The living room, or the main family room in homes with more than one living room, is the area where baby’s and toddlers spend by far most of their awake time. This is especially true for children up to app. 2 years. It’s probably the most important area to do the initial childproofing. Many parents simply gate off the family room from the rest of the house (or puts up a play pen), and park the baby here to play during awake time. Knowing that the area is childproofed and the baby is confined within the gate, play pen or closed doors, gives great peace of mind!

 

Most of the furniture in the family room is unsafe for a crawling baby or a small toddler! The child can get cuts and bruises on stone and glass sofa tables, pull over furniture, pull off side- and sofa table items such as small lamps, glass vases and other heavy items. Children gets serious injured from hits by any of these objects. They often also pull over floor lamps and larger non-sturdy floor items. TV’s (especially large TV’s), speakers and stereo equipment all falls into this category. The have access to cords - electrical cords and blind cords, electrical outlets, windows, sliding doors to outside areas, plants (some poisonous), choking hazards and fireplaces. There is an aboundance of safety hazards in the area where most families spends the majority of their time at home! In this area baby’s and small children are often left unsupervised!

 

At the very early stages, when the baby is crawling and barely walking, a play pen (sort of enclosed baby gate product) can be a good solution. Many parents simply put up a play pen (or a baby gate to fit) on top of easy to clean and soft (often colorfull) mats. The baby is safe in the play pen, but when the child moves into the toddler stage and starts to walk faster or run, it’s a challenge to keep them happy in there. They don’t like being in such a restricted area and wants to be with the parents or siblings. At that point it makes sense to have the family room gated off and childproofed to give the child more space.

 

When the child is playing in the Whole family area, make sure all sharp corners and edges on furniture is protected with soft material. There are many soft foam corners, foam edges and whole shield (or guards) available for tables. Hazardous items within reach needs to be moved out of reach, higher up in a safe place. Make sure they still can not fall down and hit the child from the top of non-sturdy furniture. Strap furniture to the walls including TV and heavy equipment. For larger TV’s there are special TV straps available.

Free standing floor items, such as lamps and sculptures, can either be removed out of the safe area to a different room, strapped to the wall or blocked off. At Safety Nook we often talk about "dumping zones". By that we mean a blocked off, small confined and safe area where items can be placed that the child can not get to. Often parents use furniture, such as heavy chairs and couches to block off a corner that can be used as a dumping zone for lamps, power strips, notebooks, plants and other potential hazardous items. There are also special, configurable gates that will "do the trick".

 

Electrical safety is important in the play area or family room. There are various products available to make the room safe. Install safety outlet plates, or put plugs in unused safety outlets. Cord tubing will work great to prevent the baby from getting tangled into or chewing on the cards. Wherever possible it’s best to "tug" cords away behind heavier furniture - or in a dumping zone!

 

All windows and sliding doors to outside need to be safe. Ideally no larger pieces of furniture, that could be used to climb on, is positioned right under windows. Install window or sliding door locks that will lock in 2 positions - allow a full shut and also a 3 inch opening for fresh air coming through. At www.safetynook.com we have one of the largest selections available online with more than 30 different window and door locks. Inside doors can be secured with door hardware locks or door knob or lever locks.

 

Fireplaces are a constant concern. Even if the fireplace is never in use it’s best to prevent the child from playing in there. The simple way to secure the fireplace is to gate it off. This solution will also allow for tools and firewood to be stored safely behind the gate. Alternatively a regular fireplace screen can be installed and secured from the inside of the fireplace with a couple of chain locks. The hearth is often made out of sharp stone and it’s a good idea to mount specialized fireplace padding on edges and corners. At www.safetynook.com we carry the best available, fire resistant foam in 5 different colors. The foam is available in sticks and various sized corners to fit any fireplace hearth.

 

Gate off the family area or use a play pen (or a baby gate that fits for the enclosed area) for the early stages of the childs development

Secure sharp corners and edges with foam

Create "dumping zone" for certain hazardous items - use gate or furniture

Move smaller items out of reach

Strap furniture including TV’s, speakers and stereo equipment

Secure electrical outlets with safety plates or plugs

Secure cords with safety tubing or hide them behind furniture

Install locks on windows and sliding doors to the outside

Do not encourage the child to climb into the window with furniture right under

Secure the fireplace with a gate or screen

Install soft and fire resistant foam on hearth corners and edges

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