When someone says “babyproofing”, you probably think of rubber bumpers and drawer locks. However, there is a lot more that goes into babyproofing your home, especially when it comes to your home’s electrical components. It’s important to get down on all fours and look around you — what do you need to protect from poking, pulling, biting, breaking? What is in reach that is unsafe for exploring little hands and mouths? Any loose cords or unprotected outlets not only pose a threat to your baby’s safety, but your baby poses a threat to their safety. It doesn’t take that much force to unbalance your flat screen TV by tugging on its power cord. Don’t leave anything within reach that could cause problems: space heaters, paper shredders, air freshener plug-ins, power strips, etc.
Here are a few items you can invest in that will help you babyproof the electronics in your home:
- Outlet covers or safe plates: these work to protect the cords or outlets that are plugged into the wall from being ripped out or played with.
- Cord control kits and wall-mount wire guards: conceal all the cables you have and keep them out of sight and out of the way from little hands.
- Power strip covers: cover up all the cords that plug into your power strip as well as the power switch to protect your baby from playing with them and shutting off the power.
Start planning your babyproofing early and do consistent checks that there isn’t debris on the floor or something within reach that poses a threat to your child. Nothing your baby can reach will go untouched. Consider mounting your TV on the wall and securing bookshelves to the wall for when your baby starts to pull him- or herself up. If you have any questions on how to install the safety items above, contact Allen Electrical today!
