• September

    13

    2020
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What do surfaces and windows in your home have in common?

What do surfaces and windows in your home have in common?

What do the surfaces in your home have in common with the widows?

  • They’re all flat…
  • They’re all selections you’re excited to make in a remodel…
  • And they’re also CENTRAL in BABY PROOFING your home!!

When we think about the countless ways we need to ensure our homes are as safe as possible (for us, for the little ones, and for our fur balls), surfaces and windows are NOT typically the first things people think of.

But perhaps they should be.

In October, the country recognizes Window Treatment Safety Month. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) actually founded the month-long recognition after studies revealed that window cords are one of the TOP FIVE hidden hazards in American homes. Children become entangled, and window cords alone result in thousands of ER visits a year.

A serious accident can only take seconds…

…And those seconds could change your life forever.

After October, November rolls in with Baby Proofing Safety Month. Because, even if window cords are a top hazard, they DEFINITELY aren’t the only hazard!

We’ve written before about best-practices for window safety, and we’ve also created a SUPER helpful baby proofing checklist

And now, we’re compiling it ALL together in an effort to bring you even better information. We’ll start with surfaces and windows, since they’re so often overlooked!

This month should be EVERYTHING Safety Month, don’t you think?!

 

Surfaces

Surfaces can mean just about anything in your home. Your floors are surfaces. Your walls are surfaces. And specifically, surfaces like your counter material, furniture fabric and even paint choices make a BIG difference in how baby-proof your home is.

Assess your home for slick, uneven surfaces anywhere that a fall could happen. And then assess those OTHER surfaces like walls and appliances for resilience against marker doodles, spit up and the rest…

Surfaces include:

  • Floors
  • Walls
  • Furniture
  • Finishes

When you DO take on a remodeling or interior design project, whether or not you have little ones should be a top-of-mind consideration. For example, do you go for that perfect paint with the most beautiful sheen you’ve ever seen?! Or do you go for the washable alternative that’s just a shade off of what you’d originally envisioned?

Baby proofing starts with safety, but ends with savvy. While safety is the top-concern, there are also ways to look baby proofing as a sort of kaleidoscope of the possibilities for a savvy design that will stay beautiful even after years of abuse!!

Spilled juice on the sofa? No problem! You have a high-performance fabric.

LITERAL writing on the walls in the dining room? No sweat! Your paints are totally washable!!

…Coming full-circle back to safety, though, those same high-performance fabrics, paints and finishes are ALSO often optimized for safety. It’s as though the makers know why you’re buying them…

 

Window treatments

We talk ALL the time about Graber window treatments. Part of why is because we’re your local Graber dealer. And we ARE a Graber dealer because their products are, frankly, nothing short of the best.

What makes Graber Blinds so great goes WAY beyond their design options, accessories and service, too. There is also something to be said about their engineering…the products last forever, and they’ve put a LOT of consideration into window safety—so much so that they have three products that do away with the risk of strangulation altogether:

   1: Cordless lifts

   2: Motorized lifts

   3: Retractable lifts

Between these three solutions, you have several beautiful options to seamlessly baby proof your window coverings WITHOUT making your home a “den” of ugly solutions! These options not only blend into your design selections, they’re even more convenient than traditional corded treatments, too…

And now, Graber even has the new, WEIGHTLESS lift they’re launching! We’re actually really excited!! The weightless lift is not just a graceful option, it also makes window coverings SO much quieter when raising and releasing. And, most importantly, this new product is compatible with cordless lift options. Baby proof AND silent? Perfect.

 

Audit your home…

Of course, there are still all of the OTHER fixtures and areas of your home that require baby proofing. Many of these you’ve seen in lists and read about multiple times, I’m sure!

The list below is one we composed specifically so you can audit your home before baby proofing it. Walk through each room and use this checklist…take notes on what you find! Then, contact us to talk about your options for each concern, as well as to identify which are the most important to address first.

Your audit list:

  • Cabinet locks
  • Oven locks, too
  • Securing large dressers to walls
  • Medicines locked away
  • Swimming pools
  • Electrical socket covers
  • Sharp corners on tables
  • Overhanging table cloths on tables
  • Turning down water heater temperature
  • Faucet covers in bath tub
  • Hanging cords on window blinds
  • Electrical cords
  • Washing machine locks
  • Wall hangings above cribs/cots (you shouldn’t have any)
  • Stair gates
  • Door stops and holders
  • Assess what’s on the lowest part of any shelves
  • House plants—do you know which are toxic?

 

Questions? Concerns? Personal anecdotes about your own baby proofing surprises?! We want to hear it! Start the conversation with us today

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