Baby-Proofing your Garage
Revised: August 4, 2011
Baby-Proofing your Garage
Most parents do their utmost to ensure that their child is safe at home. They child proof sharp edges in the dining room, remove access to certain cupboards or drawers in the kitchen and they ensure throughout the house there are plenty of child safety elements, devices and action taken to ensure their kids are safe in the house. However many parents miss out on childproofing a very important place- the garage.
The garage has a wide variety of hazards that can place your baby or toddler in harms way. There are lots of sharp edges, chemicals, stockpiling and tools that parents often do not consider when childproofing their house. Here are some tips to child proof your garage:
- Get an electrician to put in buffers that sense obstacles on the garage door. So if your child somehow manages to be under the garage door, the buffer will stay open, instead of falling down on your kid.
- Ensure that all your tools and devices and chemicals are all locked away in lockable and childproof cupboards. These also include garden forks, pool chemicals, shovels, fertilizers and spare car parts.
- Parents need to child proof the electricity sockets in the garage, as well as the ones in the house. They need to be covered with baby proof covers so that the child cannot have access to it, and their little fingers cannot get inside.
- Make sure all your chemicals are in their original container, so that if your toddler consumes it, the doctors can treat your child properly.
- If you have left freezers and fridges in the garage, make sure they are properly locked at all times.
- Automatic garage door openers should be locked in cars and kept away from children. Your garage door should also automatically reverse direction upon contact. If it doesn’t, consider getting this feature installed and be sure to test the door regularly.
