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
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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.
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2
Protect all open electrical outlets with outlet covers. Wind up cords for window blinds and secure them out of children's reach.
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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.
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4
Place your keyboard on a shelf or on top of your monitor to further prevent tampering.
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5
Purchase safety straps to secure your computer equipment to the desktop so that it cannot be pulled off or get knocked off.
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6
Use file cabinets that lock. Keep all drawers closed and locked and keep the sliding door on your tower closed at all times.
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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.
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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.
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9
Store paper shredders on a high shelf or in a closet. Never leave them plugged in.
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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.
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11
Hide all of your important papers in a locked file cabinet. A toddler with a pen can cause remarkable damage.
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12
Locate your phone and answering machines on a shelf out of reach when you are not using them.
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1
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.
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Comments
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Jami Delgado
Nov 18, 2008
This is great information! The office is one of the toughest rooms to babyproof.