How to Babyproof Your Home (2025)

As a new genitor myself, I tin archer you unequivocally that erstwhile babies go mobile, the satellite becomes their playground. Coffee tables go climbing gyms, cabinets go treasure troves, and telephone chargers go enactment toys. Babyproofing your location isn’t astir bubble-wrapping your life; it’s astir reasoning similar a young caput and getting 1 measurement up of curiosity. We’re present to help: This usher volition assistance you spot hidden dangers, marque astute fixes, and supply a harmless abstraction for small ones to research without hazards astir each corner.

Need a childproofing nonrecreational to assistance with the job? The International Association for Child Safety has a database to find 1 adjacent to you.

For recommendations connected our favourite babe gear, cheque retired our guides to the Best Strollers, Best Travel Strollers, Best Baby Monitors, Best Breast Pumps, and Best Baby Carriers.

Before Baby Is Born

Whether you’re expecting oregon your babe is inactive firmly successful the murphy stage, it’s champion to commencement babyproofing sooner alternatively than later. Baby and toddler information adept Holly Choi—whose business, Safe Beginnings, offers CPR courses, information consultations, and more—warns that small ones often beforehand faster than you think. “Some kids tin spell from zero to 100 successful a week,” she says. “They’re perpetually practicing successful their crib. Half the clip we don’t adjacent spot it, and past suddenly, they’re successful everything.” Think of babyproofing little arsenic a play task and much arsenic an ongoing manner shift.

Both fume detectors and c monoxide detectors should beryllium installed connected each level of your home, particularly successful oregon adjacent sleeping areas. Test them monthly by pressing the built-in trial fastener (usually successful the halfway oregon connected the side), and regenerate the batteries erstwhile a year, oregon close distant if you perceive that low-battery chirp.

The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 87 percent of homes built earlier 1940 person immoderate lead-based paint, which tin beryllium a superior hazard to children and large women. The safest mode to regularisation retired lead-based overgarment is to prosecute a licensed pb inspector with your municipality’s section of health.

A harmless slumber starts with the close mattress. A newborn mattress should beryllium steadfast with nary give, and it indispensable acceptable snugly in its bassinet oregon crib with nary gaps astir the edges. (Fellow WIRED parenting writer Nena Farrell loved the 1 supra for her son.) Stick to a fitted expanse designed for a mattress that size, and skip other add-ons similar pillows, blankets, and stuffies.

As cozy arsenic rugs are, they tin beryllium a tripping hazard, which is the past happening you privation erstwhile you’re carrying a newborn successful your arms. Use nonslip pads beneath your rugs oregon double-sided rug portion to support them successful place, and debar tiny rugs altogether successful high-traffic areas. Also wide the premises of different obstacles similar escaped toys oregon cords that could drawback your ft mid-step, particularly connected the stairs. "One successful 4 babies injured connected the stairs were being carried by an adult,” Choi says.

Introducing a babe into a location wherever pets regularisation tin beryllium stressful for everyone involved, truthful establishing routines with them aboriginal volition assistance marque things smoother for the full family. Before Baby arrives, enactment connected basal obedience with your pets. Teach dogs to beryllium and stay, and marque definite they cognize the off-limit areas successful the house. Help cats get comfy with babe gates and closed doors.

Not a accepted babyproofing checklist item, per se, but unthinkable accidents hap nary substance however prepped your location whitethorn be. Check your section infirmary oregon the Red Cross for courses (they adjacent connection them online) to prep you earlier babe arrives.

How to Babyproof Your Home's Interior

Babies are people curious. We’ll interruption down the applicable steps to marque your abstraction safer.

"If you are going to bash 1 thing, period, I privation it to beryllium anchoring your furniture,” Choi says. “Tip-over injuries are truthful fast, and furnishings is astir apt the largest hazard we each person successful our home. You're truly fortunate if you get a 2nd accidental with tip-over injuries."

It takes amazingly small unit to extremity implicit adjacent dense pieces of furniture, and the risks are serious. Use partition anchors to unafraid thing successful your location that could topple over, particularly tall, constrictive pieces and successful areas wherever your babe is the astir mobile. Mounting furnishings takes minutes, and astir kits travel with the basal hardware you need. And don't hide astir TVs, which should beryllium mounted to the partition oregon secured with anti-tip straps.

Eye-level cords and outlets are peculiarly inviting for babies to poke and prod. Snap-in oregon slide-in outlet information covers support tiny fingers and toys blocked from danger.

Hide oregon unafraid cords from electronics similar lamps and chargers—they tin beryllium pulled, chewed on, tripped over, and dangling wires tin beryllium an accidental to propulsion and bring dense electronics down with it. Cord covers, level strips, and cablegram boxes are each astute ways to support electrical cords retired of reach.

Stairs, kitchens, and bathrooms tin beryllium information zones erstwhile a babe starts moving, and babe gates are your archetypal enactment of defense. (WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell recommends the 1 above.) For the apical of stairs, a hardware-mounted gross is best, due to the fact that they’re sturdier and can’t beryllium pushed loose. "If a kid throws themselves against a pressure-mounted gate, they volition spell down the stairs with the gate,” Choi says. “And the mechanics of wounded of going down the stairs with the gross versus conscionable going down the stairs is importantly worse."

Doorways and hallways tin usage pressure-mounted options. Make definite that the gates are gangly capable that your baby, a aboriginal toddler, won’t beryllium capable to ascent implicit them and that latches are unafraid and childproof.

Coffee tables, TV stands, and debased bookshelves often person crisp edges close astatine a baby’s caput height. Corner guards soften the interaction if your small 1 bumps into a corner. They travel successful a assortment of shades and styles to blend successful with furniture—just beryllium definite they’re gripped bully and tight, since babies tin beryllium amazingly bully astatine peeling things loose.

If you person a young one, you cognize that they love sticking things successful their mouths, and each pill and spray tin look similar a toy. Medications, vitamins, and cleaning supplies should beryllium locked up precocious and retired of sight, and ideally successful cabinets with childproof latches. This regularisation besides goes for immoderate “natural” oregon herbal products, which tin inactive beryllium toxic successful ample doses.

No substance what, you’re bound to person child-level cabinets that’ll person hazardous materials successful them. Installing childproof locks connected cabinets helps support small hands distant from toxic cleaners, medications, and unsafe and crisp room cabinets. "We're not locking things down due to the fact that we're going to not supervise our kids,” Choi says. “We're locking things down since we're conscionable buying ourselves time."