Child safety: What should I watch out for?

Furniture:

Once babies can crawl, they'll soon want to reach higher. Shelves, cabinets and the rest of the furniture are often used to pull themselves up. Secure wobbly pieces of furniture so they don't topple over during the first attempts at walking and cause dangerous injuries.

Cables & sockets:

What are those interesting holes in the wall? Sockets should be off-limits! It's also better to secure them so your child can't be injured by an electric shock. Cables are also intriguing to toddlers, but not suitable for playing. Clear away tangled cables and secure lines in a cable conduit or bundle them together with cable ties. Read more information in our article on securing sockets.

Edges:

When babies start to walk, they often still fall over. To prevent them from bumping into the sharp corners and edges of shelves or side tables and injuring themselves, you should cover these with corner protectors.

Doors:

Open and shut, open and shut… Playing with doors is a lot of fun. But little fingers can quickly get caught. Equip interior doors with door stoppers or a pinch guard.

Tripping hazards:

Rugs, toys lying around, tiles or laminate. If little legs can't yet lift properly, a rug edge can quickly become an obstacle and make your child stagger. So make sure that nothing is lying around when your child starts trying to walk. Tiles and slippery surfaces are safer with anti-slip socks.

Houseplants:

A few flowers create a pleasant living atmosphere, but can also pose dangers for your child: Not only the potting soil in low-placed pots is interesting and is often tasted. Also make sure to keep poisonous plants out of your child's reach. These include, for example, amaryllis, daffodils or the poinsettia.

You can find our recommendations here!

Practice child safety together

Depending on their age, you can introduce your children to various hazards so they learn how to deal with them:

Climbing stairs:

If your apartment or house has stairs, you should secure them with a gate. As soon as your child can crawl, show them how to manage the steps on all fours. Going down backwards also needs to be learned: place your child on a step facing up, stand behind them and show them how to crawl safely down backwards. This helps them gain confidence on the stairs.

Climbing onto a chair:

At some point your child will no longer want help when it's time to sit down to eat. Show them how to climb from the front onto their step high chair or an "adult" chair. Stay with your child and make sure the chair doesn't wobble or tip over while they're climbing.

Handling fire:

Candlelight is beautiful and especially interesting - but also dangerous. Light a candle together with your child and explain that fire is very hot. Matches and lighters should be kept out of reach. If your child is old enough, you can also explain how to behave in case of smoke. Smoke detectors have been required in living spaces for some time, so you'll quickly notice if smoke appears in a room. Because children often hide when they're scared, you should teach your child to leave the room when there is smoke and tell an adult.

More tips for a child-safe home

• Ban tablecloths:Even if they look nice, tablecloths are quickly pulled off the table, taking all the dishes with them – including hot tea or coffee.

• Bathtub mats:This keeps the evening bath fun: rubber mats with suction cups make the tub floor safe and prevent your child from slipping.

• Lock away medicines and cleaning products:Pills and cleaning products are poisonous and should be kept out of children's reach. Special medicine cabinets can be fitted with locks so you can lock them securely.

Image credits

Baby standing in the crib © Halfpoint - stock.adobe.com

Baby sitting in front of a power strip, plugging in a cable © Halfpoint - stock.adobe.com

Baby taking dishes out of the dishwasher © Halfpoint - stock.adobe.com

Baby climbing onto a Tripp-Trapp chair © Halfpoint - stock.adobe.com

Baby with a leg over the crib bars © Halfpoint - stock.adobe.com