Having children in a home is an intensely joyful, satisfying, and life-changing experience. They often are the ‘thing’ that makes home – home, especially if you’re new to Austin.
Their safety, of course, is of paramount importance, and especially in a larger luxury home, there are many potential hazards for babies, toddlers, and young kids.
Suppose you’ve recently moved and are settling into your new luxury house. In that case, these tips on making the home safer for children can help ensure their safety isn’t a concern.
Prevent the Possibility of Drowning
Luxury homes often have pools, spas, garden ponds, or other areas of open water that are hazardous for children. The weather in Austin makes having a pool convenient and outdoor fun a year-round activity. To make it impossible for your child to fall in and drown, surround pools and other standing water with fences at least four feet tall. Gates should be self-latching, and alarms on the gates provide extra protection. Remember that toddlers can drown in only a few inches of water and keep buckets, bathtubs, and other containers empty when not in use.
Anchor Your Furniture
Children tend to bump into or climb onto anything in their path. With this in mind, purchase squat, heavy furniture that is impossible to topple and securely anchor everything else to the wall or floor. It would be best if you secured stoves, desks, dressers, TV stands, and bookshelves. Avoid having loose lamps, vases, and other heavy and potentially dangerous items on surfaces children can reach.
Pad the Edges
There are a lot of sharp edges that children can injure themselves against in a large home. To prevent this, install trim and corner bumpers on furniture, fireplaces, and other sharp objects in areas your kids frequent.
Lock Up Exercise Equipment
Many luxury homes have exercise rooms full of possible hazards for children. These rooms should be locked when not in use, as kids can easily injure themselves on treadmills, stationary bikes, weights, jump ropes, and other gym equipment. If you don’t have an entire room devoted to exercise, lock your gear up in a closet or box. Exercise when your kids are elsewhere; otherwise, occupy them with activities or toys safely away. While exercising, remain vigilant about where they are and what they are doing.
Secure Doors and Windows
Door knob covers help prevent toddlers from accessing dangerous rooms or exiting the house. As for windows, screens are insufficient protection to prevent kids from falling out. For added safety, install window guards that only allow windows to open up to four inches. Use window coverings without cords to forestall the risk of strangulation.
Avoid Electrocution
Electrical accidents happen quickly and can cause severe injuries or even death. To prevent them, cover all outlets and plugs with protectors that are not easy for children to remove. Ensure that electrical cords are safely tucked away and not in a place where kids can grab or trip over them. As soon as they can understand, impress upon your children the importance of asking for help when dealing with electricity.
Install Safety Gates and Rails
It would help if you prevented the possibility of kids falling downstairs in your luxury home. With toddlers, ensure that safety gates are mounted at the bottom and top of every staircase in the house and are not easy to remove. Stairways should have plenty of light and handrails or banisters on both sides. Always keep stairways clear of loose carpets and clutter.
Lock Drawers and Cupboards
Households contain many substances that can potentially poison children, which must be securely locked away. For instance, you should keep all medications in high cupboards out of reach. Other hazards include bug spray, fertilizers, household cleaners, antifreeze, perfume, mouthwash, and other substances that kids might mistake for food or drink.
Deploy Smoke Detectors
You may not detect fire in a large home without smoke alarms until it is too late. Install them throughout your residence, preferably in every room. Run checks every month to be sure they are functioning correctly, and replace the batteries yearly or whenever they begin issuing warning chirps. Be sure to install carbon monoxide detectors, especially if the garage adjoins your home or you cook or heat with natural gas.
Prevent Burns
Even in the absence of flames, there are multitudes of ways that children can get burned in a home. To prevent this, set water heater temperatures to 120 degrees or less. Utilize screens or other barriers to keep children from getting too close to radiators, heaters, or fireplaces. Children tend to want to grab what they see, so keep mugs containing hot drinks away from the edges of tables and the handles of pots and pans out of sight. Always check the temperature of bathwater before immersing a child in it.
Children are naturally inquisitive and love to explore and discover new things. If you take these precautions in your luxury home, your kids will have safer, happier experiences as they learn and grow.
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