You’ve become a Grandparent. Now you need to start making your home safe for your Grandchildren. Use these home safety tips to get started. And be sure to download the free checklist.
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Home Safety Tips for Grandparents
Being a Grandparent is so exciting! Congratulations, my friend! Now you need to start making your home safe for your Grandchildren. Use these home safety tips to get started.
There is so much to do to prepare for the arrival of this new bundle of joy.
One of the most important things I can think of is to make your home safe for your Grandchildren.
I know, they may not have even arrived yet, or maybe they are still tiny and immobile.
But you should really think about these things and take the time to prepare your home so it’s safe for your Grandchildren when they come to visit.
Some of these precautions will not be necessary until your little one is up and about, but it’s never too early to consider these things.
Home Safety Tips In General
Ok, these are general safety precautions to have in your home:
- Working Smoke Detectors in the proper locations throughout the house
- Outlet Covers over any exposed, unused outlets
- Hide all electric cords to avoid pulling or tripping on them
- Baby Gates for steps or to block off specific areas.
- Program 911 and any other emergency numbers into your phone.
Home Safety Tips for Baby’s Sleeping Area
Your grandchildren may spend the night or nap at your house.
- There should be no loose cords on the blinds. Tie them up high so they can’t be reached. The Child Development Institute shares information here about the dangers and remedies for loose cords.
- If you are going to have a crib or Pack ‘n Play, make sure to get one that is new or newer and equipped with the safety devices that are now a requirement. HealthyChildren.org has some good information about this issue.
Home Safety Tips In the Kitchen
Your kitchen can be a dangerous place for small children.
- Use cabinet locks like these on cabinets
- Remove cleaning supplies and dangerous chemicals (Move them to an upper cabinet or alternate location for storage)
- Keep sharp utensils and knives out of reach
- Keep cords from crock pots, skillets or other appliances out of reach. (Our kitchen island has outlets on each end – not safe when the fryer or crock pot is plugged in there and the cord is dangling)
Home Safety Tips In the Bathroom
Oh, boy. You probably know the bathroom safety precautions I’m going to suggest to you here.
- Move your medicines up. High. It wouldn’t hurt to put them out of sight as well. Even if they are in your master bathroom where you don’t expect the grandchildren to explore. According to SafeKids.org, medications are the leading cause of child poisoning. You can prevent accidental medication poisoning by taking these steps.
- Remove cleaning supplies here, just like in the kitchen. In fact, you could keep all the cleaning supplies in one location. Here is a snazzy little tote you can use to store them, which would make it easy to transport when needed.
- If you’re going to be bathing your grandchild, be sure to have protection against slipping in the bottom of the tub like a mat, stickers, or even a small towel would work.
Be Safe Around Pets
We all love our pets, but, let’s face it, they may not love the addition of a new baby into your life.
- Make sure your pets are up to date on their vaccinations. If your pet should bite, you don’t want to deal with the consequences of not vaccinating them.
- Until you know how your pet is reacting to the little one, be cautious when they are together.
- Move pet food to a location away from the baby’s area. Eating pet food probably wouldn’t hurt anything, but avoid the mess that may result.
- If you have a cat, you have a litter box. A great solution to babyproof the litter box and cat food is to use a gadget like the Door Buddy. It’s a nifty little strap that holds the door open far enough for kitty to pass through, but closed enough to keep the baby or toddler out. (This little strap even works well to keep the dog out of the litter box!) Read more about the Door Buddy here.
- Pet toys should have their own basket or container, also moved away from the baby’s area.
Home Safety Tips In the Garage
Well, your garage may not look like mine, full of a multitude of hazards, but I’ll mention some garage-related safety tips here.
- Keep chemicals – gasoline, kerosene, weed killer, etc. – put up high on a shelf that children can’t reach.
- Make sure your garage door is working properly. Normally a garage door has a sensor that knows when something or someone is in the way and should stop closing. You don’t want the door to close on your grandchildren.
- Equipment such as lawnmowers, weed eaters, chainsaws, and the like should be properly stored to avoid injury.
- If you will be transporting your grandchildren, you will also need a car seat (or two, like I now own). Purchase a new car seat. It doesn’t need to be the fancy edition with all the bells & whistles, but a used car seat is not a good idea. It’s possible that a used seat was in an accident, or it has “expired” in terms of current safety regulations. Read more here about the dangers of used baby gear.
- Here’s another good resource for safety in the garage from PrimeWeld.com: Keeping Kids and Pets Safe in a Garage/Workshop.
Conclusion:
This is not an extensive or all-inclusive list of home safety tips for grandparents by any means, but it is a place to start.
Begin thinking about the areas in your home that could pose a risk at each stage – a newborn, a crawler, a toddler, a young child.
Make your home safe for your grandchildren.
And while you’re in Grandparent mode, you may also enjoy reading some other Grandparenting-related posts here & here.
Also, sign up to follow me – I have more posts about Grandparenting in the works that may interest you! The form is at the bottom of the page.
Keep Passing Down the Love,
