Steps you should take when your baby takes her first steps

Every parent anticipates the big moment when their child takes her first steps. But, in order to keep one step ahead, you’ll need to ensure your home and garden is safe for your child.

Here’s how to childproof your home and garden:

• A hallway security gate will serve as a temporary partition within the home and give you peace of mind – especially now that there are no limits to where your child can go. If you need to prepare dinner while your little one is playing in the lounge, it will keep her away from potentially hazardous areas as she may now be able to reach the stove area. Talk to her about not touching anything that could be potentially hot – even if the stove and kettle are off.
• Now that your little one is standing upright, she may be able to reach into drawers so make sure there are no sharp knives or objects she can get her hands on.
• Your curious tot is bound to peer into the toilet for a look and might find herself inside the toilet bowl so it’s a good idea to get a toilet lock.
• Now that your little one will want to explore her newly found freedom, there’s no reason the garden should be off-limits. So study your plants and remove any poisonous ones. Talk to her about not putting anything from the garden in her mouth as she is now old enough to understand.
• Make sure sharp gardening tools are out of sight when your tot is near.
• Even if your toddler can swim, keep the pool covered at all times. All swimming pools should be fenced in with a boundary that children can’t climb over. All pools should also have a cover/net or floating alarm system.
• It’s called an accident because you don’t see it coming, so cushion sharp table edges with corner guards so an accident doesn’t turn into an emergency.