How to Protect a Crawling Baby

It is exciting when your baby starts to crawl + move around the house, but it also means preparing your home for a kid who can move. Knowing what to do as your child learns to navigate on her own is the key to keeping her safe.

Here are a few tips on precautions you can take to be prepared.

Keep Your House Clean

It’s not easy to keep a house clean + tidy with a child underfoot. However, it’s extremely important to keep things as clear as possible once she is mobile. When babies start to move around they want to put everything in their mouths.

According to Flora Templeton Stuart, small toys + stuffed animals from your older children can be choking hazards, so keep those out of your baby’s reach. Put away as much clutter as you possibly can so your child won’t trip or slip when she is trying to crawl or take first steps.

Make sure the surface your child is on is not slippery or dirty + ask visitors to take off shoes so they won’t bring in outside bacteria + germs from the ground.

Put Up Gates + Barriers

There are places in your house your child shouldn’t be able to access. That’s why baby gates were invented. Rooms that contain items that are easy to break, such as an office with cords everywhere + are reachable should be blocked off to little movers.

The same goes for rooms + cabinets with chemicals or cleaners that you don’t want your kids to get into or be around. If you can’t move them to a higher location, block the room off with a gate, lock, or barrier.

According to North States, if you live in a house with stairs, make sure to put gates at the top + the bottom. Early movers love to climb, but they don’t have the balance to keep from falling. Make sure they can’t open the gates + crawl up the stairs.

Use Bumpers

The sharp edges of tables + other furniture need to be covered by corner guards (also sometimes called bumpers) so a falling child doesn’t sustain a serious injury. You may choose to use foam to cover the sides of the entire table if your child is especially fond of pulling up on furniture.

According to The Baby Swag, there are a variety of easy to install options. This will make a fall into a corner surface a bit less traumatic + painful for everyone involved.

Safety is always a mom’s top priority + luckily there are plenty of steps you can take to prepare for life’s changes. Watching a child learn mobility is exciting, but make sure the experience is safe. To prevent any avoidable mishaps you can prepare your home to be ready before your little one starts to move around on her own.