10 Baby-Proofing Steps

A few simple steps that reduce your children's risk of injury. Here's a List of 10 important and easy changes to make around the house. They should take only 10-15 mintues to implement.

Top 10 Baby-Proofing Steps

1. Electrical outlets: Keep all electrical outlets covered, even those at counter level — babies are great climbers. Use either plastic or automatic covers.
   
2. Cupboards: Place safety latches on all cupboards that have items your child should not get into, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. Anything that has the potential of being poisonous — such as floor cleaners, ammonia, insect sprays, etc. — need to be put up high and locked away, or better yet, use non-toxic alternatives for cleaning and pest control.
3. Hanging cords: Bundle and wrap together all cords from phones, appliances, stereos, blinds and lamps to avoid strangulation. Keep the crib away from draperies and blinds where a child could become entangled in the cords. Make your existing blind cords safe by shortening them and draping them out of baby’s reach.
4. Keep out of reach: Put all matches and lighters, medicines, purses or pocket books, (they might contain medications, pepper spray and straps that could be a choking hazard), poisons and any other questionable substances out of reach. In particular, keep guns unloaded and locked away and keep ammunition in a separate place.
   
5. Stairs: Lock gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
6. Stoves: Use only the back two burners when cooking or attach a child stove guard. Remove knobs that children can easily reach.
7. Plants: Know the difference between which plants are safe and which are toxic, [PDF] and remove toxic ones from reach of toddlers.
   
8. Windows: Screens are not designed to hold a child’s weight. Do not open windows more than four inches.
9. Paints, pesticides and cleaners: All paints, pesticides and cleaners should be behind locked doors or left in the garage. Better yet, use non-toxic alternative cleaners; paints with lower amounts of toxins; and don’t use pesticides (click here for non-toxic pesticide alternatives). Be sure to scrub all fruits and vegetables under running water to remove pesticide residues and wash before you peel.
10. Assess your house for lead- and mercury-containing products: Lead poisoning can cause serious health problems, including learning disabilities' and brain and organ damage. Generally, there are no noticeable symptoms of lead poisoning. If your home was built before 1978; or your water pipes were installed of worked on before 1985; or you have chipped or damaged paint in your home, you and your children might be at risk of being poisoned by lead. The Multnomah County Lead Line at 503-988-4000 can help answer your questions and identify resources to reduce risks.

Exposure to mercury for children and pregnant women can cause serious neurological problems. The best way to reduce exposure is to minimize consumption of fish that contains mercury. This pocket guide can help you identify fish that have less mercury.