Electricity is a must for every modern residence. But electrical outlets and cords might pose a hazard to your kids and pets who do not understand them. Even though older children can be taught about fundamental electrical safety, you still need to take precautions to make your house’s electrical fixtures safer—especially when there are small children present.
So you’re probably wondering how to go about it. If you want to make sure your children can move around safely in the house, you must childproof your home’s electrical system. Check out our suggestions to make sure your house is safe for your kids:
1. Assess Your House From Your Child’s Perspective
Most of the time, your child may hurt himself because he simply does not know how to avoid dangerous situations. So, what should you do? Try to assess the house and surroundings from your children’s perspective to see what dangers they might face and if there are any plugs and cords that are damaged.
Get down on your knees and crawl around your home, as well as stooping low to peek at the nooks and corners. If you find any fault with the cords and plugs or see them unsafe, try calling the Electrician In Fort Myers.
2. Keep Kitchen Appliances in Their Proper Places
The kitchen is the heart of your house. But it’s also the heart of electrical hazards that can harm your kids. Keep those countertops clear with no clutter. Try storing the electrical appliances, for instance, the jug, blender, and toaster, in cupboards that are secure and have easy-to-install safety locks.
In case you need to keep appliances outside the cupboard, make sure they are well away so that searching hands cannot reach them. Always leave them switched off and secure or hide the power cables.
3. Buy Necessary Electrical Outlet Caps
Children are inexplicably attracted to electrical outlets. Why? To curious young minds, these outlets look like hungry little faces, and they want to feed them spoons, keys, coins, and also their fingers. Long story short, if their fingers get into the electrical outlet, a severe electric shock may occur.
But there’s good news. Protective outlet plugs can offer an easy and inexpensive solution. While your kid is young and can’t yet yank them out, you can ensure that your child is safely using protective outlet plugs. So, make sure to insert a protective plug into the sockets that are located below your waist level.
4. Pay More Attention to Power Cords
It’s a fact that power cords in modern homes are generally liable to normal wear and tear. The cables might get crooked and trodden on. Also, the insulating sheath may get damaged, leading to an exposure of the inner conductive wires. Your little one might get quite the shock if they touch the wire.
What should you do? You need to inspect each and every power cable in your home to look for signs of fraying. You can use electrical tape to repair minor damage. But if it looks like too much damage, you’ve got to replace the cable. Also, subscribing to regular home maintenance services can make things easier for you.
Here’s another idea. Try making the electrical cables less accessible to your child. It is a good time to rearrange the furniture. Keep heavy rugs in front of the electrical outlets to hide those power cords as well as limit access to them. What if you cannot do this? Why not use cable clips and rerouting the cords to keep them under control?
5. Block off Dangerous Parts of the House
The most effective way to childproof your residence is to block off as many dangerous parts of your house as you can. Take the garage, for instance. It is loaded with power tools and several sharp objects. Or your laundry area may contain all sorts of harsh washing products that no toddler should get anywhere near. Take the time to inspect these areas and install safety gates and barriers to restrict their access and reduce the risk of any type of accident or injury.
6. Install GFCI Outlets
We all know that water and electricity can not mix as they can create great hazards together. If you want to childproof your residence well, consider installing ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets in areas where the outlet may easily come in contact with water. The use of these circuit interrupters will make sure to shut down power if it detects any leak in the electrical current.
7. Protect Your Stuff
When childproofing your house, remember to protect your possessions as well. While your child’s safety is your number one priority, you need to think about how you can keep your appliances safe from your kids too. We all know that expensive electronics are easily damaged by kids.
They love to topple over the TVs or sound systems and pull the cellphones and laptops to the floor. Try using a combination of the techniques mentioned above to keep your kid safe while protecting your important possessions from them. Be alert to detect if your child’s movement may seem suspicious.
8. Use Nightlights
Kids always get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Make sure they can get there safely by installing nightlights in the bedrooms as well as dark hallways. If your child is older and won’t get attracted to shining lights, you could use extra night lights around the electrical cords as well. He’ll be able to avoid the cords when he walks at night.
9. Begin the Educational Process When Your Child Starts Crawling
Of course, a toddler won’t understand why he can’t stick his finger in a plug or pull wires out of the wall. But you need to gently but firmly tell your child “no” if you see any dangerous situation. And then give him a nice reward to help him learn what is acceptable and what is not. Don’t stop there. The truth is that you need to continue this process throughout his early years to ensure his safety around the electrical appliances and plugs.
Final Words
Children are renowned for putting themselves into dangerous situations, as any parent can tell you. To make sure they remain safe, you need to be cautious all the time. One way is to childproof your home’s electrical system. It is an easy and simple process. To make sure your kids remain safe, just make sure you follow the above-mentioned methods. Childproofing and maintaining the electrical system well can prevent any electrical accidents and hazards from occurring. A safe home is a happy home.