Maintaining safety in the house for toddlers

When you have two and three year old toddlers climbing up on cupboards and running up and down stairs, especially if they are active, you have to make sure that there are safety measures in place. A child who tries to climb up on something to reach the cookies on the shelf will hurt himself if he falls. One has to have eyes in the back and the front of one’s head to constantly see what they are doing. My daughter who has two toddlers, both girls, and who does everything right when it comes to her kids – my grandchildren – has a great system in place.


Keeping toddlers safe

When Ameera was nine months old, my daughter had a great part of the living room cordoned off with plastic fencing and rubber flooring to accommodate a fairy tale world for toddlers to have their own little stove – made of plastic – children’s table, washing machine, soft toys, hard toys, muppets and puppets and educational toys. When her two year old toddler is finished eating, she can find a dozen fun and educational things to do by herself. She is occupied and happy and her parents do not have to worry much about her. There are, however, things in the house that require a special safety check to protect toddlers from harm:

• Have safety covers on all electrical outlets. A child can easily stick a finger or something in it and receive an electrical shock. It is surprising how many parents with toddlers overlook this.

• Have a smoke or carbon monoxide detector in the house in the event of an emergency or a fire.

• Have a gate at the bottom of the stairs so they do not go upstairs when no one is there.

• Have slippery child proof covers fitted on the door knobs so they cannot open the doors.

• Keep chairs out of the way for them not to climb on.

• Be careful of bunk beds for someone as young as two. You want the child to be as close to the floor as possible.

• Have a plastic shield fitted to the front of the stove – they’re common in North America – if you have a child whose head is at the same height of a gas stove and she has big hair. This kind of accident has happened before.

• When going out, make sure you have the right car seat, that it faces the right way, and accommodates the right weight.

• Toddlers have many ways of reacting to potty training and while some of them are cute and funny, it is messy work.


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