case your child wanders.
- Use curtains, not blinds. If you need to use blinds please be sure that the cords are baby friendly and will not lead to a choking or hanging.
Hopefully these tips will help you on your way to having a stress free living room that your whole family will enjoy.
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