Baby-proofing is no longer a case of going down to Argos and grabbing a couple of baby gates – it’s a serious business with several professionals offering full fittings for hundreds of pounds.
It’s no wonder, given that according to Public Health England, unintentional injuries in and around the home are a leading cause of preventable death for children under five years and are a major cause of ill health and serious disability.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) states that “the largest number of accidents happen in the living or dining room. However, the most serious accidents happen in the kitchen and on the stairs. Every year, more than 67,000 children experience an accident in the kitchen – 43,000 of these are aged between 0-4 years; 58,000 children have accidents on the stairs.”
But in their effort to best protect their children, professionals like Al Kola from Baby Safe Steps say there are several mistakes he often sees that are actually more harmful than helpful. Here, he shares the most common ones and how to fix them.
Don’t use pressure gates – especially on stairs
“The major red flag I’ve noticed in some people’s homes is that they use a pressure gate on their stairs, especially at the top of the stairs. But they’re not meant to be on stairs at all. Pressure gates have a bar along the bottom to keep them fixed in place, which creates a trip hazard.
We’re not used to having hurdles at the very top of stairs, so even with the best intentions you can forget it’s there. The result is that you can end up flying down the stairs with or without your baby.
This happens not through the fault of customers but because there’s a real lack of information: companies sell them as ‘stair gates’ because they technically can fit at the top of the stairs but they shouldn’t actually do that.
That’s definitely the biggest mistake that I come across in other people’s homes. Instead, you should use screw-fit gates because you don’t want any additional trip hazards.”
If your child can reach it, they can pull it over
As parents, we tend to give kids a bit more credit than they warrant and assume they won’t do XYZ. We might assume they won’t pull on drawers, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t be strong enough to pull a chest of drawers over.
But even with big units, if enough of the drawers are pulled out, the weight of the unit shifts completely and it doesn’t take much for it to be pulled over. I’ve demonstrated this to parents who have assumed items are far too big to be a threat to their child: when I show them what can happen when the weight is redistributed, you can see the horror on their face.
You can’t assume that children won’t explore. Some kids climb, and even if they don’t climb, they will figure something is interesting because you’ve clearly opened a drawer for a reason. They’ll open the first one, then the second one and the third, and they will climb. And nine times out of 10, that will immediately shift the weight and could topple the dresser.
Don’t leave windows ajar
Another way we underestimate children is around windows. We assume no child would be able to open a window if it’s shut, especially sash or bay windows, because they have a bit of weight to them. The problem is that if they are left ajar to let airflow through, the window could be pushed open the rest of the way by a toddler of about two. And this has sadly happened – there have been about four cases in London where there have unfortunately been deaths because a window was left ajar.
So, while a child won’t be able to open a window, they certainly are able to push it open if it’s unlocked or slightly open.
Don’t waste your time with socket covers but do hide cords
The good thing about the UK is that you don’t need to use covers on UK plugs. The sockets already have an integrated block system which is the reason the top pin is longer than the bottom two – it disengages the block and opens up the power before the lower pins connect. So there’s no danger, essentially, in terms of electrical equipment.
In fact, the NHS came out years ago and said it’s best not to use them because they are made of hard plastic and when you try to pull them out you can break them inside the plug. If the top pin (the earthing pin) breaks, then the block that normally stops the electricity from flowing remains open. At that point, if a child has a nail or a screw and sticks it into that hole, they can be electrocuted.
With cables, there are two potential dangers. One is around access to cables in general, particularly if you have a baby monitor. Most people keep cameras next to the cot, but they’re often on a wire, which means that a child could very easily grab it, take it into their cot and get entangled with them.
The second is more to do with wired electrical equipment like a coffee machine or a radio – something that you put on the counter. If there is a cable running down the side to the plug, then that can be pulled by a child and whatever is on top will fall down onto them. So, you should still be aware of wires and tidy them away.
Lock cupboards
In the kitchen, we tend to suggest locks based on content. We would suggest you either lock cupboards and drawers where you keep cleaning products, batteries, medicine, glassware and potentially tools, knives, if they are on the lower levels. However, these are things that, if possible, we’d suggest should be kept up high.
Ovens are also something to watch out for because they are sometimes quite low. And when children have stopped crawling, they will begin to try to stand up by grabbing onto handles and things like that. So, if you’ve got a knob that is low and also a handle that can just be pulled open, that can mean a child effectively has exposed themselves to heat. You can get covers for the door handles and knobs if needed.
Too much cushioning can backfire
There is no such thing as over-preparation in some ways, but there are specific instances where things can be more harmful than helpful. Parents could be considered to be going overboard when they consider every corner in the house to be a danger. The unfortunate fact is that kids will bump their heads, and they will hit things. And if you put edge protectors everywhere, then that child is not going to know what pain is. So, when they go anywhere else like nursery and do get hurt because they don’t understand it, it’s going to be harder for them to be in the world.
There’s only one brand I trust for gates
I’ve been doing this for 15 years and we have pretty much tested everything. Hundreds of gates claim to be stair gates but there are only two that we use for almost all scenarios, and then a third one we use in specific cases. They are all from the same brand – Baby Dan. We use them for a few reasons: firstly, safety, secondly, practicality, and then thirdly, they look good. They are the only brand that currently ticks those boxes for most scenarios.
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