Interior Design Agency to Create Safe Homes
We Build Inspired Sage Homes.
Your home may be a cosy nest, but it is also a minefield for young children. As soon as children are able to move around, the temptations to explore multiply and parents may have underestimated the risks of their home. To reduce the statistic that 80% of accidents involving children under the age of 4 occur at home*, here are a few practical tips.
Why You Should Choose Us
You thought you could just say no to the children and they would understand that there is a risk of banging their heads while crawling around, but you didn’t count on the embarrassment of discovery and inventiveness. Yet your parents were sure to tell you about your personal exploits of Superman trying to fly out of the window and spelunking in the rubbish disposal.
Before you feel like the castrating parent who forbids you to touch everything, it is possible to find solutions to secure your home. We’ll leave it to you to explain to your children that mischief can end in a big mess and that prevention is better than cure.
1. Be more diligent about tidying up
Children have this ability to put everything in their mouths, including the little button that you left rolling around under the bed and that escaped the hoover. Congratulating them on finding it is the first step, but thanking them for not trying to swallow it is even better, even if you can see a few teeth marks. To avoid choking, learn not to leave anything lying around on the floor when children start to crawl. Similarly, deprive their sparkling eyes of the sight of any small objects that could be grabbed faster than a magpie would dive on a diamond. You have to think at child’s level, you who love your low furniture so much, you will have to clear it of all your expensive knick-knacks and statues. As soon as you’ve used something, put it back where it belongs. You can’t imagine what you can do with a paper clip and a stapler.2. Make a design-safety compromise
Plastic end caps aren’t the best thing about your marble table, but as long as your child can crawl underneath it or confuse it with his or her play area, it’s best to secure the protruding corners. Farewell to mirrors on the floor, artistic piles of books and collections of cacti. Everything that might accidentally come within reach of curious little creatures must be taken into account. The waxed concrete will surely need to be adorned with a soft carpet to cushion any falls and the bathtub with non-slip octopuses. Rest assured, this is only temporary. Although hanging furniture is a good alternative, it does not have to be installed by a weekend handyman. It’s up to you to find the right compromise and to introduce new decorating trends to your amazed friends.3. Do one thing at a time
The best way to cause a domestic accident is to try to do everything at once. Talking on the phone, watching the milk on the stove and giving the bottle, no, even Wonder Woman can’t do that. Of course, this sounds easier said than done in everyday life. Put your child in a sling in a high chair or in a bassinet if you need to be hands-free for a while. The priority is to keep him safe where he can’t slip or topple over and then you can go about your business, especially if you tend to be distracted (I’ll be the last to blame you for this).4. Investing in the kitchen
The kitchen is a place of danger (more serious than charred lasagne) and a strategic location for domestic accidents. Invest in an oven with a cold door that opens safely (if the children ever get the idea of playing Hansel and Gretel). Cook on the hobs furthest from the edge and buy pans with removable handles (or turn them towards the wall). Choose shock-absorbing drawer slides and store knives in a drawer out of reach. This may seem restrictive, but it is the best way to ensure peace of mind. Children’s skin is thinner and they are more sensitive to heat. You can fit a thermostat to the taps in the bathroom and kitchen to prevent burns. And when they want to play cook, plastic dishes are fantastic.5. Don’t play on the stairs
Didn’t your mum tell you this all your childhood? So now is not the time to give your child their first sledding lesson. A secure barrier at the top and bottom of the stairs will stop them from exploring until their nimble little hands discover how the mechanism works. Here too, you should invest in quality equipment that is NF-approved. Need we remind you that the carpet is correctly fixed and that you choose a guardrail that complies with the standards, even if the suspended concrete staircase is very design. For the sled, wait for the first snow.6. Close the doors
You realise that the wind has risen when your youngest child surprises you with a scream because his little fingers are stuck in the door that has slammed shut. Once the cuddle-kiss-arnica phase is over, you invest in door wedges or safety devices that act as shock absorbers. The same goes for windows, with a system of metal rods that keep them open to allow ventilation. Adjust the opening so that he can’t slip his head in… you’ll be amazed at his imagination another time.7. Fix everything to the wall
You may have to rescue your child from a fall where they discover with great disappointment that Spiderman is a piece of crap. To prevent the bookcase from literally knocking him out, consider fixing the furniture to the wall. You know the step in the Ikea manual that you skip, exhausted from taking the doors apart backwards. Children are eager to climb. The space under the windows is freed up and a mezzanine bed is only chosen when they are 7 or 8 years old. The furniture should be stable enough and you should choose items that cannot be used as steps. Of course, you should avoid storing anything that could be very attractive high up. Out of sight, out of mind.8. Finishing off the DIY projects you’ve started
If you are a fan of DIY, you probably have a box or a small cabinet dedicated to it. Think of all the glitter, coloured markers and paint pots as a magnet. Invest in a locked cabinet and get used to finishing what you start if you don’t want your knitting needles to end up as swords. The same goes for all small repairs around the house. Sockets coming off the wall, paint peeling off, joints peeling off. We take the time to play Super Bricolo to make sure everything is safe.
