If you thought childproofing was about cabinet locks and baby monitors, think again. New technology has brought new challenges for parents trying to childproof their home for babies, toddlers and small children. The latest Home & Garden report offers practical, informative advice.
These experts underlined one lesson: if you get your childproofing advice from friends, don’t trust everything you hear.
That’s because childproofing has changed in recent years, both in the products offered and in the household hazards parents face. So, families with older children are working with yesterday’s ideas.
For example, our youngest child — our fourth — is 9, so we’re not too far removed from this topic. Yet those little plastic outlet covers that seem just fine to me are apparently now ruled unwise. Likewise, a video baby monitor sounds to me like a great new safety device. But I’m wrong again.
“We started seeing strangulations about three years ago,” Mr. Mays said, alluding to the monitor cords. “In one case, the very first day the child was able to stand up in the crib, the child grabbed the cord, got tangled and died.”
And even just a few years ago, flat-screen TVs were too expensive to put on every conceivable surface in the house — especially dressers. That is no longer true, and that’s a problem.
“If a child climbs on the drawers, that TV can come crashing down,” Ms. Driscoll said. “There have been lots of injuries and deaths associated with furniture and TV tip-overs.”
Read the full story, “Childproofing: Crawling Your Way to Safety,” and then please join the discussion.
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