Baby proofing your house will bring you peace of mind. Babies learn very quickly in their first year. For parents, it is a welcome surprise to see how soon they begin exploring their world. Before this happens, you will want to baby proof your house to insure your child’s safety and allow yourself to relax.
Baby Proofing Consultation
The best place for you to start with baby proofing your house is with an in-home consultation with a childproofing expert. One of the often overlooked items we encounter is a fire escape plan. My company, Infant House, recommends that every family devise a plan. When we bring up the topic with parents of multi-story homes, most say that their plan is to go down the stairs and out the front door. That seems like a solid plan ”A”. What about plan ”B”?
Waking up to an Inferno
We describe the situation like this: You are just awakened in the middle of the night by blaring smoke alarms. In addition, the light switches may not work if you have an electrical fire. The smoke is burning your eyes even worse than the last camp fire you attended as a result you can not see. On top of this, your lungs hurt like your previous attempt at running the mile in under 5 minutes and you are coughing uncontrollably.
By the time you pick up your sleeping children, you know you cannot make it down the stairs especially if there are flames present. So, right now your plan ”B” is what? And our client says something like, ”I guess a window…?” as their speech trails off to a whisper. Now they realize that jumping from an upstairs window that is at least 13’ high, with their children, is not a very good plan. However, jumping is better than the alternatives.
Fire Escape Plan
Infant House recommends a fire escape ladder for every occupied bedroom upstairs. Regardless of the age of the occupant. Furthermore, the bedroom needs an operable window that will accommodate the use of a ”rope type” ladder. The ladder needs to hang straight down the side of the house. Finally, there needs to be a clear landing for the escapee. This ladder is highly rated and available from Infant House.
Ask your Neighbors for Help Now
Now to enhance plan ”B”, we ask our clients to share the new plan with their neighbors. In the event of a fire, the neighbors can help out or at least tell the first responders about plan ”A” and ”B”. At last, we have a solid plan ”B”. One that does not involve jumping from an upstairs window.
Fire Drills
At this point of the consultation for baby proofing your house, we suggest that your family walk through the fire escape plans. We recommend a ”fire drill” at least twice a year. A good time to remember is when you change out your smoke alarm batteries. Hopefully, in the event of an evacuation your family will calmly execute one of the plans and everyone will be safe.
About the Author
Jack Smith is a child safety expert with Infant House. Infant House is a child safety company serving the Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth as well as the San Antonio Texas areas. He is the Daddy of boy/girl twins. Affiliated with the International Association for Child Safety. Contributing author of “Chaos 2 Calm the moms-of-multiples’ guide to an organized family”. He has been on CBS and is the inventor of the GlideLok – a childproof door latch sold worldwide. Contact: InfantHouse.com or call 866-Infant5 (866-463-2685) for your in-home childproofing evaluation. 10/16
