Best Ways to Make Your Home Kid Friendly

If you have kids, it is very good that you're reading this post. Every responsible parent should do what they can in order to have a kid friendly home. Unfortunately, many parents who think they own such a home are, in fact, wrong! The University of Alabama has made a study recently. They built a model home and then asked the parents to identify potential hazards. On average, these parents have identified less than half of potential hazards that were present in this model home! Not only that, but they have placed a far too high degree of confidence in their children. Maybe your child does know that he or she shouldn't be playing with matches. However, it is always better to assume that he/she doesn't understand such things. So, without further ado, here's what you can do in order to make your home more kid friendly.

The living room

#01 Keep your matches and candles out of your child's reach. No matter how old they are, it is possible for your children to accidentally light a match. As for the candles, they could be chewing on them and then choking on wax.

#02 The same goes for photo frames - keep them out for reach. Your child may drop these frames, and then cut himself/herself on the glass.

#03 TV sets are another thing that your child could drop. So, make sure that it's secured to the wall. If you can't mount it, then you can use industrial-strength Velcro straps to anchor it to the wall. Also, make sure that the TV battery cover is not missing. You don't want your child to eat a battery!

If it's not properly secured to the wall, a TV such as this one is a hazard. 

#04 Make sure that the power strips are hidden. You can hide them, for example, behind furniture. And if you can't hide them, then you can buy a cover for power-strips.

#05 The fireplace comes with its own fair share of potential hazards. For starters, the fireplace shouldn't be exposed while the flame is burning. Use heat-resistant gates to cover the flames. Buy pads and then put them over the edges of a stony or sharp hearth. If your fireplace came with small rocks, make sure to remove them, as your child might want to eat them.

The bedroom

#06 Make sure that the crib is safe for your child. This means being sure that he or she can't get out of the crib. If there are some stuffed animals or other toys in the crib, they can be used as a platform that will help your child to "escape" the crib. Also, drop-side cribs are now banned in the USA. If they break, your child could become trapped between the mattress and the crib.

#07 Secure the dresser or other furniture to the wall or to the floor.

#08 The piggy bank should be high enough. A child could, for example, climb the dresser drawers and knock down the piggy bank. Then, he or she can either himself or try to swallow the coins.

If you own a piggy bank and you want to have a kids friendly home, then place it somewhere where your kids can't reach it.

#09 If you have low windows, you should definitely install a window guard. And regardless of the position of the window, make sure that it only opens three inches. As for the window blinds, in a kid friendly home they are cordless. That's because a child's neck could get caught in the cord. In fact, there are more than 200 deaths reported of children strangling themselves on window cords since 1990.

#10 If your child is playing with crayons, always check if they are left on the floor after your child's play-time is over. Her or she could easily break a crayon. And when that happens, the crayons become small enough that your child could easily choke on them.

The kitchen

#11 The kitchen is probably the most dangerous room for kids. So, whenever you're not around, the kitchen should be gated.

#12 The dishwasher should be locked. The most dangerous thing when it comes to dishwashers is the detergent. You don't want your kids to ingest the detergent, so make sure to run the dishwasher after adding the detergent. Also, the knives should be stored with blades down.

#13 Not only is the detergent toxic, but so are other cleaning supplies, such as drain openers and furniture polish. If you're keeping them in lower cabinets, either make sure that the cabinets are securely locked, or move the cleaning products somewhere where your child can't reach them.

#14 Keep your microwave out of your children's reach. It's best to place it somewhere high, but if you can't do that, be sure that it's never on while you're not present.

Don't leave the microwave on when you're not there! 

#15 It is convenient to store knives and other sharp cutlery on the kitchen counter. However, you should definitely not do that! Instead, place it in an over-the-counter cabinet. Be especially careful if you have a child with special needs. They are more impulsive and more likely to grab such dangerous items.

Finding a kid friendly moving company

Finally, we believe that there's a good chance that you'll be moving, and you're now wondering how to make your new home kid friendly. If you're moving with kids, an important factor when choosing the right moving company should be whether their workers will be treating your kids the right way. Sure, the workers are almost always polite and friendly when they're in the company of their clients. However, once you're not there, they might be rude to your children or otherwise treat them badly.

So, you should find a company that you know you can trust with your children. One such company is bestcrosscountrymovers.com. While it is possible that your experience will be different, the two times I used their services, they were great to my twins and, unexpectedly, we all had a fun time.

Apart from hiring the services of a company whose workers are genuinely nice and polite, there are other ways to make relocation fun for your kids. Study them carefully, and you're bound to make the stressful process of moving with children much less nerve-wrecking.

To conclude

Hopefully, these 15 tips will help you to make a more kid friendly home. As we're sure that you care greatly about your children's safety, we're also sure that you'll do everything that's in your power to protect them. Good luck!