How to Childproof your Vancouver Home – Ask a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

How to Childproof your Vancouver Home –From your Friendly Vancouver Mortgage Broker

We all know that young children are curious and precocious in their young years. The world is new and something wondrous to explore, but for the wee ones our everyday home in which we live can be fraught with perils.

These are perils which we, as adults, don’t even think about and so it’s easy to forget that a young child might not know of the danger that can befall them. It could something as innocent as a pot handle but attached to a pot containing boiling water on a stove, or an open cabinet containing colorful but deadly toxins, or even a doily draped over an end table but upon which sits a heavy lamp.

A child can find disaster quickly and without warning. As much as we try to watch them all the time, we can’t. And, in those few seconds where we take our eyes off them a catastrophe can be in the making.

There are precautions you might want to take for your own children, or maybe you have some friends or relatives visiting who might be brining their little bundles of joy with them. In any event, it’s time to take stock and do whatever you can to keep the little ones safe. Let’s take a look at some of the precautions you can take.

Kitchen Area Precautions

• Start with child proof safety latches for all the cabinet drawers. Keep your most dangerous cleaners or medications where they can’t be accessed at all. Kids can be creative in using chairs and climbing on things.

• When using the stove, try and keep your pots and pans on the back burners or at the very least, ensure that the handles are turned inward and can’t be grabbed onto. Never leave the child alone when you have something cooking on the stove. Keep all flammable items away from the stove.

• Keep your appliances on the counter tops unplugged and make sure that the electrical cord can’t be grabbed onto. Make sure they can’t access the garbage disposal.

• Keep your knives separate and locked away from other common utensils. 

• Keep all your cleaning products locked up and inaccessible.

• Make sure you have a fire extinguisher.

Keep your chest freezer locked and make sure you don’t leave the dishwasher running without your being present if you have one that can’t be locked when in use.

Bathroom Safety Precautions

• Install safety latches on all the doors.
• Always keep the toilet seat lid down.
• Never leave a young child unattended even if you are draining the bath water and use non skid mats so they can’t slip and fall.
• Some experts also suggest that you lower the hot water temperature to around 48 Celsius so that it won’t cause burns to young more sensitive skin.
• Make sure you can unlock the bathroom door from the outside.
• Avoid using any glass or ceramic containers which can easily be broken.

In the Bedroom

• Don’t forget to attach safety latches on your night-table drawers or dresser drawers that contain harmful items.
• Check the toys especially for ones where small pieces might have been removed or broken away.
• Install a smoke alarm and avoid using a night light which might appear like a toy.

Other Tips

Take similar precautions with electrical cords and outlets in the living room, along with any objects that might potentially fall on the child or furniture that can be toppled over. Keep them away from the garage and make sure the basement door is always locked.

Little children can be quite creative in finding dangerous things to play with so always try to see the world through their curious eyes. Take it from your friendlyVancouverstock broker and visit child safety sites to get even more tips on keeping the little ones safe and happy.