1Eliminate The Dangers

It is often simply not cost-effective to child proof some of the items in your home; a coffee table with pointed corners or a fireplace without an adequate screen door can prove to be incredibly expensive to child proof using store-bought or professional child proofing methods.

Consider simply removing the coffee table from your living room until your child is a lot more stable and steady on her feet; this will not only provide you with more room for playing in your living room but it will also ensure that your little one does not bang her head into the corner of your coffee table.

A fireplace without a screen to cover it may not be that much of a hazard if you simply never light a fire in the fireplace; however, you are unlikely to want your baby crawling into a grimy fireplace in the name of exploration. Consider placing a heavy item in front of the fireplace; perhaps rearranging your living room furniture by placing your couch against the fireplace. Remember that it is not a permanent change to your décor – it is simply a temporary way to child proof your home so that your curious baby or toddler is kept away from danger until she is old enough to know the difference and understand what it means when something is off limits.

2Child Proof Your Kitchen

Your kitchen is a source of incredible curiosities for your little one; with cabinets full of pots, cleaning products, toasters, blenders, and a wide range of other fun things to play with, your kitchen could prove to be lethal to your toddler!

Keep all chemicals and other cleaning products out of reach of little hands; keep them in cabinets that are high out of reach. Additionally, a small package of cabinet locks can be purchased for under $5 and should be installed on all of your cabinet doors and drawers so you can have child proof cabinets and keep your children from opening them.

Keep items on your countertops pushed far back out of the reach of your toddlers; remember that children can be incredibly creative with the ways that they are able to reach the tops of countertops to grab something that grabs their eye. With this in mind try to keep stepping stools and even boxes out of the kitchen in an effort to keep your grabby-handed toddler from reaching up for something that he should not have!

When you are cooking you should, at all times, ensure that the handles of your pots and pans are turned away from where a curious child could reach up and grab. All too many children wind up with serious and sometimes deadly burns by simply pulling things off of the stove. Keep your children out of the kitchen when you are moving scalding liquids around, if at all possible!  This is very important for child home safety.

3Minimize The General Dangers

There are several methods of child proofing your home that won’t cost you a single penny; these common sense methods can help to keep your children safe without the need to spend a small fortune on professional child proofing objects.

• Blind Cords

  The cords on vertical and horizontal blinds can prove to be strangulation dangers for a small curious child. Take the steps to simple bunch them up and secure them high out of the reach of little hands.



• Stairs

  Place affordable child proof gates at the top and at the bottom of staircases; available for $10 at Wal-Mart or Target, a simple child proof gate can help to keep adventurous crawling and toddling babies away from tumbling down the stairs. Safety gates can also be used to keep your kids out of areas in your home that you'd like to keep them out of – like the dining room, laundry room, or the cat box area!



• Outlets

  Covering the outlets in your home is one of the first steps that you should take when child proofing your home; a curious baby is very likely to try and see what happens when he jams a key or finger into an outlet hole. A package of outlet covers can be purchased for under $10 and is one of the most budget-friendly and necessary child proofing products out there.

4Child Proof Your Bathroom

The bathroom can be a source of many dangers! Try to keep the bathroom door pulled shut at all times as a first step to keeping the bathroom a safe place; when your toddler is tall enough to reach the door handle, and to turn it in an effort to open the door, consider the addition of child proof door handle coverings so you can have child proof doors in your home. For less than $2 each you will be able to effectively child proof every door in your home, including your bathroom.

• Hot Water

  Consider reducing the temperature of your home's water heater in order to minimize the risks of a serious water burn in your bathroom. Gas water heaters are capable of producing water that is incredibly hot so take the steps to reduce the temperature of the water down to below 115F.



• Bathtub Faucet

  The faucet in your bathtub has the potential of being incredibly hot to the touch; there are several products on the market that will fit neatly onto your faucet in order to remove the risk of a burn on a little hand. Turning the water temperature down on the water heater will also work towards reducing the risks of a faucet burn.



• Medications

  Keep all medications locked up in a medicine cabinet or far out of reach of small curious hands. Accidently ingesting medications can prove to be a very deadly situation for your little one! Reduce the risks and keep medications out of reach!



• Toilets And Tubs

  A toilet seat lock can be purchased for under $5 and is the best method of ensuring that your child doesn't attempt to flush your cell phone or even accidently fall in head first. In the same tone, it is important to keep your bathtub drained when not in use.

Child proofing your home is a vital step towards ensuring that your little one is allowed to continue her explorations as safely as possible! For under $100 you can thoroughly child proof your entire home and keep your sweet little one safe from harm; and, of course, your child should have adult supervision at all times!