Your child’s room is a place for them to safely nestle down for some much-needed rest and relaxation. As a parent, one of your most important jobs is to create an area in your home that is free from potential hazards – both obvious ones and the less obvious risk factors! So here are some safety tips for making sure your child’s bedroom is as safe as it can be.
0-3 Year Old’s Room
- The safest place for a baby to sleep to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is to sleep in a crib, on a firm mattress, and with a fitted sheet.
- Keep any toys, blankets, and pillows out of the crib to prevent suffocation.
- Don’t hang anything from the crib, as this means a risk of strangulation.
- Make sure all bolts and screws are tightened in the crib. This will ensure that the crib does not fall apart while your baby is sleeping.
- Place a nightlight in the room. For children who can walk and sleep in a toddler bed, the nightlight will provide them with light to see at night. Many children are also scared of the dark so this will help them to battle their fear.
- Smoke alarms should be installed in every room, including your baby’s bedroom.
- Placing window guards on your windows will help prevent your child from falling through.
- The best toy chest for a young child is one without a lid. However, if you do purchase one with a lid, make sure that there are holes in the top in case your child were to get trapped. They would then be able to breathe and it will help you hear them better when they call for help.
- Be sure that all toys are picked up off the floor to ensure that they (or you) don’t trip in the middle of the night.
4-12 Year Old’s Room
- Again, you should place a smoke alarm in your child’s bedroom. Ensure that you test the smoke alarm regularly.
- Kids around 4-9 years of age are usually running around a lot. Ensure that if their room has a carpet and place non-skid mats underneath to prevent slipping.
- The doors in your child’s room should not have locks on them. Or if they do, ensure that you can unlock them from the outside.
- There should not be any glass-topped furniture or glass doors in your child’s room.
- Ensure that you regularly check the furniture for any loose pieces. If there are any, ensure that you fix them to prevent injuries.
- Use guard rails for bunk beds to ensure the child can’t fall off.
- Anchor bookcases and dressers to the wall. This will help prevent these pieces of furniture from falling on top of them when they attempt to scale them – because they will to reach that toy on the top shelf.
- Insist that all toys be picked up off the floor.
- Use cool to the touch nightlights.
Preteen’s and Teenager’s Room
- Ensure that the plugs are not overloaded. This could cause overheating which will then lead to fires.
- Insist that the floor be cleared of any books, papers, objects, and clothes.
- Keep lamps away from flammable objects.
- There should be no electrical cords underneath the rug/carpet.
If you have children or even pets, you should make sure to regularly check their rooms as a form of routine maintenance. This will help avoid anyone getting hurt falling off the bed, tripping over toys or slipping on water that has been spilled.
