Baby-Proofing Your Home: A Room-by-Room Safety Checklist
A room-by-room baby-proofing checklist: anchor furniture, tame cords and cabinets, set the water heater, and the whole-house safety basics.
Baby-Proofing Your Home: A Room-by-Room Safety Checklist
Babies go from "stays where I put them" to "how did you get over there" faster than you'd believe. The best time to baby-proof is before your baby is mobile, ideally around 6 months. Here's a practical, room-by-room pass.
Pro tip: get down on your hands and knees in each room. At your baby's eye level, the hazards, and the temptations, become obvious.
Living room
- Anchor TVs and heavy furniture to the wall, ideally into studs, using sturdy metal brackets. The CPSC reports that the large majority of furniture and TV tip-over deaths involve children 5 and under, and this is one of the highest-impact things you can do.
- Switch to cordless window coverings, or tie cords up high and out of reach; loose blind cords are a strangulation risk.
- Add corner guards to sharp tables, cover unused outlets, and secure floor lamps and cords.
Kitchen
- Latch cabinets and drawers, especially the under-sink cabinet where cleaners usually live.
- Use back burners, turn pot handles inward, and consider stove-knob covers.
- Store button batteries and small magnets locked away; both cause severe internal injuries if swallowed and are a true emergency.
Bathroom
- Set your water heater to 120°F or lower to prevent scald burns.
- Never leave a baby alone in or near water, even for a few seconds; babies can drown in just an inch or two. Empty tubs and buckets immediately.
- Keep medications, razors, and mouthwash up high, and add toilet-lid locks.
Nursery and bedrooms
- Follow safe-sleep basics: a firm, flat crib with a fitted sheet and nothing else, no bumpers, pillows, or blankets.
- Move the crib away from windows, cords, and wall décor that could fall.
- Anchor dressers, and always use the strap on the changing table.
Whole-house essentials
- Working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on every level
- Safety gates at the top and bottom of every staircase
- The Poison Help line, 1-800-222-1222, saved in your phone and posted on the fridge
- Medications, vitamins, alcohol, and laundry pods locked up and out of sight
- A choking check: if an object fits through a toilet-paper tube, it's a hazard
Baby-proofing isn't a one-time weekend project; revisit it as your child learns to pull up, climb, and open things. And your pediatrician is a great resource at well visits for the safety priorities that match your baby's exact stage, from choking risks to the day they figure out stairs.