Toddlers are fast! They can be in one place one moment, then another the next. They’re also naturally curious, and can find trouble in places that we don’t think trouble exists.

One way that we can help our toddlers to stay out of trouble, and reduce the number of times they hurt themselves, is to toddler proof our homes.

If you’d like to find out some more about how you can do this, then here are 10 ways to toddler proof your home, so you can hopefully stay one step ahead of your fast moving, curiosity seeking toddler.

Anchor your TV and furniture to the walls

It’s amazing how strong toddlers are. They can climb and pull down even the heaviest of furniture, including drawers, shelves, bedside tables, floor leaning mirrors, and even TVs, which can all lead to serious injury.

To avoid serious injury in your home, anchor your furniture to the wall, and if your TV is on a TV unit, anchor the TV to the unit, which I’ve done in my home by using industrial strength straps screwed to the top of the TV unit.

Toddlers also like to climb furniture that can’t be anchored to a wall, such as sofas and kitchen chairs.

This is something that Thomas, my 20 month old, has just started doing. He climbs onto the kitchen table chairs and stands on them. To avoid this from happening in both my home and yours, make sure you push any chairs as close to the table as possible.

Close lids and lock what you can

One of the ways to toddler proof your home is to make sure that your toilet lid is closed, and that anything that can be locked is locked.

If my toilet lid is open Thomas seems to know straight away, and takes the opportunity to throw whatever he can in there, including toys, toilet paper, and even dummies.

To avoid this from happening, or even worse, to avoid your toddler putting their hand in toilet water and then putting their hand on their face or in their mouth, make sure your toilet lid is closed at all times.

If you want to add an extra toddler proofing element to your toilet lid, you can also lock the lid with a toilet lid latch.

Also, make sure you lock anything that can be locked such as windows, internal doors, and your front door, and make sure any screens covering these items are secure so your toddler can’t hurt themselves if they lean against them.

Cover your fireplace

If you have a fireplace cover it at all times with heat resistant gates.

Also, make sure you cover sharp edges with covers, remove small rocks, and keep all accessories out of reach.

Don’t leave out permanent markers, paint, or pens

Toddlers love to create artwork anywhere that they can, and the walls, sofa, and floors are prime artwork real estate.

To avoid unwanted artwork, keep anything that your toddler can draw with out of reach.

If you have an older child that loves to draw, then store their markers in a container that your toddler can’t open.

Hide poisons

When my now 5 year old Ryan was a toddler, he was obsessed with washing machine capsules.

When we were grocery shopping he would scream if we passed the washing machine product aisle and we didn’t put a box of capsules in the trolley, or he would find any way he could to touch the box at home.

There’s something about the colourful packaging, soft to the touch texture, and any other combination of things about poisons that toddler’s love.

To avoid the dangers that come with toddlers being exposed to poisons, make sure medicines, laundry/dishwashing capsules, household cleaning products, soaps, make up, alcohol, and other poisons and chemicals are out of reach and sight from little eyes.

Hide other hazardous items

As well as hiding poisons, there are many other items that need to be kept up high and hidden from toddlers, due to their hazardous nature, which also includes choking.

These include:

• Sharp objects (knives, tweezers, nail scissors etc.)
• Coins
• Batteries (especially the coin shaped batteries)
• Buttons
• Beads
• Paper clips
• Pins
• Fridge magnets
• Candles and matches
• Plastic bags
• Battery covers
• Small toy parts
• Photo frames and other decorative items
• Hot tea and coffee
• Pot plant soil
• Cables
• Curtain and blind cords (shorten them, or roll them up out of reach)
• Pet food
• Cat litter

Put a baby gate at the stairs

Putting a baby gate at the bottom and top of your stairs avoids the accidents that happen when toddlers test their stair climbing abilities.

Using a baby gate as one of the ways to toddler proof your home also provides you with some reassurance that you can leave your toddler to play, and not have to worry about them getting into trouble whilst you do something in the room next to them.

Toddler proof your outdoors

When toddler proofing, it can be easy to forget to look outdoors, but there are some hazards outside that are dangerous.

Some ways to toddler proof your outdoors include:

• Cover ponds or other things with water in them that can’t be drained with a heavy cover, that can’t be moved by little hands.
• Drain paddling pools and other water collecting items when not in use.
• Move toxic plants out of reach.
• Lock greenhouses, sheds, or garages so your toddler can’t lock themselves inside them, or harm themselves with any contents.

Use your car’s child locks

Although not part of our home, toddler proofing our cars is something that is much needed.

Not too long ago I was driving and all of a sudden Thomas opened the car door. It didn’t open far, but it was enough of a shock to make sure his child lock is always now on so he can’t do it again.

Toddlers can somehow open their car door, and if they open it on a motorway, or when you’re driving fast, a serious accident or injury can occur.

To avoid this, make sure the child lock on the door your toddler sits next to is always on lock, and that you lock their windows as well.

Use doorstops, corner covers, and cupboard and drawer latches

Toddlers get their fingers stuck in all sorts of areas, a common one in my home is under the bathroom door.

There are many things that you can buy to save your toddler from hurting their fingers, which include doorstops you can jam under doors to prevent them from moving, covers to cover sharp corners on furniture, and latches that secure cupboards and drawers.

If your oven is located at toddler eye level, be sure to also put a latch on it as well.

I hope you’ve found some ways to toddler proof your home to minimise the tears and doctor visits that result from a toddler’s every growing sense of mobility and curiosity.

Are there any other ways to toddler proof your home that you can think of?