As a parent, I take whatever parenting advice I can find. Yeah, we are really exhausted all of the time, but the main concern in our lives is that our children are safe and happy. One thing you learn when your child begins to walk around for the first time is that just about anything can be dangerous. A cabinet door that isn't completely closed, the faucet in your bathtub, or even that surge protector under your computer desk can be hazardous to your kiddo. There are a surprising number of simple things you can do to protect your children even more than you already do.
Here are 22 genius hacks to make your child a little safer.
Kids are a handful and they have more energy than you'll ever have again.
As a result, injuries definitely happen, and you should at least be prepared with materials you likely already have around your home. Don't believe me? Let's take a look.
1. Creating a "bumper" on the edge of your child's crib will not only prevent them from gnawing on wood splinters, but it will also protect that expensive furniture.
Hey, you might actually want to use that crib for baby #2 or #3, right? This may seem really too good to be true, but you'll thank me.
2. Do your little ones slam their fingers in the door a lot?
Slice through a pool noodle and attach it to the edge of the door. They're usually dirt cheap as well.
3. As a parent, corners terrifying me.
The crazy thing is that they are usually right at a kid's head level. Place cut tennis balls on the corners of a table or shelf as an easy fix.
4. Keep your cabinets closed with an elastic.
You definitely have these already! Keeping your kids away from those cleaning chemicals is crucial.
5. If you are concerned your child may become lost in a public setting, try this hack.
Write your phone number on them and cover it with translucent liquid bandage. Your kid probably won't want to have it on them for too long, but luckily, it comes off pretty easily with soap and water.
6. If you don't want to give your child a temporary tattoo, you can make a bracelet with your phone number on it.
There's so much you can do with them, too. You can also spell out important health information on it as well, like food allergies or psychological conditions.
7. This is key for those youngins who haven't quite gotten their balance/footing in the tub.
Put a laundry basket in the bathtub to contain your child's toys so they don't slip around the tub or bonk their head on the faucet. Simple, but effective.
8. If your child is still crawling, this next hack will protect those precious little legs.
It's tough to go outside and not let your child crawl around sometimes. Cutting the bottom off of tube socks can turn them into flexible knee pads.
9. You don't want your kids to play around with dangerous surge protectors, so put them in a Tupperware bin!
Cut a hole in the side of the bin to let the cords out. It already relieves a ton of stress for me just seeing these so well organized.
10. Kids slipping on hard wood or laminate flooring?
Add lines of hot glue to the bottom of your child's footwear. Problem solved.
11. Every parent wants to keep their children out of certain rooms.
Cut a hole in the top of a small piece of Tupperware and place it on your door handles. This is probably the cheapest way to keep your children out of certain rooms.
12. When you're a parent, controlling where your kid goes is huge, and here's yet another way to get the job done.
Save a boat load of cash using old tension rods to make baby gates. They look better, too!
13. Tension rods can also be used to protect children from falling books.
Kids love to try to reach for objects up high — this can easily lead to something heavy falling on them. Not anymore!
14. I don't know about you, but my kids love to unravel toilet paper.
No longer, I say! Wrap a hair band around your toilet paper to prevent them (and your pets) from unraveling the entire roll.
15. Travel with your children often?
Keep those little fingers out of outlets with band aids or duct tape. It definitely doesn't look good but, hey, you aren't home, right?
16. To stop your kids from opening drawers, use a ruler or yardstick to block their attempts.
One thing I've learned from my children is that they like a challenge, so if they see this, they might attempt to get the stick out. Beware!
17. Did I mention door handles are the worst when you have kids?
Buy or make one of these genius crochet door handle covers so they can't turn the knob. This definitely looks better than the cut Tupperware.
18. Use a blow-up pool to make a safe and interesting play area for your kids.
Obviously the size of the room you have available will determine how big of a pool you can get. Hours of fun, I'm telling you.
19. You've bought all of these plug protectors but they get lost really easily.
Why not attach the protector to the object you're plugging in to keep them nearby and ready. Again, simple... but surprisingly helpful.
20. Sew in a piece of fabric between the legs of their pajamas so they don't climb out of their crib and fall.
This prevents them from being able to lift one leg over the edge. Exhaustion breeds creativity, right?
21. This is less clever than it is important.
Here's one great way to pack all of these cleaning supplies under your sink. If your child happens to get into this cabinet, at least it will all be tidy and hard to access the dangerous stuff.
22. Stairs are another problem when it comes to child safety.
Tie a rope to the underside of your railing if you don't want to open a gate every time you go up or down the stairs. I'm doing this right away, actually.
There you have it.
Try these hacks at home and keep those little ones safe, sound, and happy.
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