How to Baby-Proof a Living Room
When your sleeping infant turns into a mobile baby, it's essential to baby-proof all rooms in your living space to ensure he can navigate your house without hurting himself. Many babies spend a great deal of time in their living rooms, so it's important to make sure it's a safe place for them to play. Read on to learn how to baby-proof a living room.
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Instructions
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Get down on all fours and explore the room as your baby would. This perspective gives you a baby's-eye view of the potential hazards that exist in your living room and what you will need to do in order to baby-proof them.
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Make sure the living room is gated off from other rooms in the house if this is the area where your baby most often plays.
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Install plastic edge protectors on any piece of furniture's sharp-edged corners. Move any pieces of furniture, including coffee and end tables and television armoires, away from the area in your living room in which your baby plays most often.
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Secure all electrical and telephone cords by either taping them down or protecting them with cord covers.
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Baby-proof your window treatments by hiding blind cords and drapery tiebacks so they do not dangle to the floor. Babies can strangle themselves with cords that are only tucked into blinds or curtains.
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Consider installing carpet on your stairs to prevent a crawling or walking baby from slipping.
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Insert plugs into all electrical outlets to keep your baby's fingers safe.
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Anchor any bookcases to the wall, so that should your baby try to climb them, neither the books nor the bookcase itself will fall on top of him.
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Search your living room floor at least a few times a day for broken toy parts, coins, buttons from clothing and batteries from the television's remote control, all of which are potential choking hazards for your baby.
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Tips & Warnings
Relocate any objects of value from the living room to another room in your house. While you may have displayed your prized antiques or china collectibles in your living room before your baby learned to crawl, it's a good idea to keep them out of his reach until he can learn not to touch them when he's older.
Do not let your baby press the buttons on your television, DVD player or stereo, as this may foster a curiosity about the equipment that could lead him to play with their cords or even move the electronics and injure himself in the process.
