Baby Bedroom

Is Your Baby Bedroom Safe?

Planning your baby bedroom is about more than coming up with a design idea, buying what you like, and putting it all together. That is the fun part that most parents look forward to, but don't forget about the other part of the equation. The room can look really good but can still be dangerous for your baby. There are small things to look for and small adjustments to make so that you can be sure your baby is safe in his or her bedroom as an infant, toddler, and preschooler.

The first thing to think about in your baby bedroom is how sturdy your furniture is for baby. You want to make sure these things are safe, but you also want to make sure they are going to stay put. For the most part, the items in your baby bedroom that you want to worry about are any bookcases and dressers. These are often top heavy, and these are also items that toddlers love to climb. Many are hurt each year because these items fall over onto the baby. Secure them to the wall with supplies you can find at your home improvement store or online. Also think about doing the same for like items in other rooms of your home that your baby is going to frequent.

Babies and toddlers die each year because they were strangled by the cords hanging down from window blinds. If you have these in your baby bedroom, or anywhere else in the house, you have to make sure there is no way baby can get the cord around their little neck. Some come with looped drawstrings. Don't buy those, or if you have them, cut the loop at the bottom. Leave both ends free and secure them above the blind if at all possible. Make sure there is no way baby can reach them and you should be okay. Double and triple check to make sure.

Examine the floors in all rooms of your home, including your baby bedroom. If you have hardwood floors, you want to be sure they are all smooth and safe. While falling and getting wood splinters from such floors may not be deadly, it can be very painful for your baby (and you) and you don't want them to go through it. Redo bad flooring in the baby bedroom and anywhere else in the house where you find problems. Air out new carpets before you lay them down to all chemicals to dissipate.

Are you still not sure if your baby bedroom is safe? There is one simple thing that you should do. Get down on your hands and knees and look around as if you were your baby crawling through his or her baby bedroom for the very first time. What do you see? What catches your eye? Have you spotted anything else that you should fix? Usually putting yourself at baby eye level helps you discover things that may be a problem in the future. You may spot many problems like outlets, cords, choking hazards, and other unsecured items that you would not have seen otherwise.