Childproofing With Home Improvement Projects
Becoming a parent is a great joy and children have a way of changing our lives in the most beautiful and yet often terrifying ways. This is especially the case when they start moving around on their own. Our little bundled up infants quickly become high energy toddlers, motoring around our homes without abandon. However, our homes are not always the safest place for toddlers to be running free. Renovation projects present you with the perfect opportunity to establish precautionary measures, so consider these home improvements that can also make your house safer for kids.
Prepare Emergency Safety Precautions
It is imperative to have emergency preparedness plans whenever children are involved. Whether this is a fire safety plan or safety switches that can cut power with one switch, these can play a necessary role to ensure that you create the safest environment for everyone.
Be Aware of Harmful Chemicals
Having an awareness of chemicals that could potentially be harmful to your little one is essential. Both during the construction project and in our daily lives, we need to ensure that we keep our children safe from all sorts of substances, some of which can become airborne and easy to inhale. Whether your contractor is evaluating for lead paint or VOC-free chemicals, you need to be vigilant in what products are being brought into your home.
Consider Open Concept
Open concept floor plans are currently very popular, both from a design and practicality aspect. For parents, an open floor plan provides you with significantly more expansive sightlines so that you can watch your children while doing other tasks. This can be extremely advantageous when you need to work on a task like cleaning or cooking as your child plays. While playpens and secured areas allow a level of safety, your child should not be left alone.
Widen Your Stairs
Particularly in older homes, staircases can be narrow and shallow. While this can be inconvenient for you, a small child who is just learning to walk and navigate steps can be at a significantly higher risk of injury. During your home renovation, consider widening your stairs or pulling them out entirely.
Add Guardrails and Railings
Having the proper aid to help you navigate spaces is critical to avoiding hazards. You should assess areas that could potentially be slippery or unsteady and ensure that they have the proper support systems. Whether you are looking at your front yard, your staircase or even showers, by adding support rails, you can ensure that everyone can navigate these spaces safely and securely.
Brighten up Your Home
Another significant risk comes from areas that lack proper illumination. When areas are poorly lit, you may not notice items that could trip you, making you more likely to take a tumble. Make sure to evaluate your lighting and increase it in areas that are poorly lit.
Reduce Tripping Hazards
In some homes, there are small lips or uneven surfaces. These serve as hazards to all people in the home, but especially for young children. By addressing these and leveling out raised sections, your children can avoid being tripped up when walking or running around.
Create Higher Shelves
Organization in your home can be a great way to improve your babyproofing. Consider adding sets of built-in shelves that are higher up so that unsecured items are tucked away from the reach of young ones. These can be the perfect place to stow away electronic devices or choking hazards so that you don’t have to worry about your little one getting into items they shouldn’t.
Evaluate Room by Room
As you evaluate the focus of your home renovation, it is important to consider your baby proofing needs room by room. Each space will have individual areas that need to be addressed, and your construction project may present you with the perfect opportunity to fix a lot of these issues. Whether you are considering mounting a television in the living room, securing small appliances in the kitchen, or assessing safety features in the bathroom, these are key to include in your home improvement project.
Have a Plan for Your Kids
As you make your plan for your combined baby proofing and home renovation, you must make plans for your kids too. Having little ones around a construction site can be intriguing for your children, but it can also be jarring, scary and present hazardous conditions. Avoid these disruptions and dangers by enlisting the help of friends and family to assist in watching the kids or by designating your kids to certain areas of the house that will be livable.
Remodeling your home is an exciting time to create a better house for the entire family. It is also important to note that this is the perfect time to address safety issues and baby proof your home. Take this time to make your home more safe, secure, and beautiful through this process.
Post-Construction Cleaning
Your construction project is completed, now what? Post construction cleaning is an important part of keeping little ones safe from hazardous conditions. You can call a Restoration Disaster and Cleaning company, like RestorationMaster, to ensure that your home is free from dust and debris from the construction process.
About Vince Sandri
Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.
