[Solved] Preventing accidents around the home

So tell me what actions have you taken or did you take around the house to stop your little ones getting in to harm. or did you leave it to mum? 😮

Taking them away from their mum saved them from harm in my case.

We put a fire guard around the fire.
The upstairs windows that could open wide, we kept/keep locked
Lots of talking about not putting fingers in plug sockets, etc

ahhh, this is where i get a bit geeky

• I put the bleach, loo brush, limescale remover all up on the window so they are out of reach but able to be used.
• I moved bleach, blue loo blocks and more limescale remover into our storage cupboard which has a latch way up out of reach of young children.
• I moved random paracetamol and ibuprofen tablets from eg bedside cupboards, kitchen shelf etc into the medicine cupboard.
• i put a lock with key on the medicine cupboard.
• i made the stairs safe by fitting a stairgate at the bottom of the stairs (we don't let toddler upstairs without being accompanied so not use a stairgate at the top).
• i put absolutely loads of plastic safety plug tops (or whatever they're called) into unused mains outlets.
• i drained our very very small pond.
• i put child locks on the kitchen cupboards.
• i put a stairgate on the kitchen to keep toddler out when cooking, and generally to keep him out because he climbs chairs and could push chair around and get knives or glasses.
• i keep loo door closed to keep little hands out of the really interesting loo water and germs. It also stops a variety of things being 'posted' into the water.
• I keep hot drinks out of toddlers reach. I also use the word 'hot' and infrequently let him touch the hot mug to understand what hot means.
• i lock the drinks cupboard because of any alcohol and all the glasses which could smash.
• i keep my tools either out of reach in 'my room' or in my toolbox which is too difficult for toddler to open. I have also used a padlock on the toolbox in the past when we had a child who could open the toolbox.
• I don't leave a child alone in the bath (even for the shortest time).
• I make sure toys and things left lying around are large enough that they will not get stuck in a child's throat.

/orange :ugeek:

PS - I do let him eat soil, get dirty in puddles, get freezing cold hands and ears if that is what he wants to do in the garden. We drown the floor when we washup. He gets bumps and bruises when he clambers around and gradually discovers his limitations about running, climbing on toys and boxes, and bumping into doors. I guess I try to be safe but not 'wrap little one in cotton wool'.

My 2 yo grandson was staying for a few days last week and I realised just how unsafe our house was now for babies

He was able to get into the cupboard with all the cleaning stuff in it and could, by pulling himself up,get to the knife drawer !!!!! 😮

❓ As we only have a 14 yo in the house - you forget about what it means to be baby safe. I wonder how many grandparents and aunts & uncles with older kids have baby safe houses ?

Gooner - tell me about it. Its not just family its friends of people with young children as well.

We had a visit from our friends at the weekend with their 3 year old. We were horrified to find out that he was able to open the front door and let himself out into the street - luckily the road outside our house is very quiet but imagine what could have happened if a car had come along - it sends shivers up my spine just thinking about it. He had let himself out because he wanted to get to the car because next stop was grannys house and he was really excited. Of course they security chains on the doors at their house.

I think things change when 'you' get a near miss for yourself.
When my middle boy was a few years old we were visiting our sister in law's flat.. Our 3 were pottering around the flat and being nosey. Then 'he' came into the room with a white plastic disposable cup. It was empty and very stong smelling (like flowers). Sister in law worked out that her mum had given her some concentrated disinfectant in the cup ages ago and she kept it under the sink in the kitchen. On visiting the local accident and emergency they said he would have the equivalent of a hangover but otherwise be ok. Very appropriately we got a stern lecture about safety!!

Carrying on with the list...

• I also moved some panes of greenhouse glass for a cold frame from the garden into the shed

/orange

To some extent it does change after an accident, but the only one I can remember for my kids was when my son was 3 or 4 years old, when he ran into a door frame and gashed his eyebrow - quite deeply - and ended up in hospital. Just one of those accidents which it's not possible to prevent.

wow Mr O we salute your safety knowledge and i think many of us could learn a thing or 2 from you.

can i ask you a question? where did you pick up your knowledge or would you say you just used your common sense?

Hi Harvey'sDad,
I've picked up my 'careful' nature from how my Father always did things. It's made me inherently think cautiously and to 'prevent' things and take a little care before doing. It shows that we learn what is modelled to us!!
Also, I've been doing a childcare role for 7 years, and the last 3 1/2 have been full time and at home.
With each child we care for, my mrs and I, we keep having opportunities to improve our home 'environment' and keep it safe. Each little child has their ways and this means you need to take that into account, eg. we have a 'tv guard' to protect the tv from a very lively climbing todder 🙂

To take the discussion a little further... I think that it's a mistake to simply think that 'making the home safe' is the best to do. I believe children must be given opportunities to stumble, bump, scratch etc so they can learn to adjust what they do and how they do it. That goes all through childhood and adolescence.
Our toddler has always been lively so I had consciously let him climb the setee and fall off (where he has 2 or 3 thicknesses of carpet on wooden floorboards). It helped him learn not to sit on the edge, to climb up securely, to turn around and go down backwards...
I would't have wanted him to learn those lessons by repeatedly falling down on concrete steps surrounded by stone floor.

The principle remains, but for teens the risks are far different and the lessons being taught are far wider and take a lot of consistiency to teach (by modelling through our actions and their own experience). It's about teaching wisdom the way craftsmen used to hand their craft to their children and keep the trade alive.
It is just not possible to arrange our communities (streets, shops, workplaces, yourth clubs, countryside etc etc) to keep our children safe - WE have to keep our children safe through the way we bring them up - How we Father them.
[/rant]

Also..... I realise I've:

• put safety plastic corners on the kitchen table (because it regularly gets bumped).
• point cutlery downwards in the dishwasher (so pointy bits can't be handled or fallen on).
• If I use a mains extension lead I don't plug in another extension lead to that - I plug the second extension into another wall socket. This prevents the risk of overheating and fire.

I have another question to add to this thread....
How do you reduce the safety at home ❓
For me:
- When doing DIY i stretch out as far as I can sideways (even on one leg) just to reach that last bit of ceiling as I paint.
- I use an anglegrinder to sharpen chisels with only my spectacles and no safety goggles.
- I cut towards me with a modelling knife if it gets the job done more easily.

/orange

We usually put in a place where there are lots of soft spots like pillows..

So we always put them in their cribs with a lot of pillows when they're awake.

hi everybody,
im newby in this forum, i was browsing it when i came across this post about safety. i really believe i need to share with u my experience. my daughter Karolina 😉 is only 6 months old and recently had a bad adventure. a couple months ago i was in the garage changing the tyres of my new monster ducati and my wife at the phone listening to my mother-in-law problems in the living room. Karolina was alone in her cot bed and she was playing with a soft toy. i went upstairs to grab a glass of water in the kitchen which is opposite to my little angel's bedroom, when i heard bad choking. i hurried to her room and i found her chewing the toy ! straight away i took it out from her mouth and managed to help her breath normally again. i was so scared that after this accident i decided to invest in a couple of baby monitors to make sure it won't happen again. At least now i know what's going on in my babys room.

alexander