How to Childproof Your Home Office

Home offices are becoming more and more common as more people telecommute. Childproof your work area to make sure it is a safe area for your children.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Child-resistant Drawer Locks
• Child-size Tables And Chairs
• Crayons
• Large Plastic Storage Boxes With Lid
• Tip-resistant Furniture Brackets
• Cord Shorteners
• Outlet Covers
• Crayons

1. Tuck loose cords behind desks or file cabinets and use cord gatherers and cord shorteners to secure them. Get some power strip safety covers as well.

2. Protect all open electrical outlets with outlet covers. Wind up cords for window blinds and secure them out of children's reach.

3. Cover monitors, keyboards, towers and printers when not in use. This will keep little fingers away from the buttons and slots that look so inviting.

4. Place your keyboard on a shelf or on top of your monitor to further prevent tampering.

5. Purchase safety straps to secure your computer equipment to the desktop so that it cannot be pulled off or get knocked off.

6. Use file cabinets that lock. Keep all drawers closed and locked and keep the sliding door on your tower closed at all times.

7. Secure all bookcases, file cabinets and tall wall furniture to the walls with tip-resistant furniture brackets. Never allow a child to climb up a bookcase.

8. Keep a cover on your garbage can. Those staples, paper clips and other items you throw away are dangerous to children. Consider using a large plastic container with a snap on lid instead of a traditional garbage can.

9. Store paper shredders on a high shelf or in a closet. Never leave them plugged in.

10. Remove clutter - collect pens, pencils, paper clips and staplers in a locked drawer or on a shelf in a box with a lid and put all CDs and disks in boxes out of reach. Do not leave empty CD jewel cases out; they can pinch little fingers.

11. Hide all of your important papers in a locked file cabinet. A toddler with a pen can cause remarkable damage.

12. Locate your phone and answering machines on a shelf out of reach when you are not using them.

Tips & Warnings

• Design a special area in your office just for your children. You could set up a small child-size table and chair set or hang a small chalkboard on the wall. Add some floor cushions, a basket of toys and box of paper and crayons. Put children's books on the bottom shelf of your bookcase.