Has your baby started crawling and trying to climb up the stairs on his or her own?
These are some of the basic signs that your baby is becoming a toddler-which means you have to be now extra careful about their safety.
If you are in a similar situation then we will bet that this is the article you were looking for and it will be worth your time.
We know that the first thing which should come to your mind is baby-proofing the house and we can’t agree with you more. But the problem is you are not always certain which is safe and which is a danger area anymore. Every area which seemed perfectly safe until yesterday can become a potential danger area for babies. We are talking about all the common areas in your house like Kitchen, stairs, backyards, Large equipment-the list can be endless.
A funny alternate idea for baby gate usage – for parents personal space :)
So, while it is always good to baby-proof the house, nothing can beat the idea of restricting a baby’s movement from certain areas. And that is where baby gates come into the picture. Keep reading as we are about to explain the 7 Most Dangerous Places to consider when installing a Baby Gate in your home.
1. Top and Bottom of Stairs
The most unsafe area of all. Climbing stairs up and down probably are the most fun activities a toddler would like to do. According to an article published in Medical Diary, in every six minutes a child is rushed to Emergency Department due to stair-related injuries. As a preventive measure, it is always preferred that you install baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.
Top of the stairs is most critical for installing a baby gate, because falling from this height would cause severe injury and at worst it can cause brain-related injuries as well. If you look at the options, you can go for both hardware or pressure mounted baby gate. But for the top of stairs we will always recommend a hardware mounted baby gate. This type of baby gates is permanently
mounted to the door frame or walls with screws, which makes it more durable than a pressure mounted baby gate.
While the pressure mounted baby gate is good, it has its own limitation. As your baby grows, he becomes gets stronger. A simple push in the pressure mounted gate can give them that extra space they were looking for and they will find their way to the bottom of the stairs. On the other hand, climbing upstairs is another activity that your baby will try to do at this age. Especially, if you are not paying full attention. So, if you have two storied house with long stairs, we would suggest installing two baby gates for stairs – one for the top of stairs and one for the bottom.
2. Kitchen
Kitchen is probably the second most unsafe place for baby .Here the threat comes in many forms starting from Kitchen appliances like stove, micro oven, dishwashers hot food, tangled wires from the appliances, kitchen knives, glass dishes and other cooking pots, slippery floors, utensils cleaning formulas and what not-the list can be endless.
The danger level multiplies in cases where you are not in the kitchen and baby is roaming freely unmonitored nearby the kitchen. Blocking the kitchen entrance with a baby gate would be a smart thing to do.
In many houses, there are no separate kitchen entrance or kitchen area falls within a big hall. In this case, you can keep your baby safe by using a baby gate which can be given a shape of a playpen.
3. Fireplace
If your house a has a fireplace or hot-stove it completely makes sense to install a baby gate. A extra wide baby gate may be an ideal choice for this. The most important advantage of having this baby gate is that you can give it any odd shape.
4. Large Objects
Large objects like gym equipment, stand-on TV screen are some of the very common items which are potentially unsafe for babies. If remain unprotected there is high-possibility that your baby may try to reach those items and accidentally get toppled over by them. You can protect your baby to by installing a baby gate and blocking their access to those areas.
5. Laundry Area
If you don’t have a separate laundry room in your house or if your laundry room doesn’t have a door of its own, it is very important to install a baby gate at the entrance. Apart from the washing machine and drier, all the cleaning agents, fabric conditioners are generally stored in this area. Babies can easily figure out how to open a cap of the detergent or at worst they will try to eat some for fun.
6. Hallway
If you have a house where rooms and bathroom are connected through a common hallway, chances are high that each room will have its own doors. So you can simply lock those rooms and make sure babies stay away without your supervision.
However, there can be rooms which will be frequently used by you all the time and it might not be possible for you to always remember and lock the door. A walk-through gate with auto close mechanism will be of a great help for situation like this.
7. Backyard or Porch
If you have a fairly open backyard or have swimming pool at house, you must also baby proof those areas, so that the baby can roam around on a sunny day without any fear. Outdoor baby gates are different from the ones which are built for inside house use. Since these type baby gate has to through extreme weather conditions like heat, snowfall or rain -these are built of extra sturdy material and have extra rust-proof coating on them.
For swimming pool, there are many swimming pools fences available in the market which can cover the entire swimming pool area.
Wrapping it Up
We know how difficult the process of baby-proofing the house. No matter whatever you do, you can never be sure and have to be always careful and pay close attention to your baby. There is no alternative to that. However, baby gates will certainly will give you that extra relief in many cases. Market is full of baby gate options and each one claim to better than the others. Don’t let those catchy words fool you. We would further recommend you to read our baby gate buying guide and understand about different types of baby gates, which gate will be perfect fit for which scenario, Important factors to consider before buying a baby gate and most importantly 7 Important Points to Consider before buying a Baby Safety Gate. Happy and Safe Baby Proofing.
