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Toddler-proofing

 Yesterday I was given a lift by a colleague who has two small children, one 5 year-old and one who is 2 years old. We have just started on a project to look at toddler safety in informal settlements, so this topic has been foremost in my mind. I was thinking, what if I invited my colleague to my home and she needed to bring her children? Would I be able to make my place safe for them, especially if their mom and I were engrossed in our conversation and not giving them full-time attention?

While I was pretty conscientious about toddler-proofing our house when my children were small, I remember this as being quite an investment of time and money, and that it was an on-going project as they grew physically and mentally. The question today is what do I need to do to adapt a very adult-orientated environment.

A general view of my living room
My first step would be to decide how much of the house to secure - I am quite lucky in this regard as each of my rooms can be closed off - my daughters both have open-plan houses (and with staircases) which would be a much bigger endeavour, not least because if the adults are in one part of the space, there are several areas where small children would be out of sight. 

I have mentioned previously that photos are a great way to analyse one's spaces: here we can use photos to survey the room for the obvious things that we may need to put in another room, such as the ceramic vases and candles that would be easy to reach for a 5 year-old. The inviting looking pile of photo albums on the coffee table, while probably not a safety concern for the children, may not be ideal for them to play with! I also have a throw over one of my chairs (to cover up my cat's preferred scratching post) - a perfect opportunity for a small toddler to use to pull herself up to stand, with potentially dire consequences. For one afternoon, I should preferably fold it up and leave the unsightly chair arms visible. I would also need to audit my books and think whether any need to be swapped out, as small people have a tendency to pull on the book spines. Cupboards and desks with drawers are also enticing means of pulling oneself to standing - lock these if you can, or if not, clear out any delicate or precious items.

My next step would be to go around the room on my hands and knees - a bit inelegant, but a great way of replicating a toddler's experience. Here are some of my findings:

A plug adapter and the cables for my computer, WiFi router and printer
Electrical outlets are an obvious problem, an enticing place to explore with tiny fingers. Cables are also great things to use to pull yourself up to stand, if you are in the early stages of learning to walk. It may be an idea to relocate your electronic equipment to another room for the afternoon. It may also be worth investing in plug-point covers if you anticipate hosting small humans regularly, but if this is not likely, you could switch off the plug circuit to the child-proofed room at your distribution board. Check that all the plugs in the room are on this circuit by testing with a small appliance such as a hair dryer.
My CD collection and a favourite vase - two things inviting curiosity
Continue crawling around the room, imagining yourself as a toddler who would find many quite ordinary things interesting. Two questions you need to be asking are - is this unsafe, and is this precious to me? The other thing to be aware of is the reach of a small person. This was probably the biggest learning curve for me with my first child, which is why child-proofing is an ongoing process throughout early childhood.
A glass door is always a potential hazard
Any glazing that goes down to floor level or a low height is a potential hazard, even for older children, as they could walk backwards into it in an unfamiliar house. I have a bit of an advantage in having burglar-proofing at a bit of a distance from the glass, but to be sure, I would tape some flattened cardboard boxes to the bars so that even if the glass is broken, the child would be protected from the shards.

One of the most effective safety measures is to have things that are more appealing and interesting than the things in your house. For this, it is best to ask the parent to bring some of their child's favourite toys - let the parent decide what is age-appropriate rather than putting out some toys that you may have, say from your own childhood. In a similar vein, ask the parent to bring snacks for their toddler - this is otherwise a potential minefield of allergens, food preferences and potential choking hazards.



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