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Baby-Proofing Your Home: A Room-by-Room Checklist

Simple safety steps to reduce falls, burns, choking and poisoning risks.

Before you use this guide: This is general educational information, not an individual medical assessment. We do not identify a clinician reviewer on this page, so please confirm personal health decisions with your doctor, midwife or paediatrician.

Babies move faster than most parents expect. Start baby-proofing before your baby begins to roll, usually around four to six months, and keep adjusting as they crawl, pull up and walk, often between six and twelve months. Many injuries to young children at home are preventable. Get down to your baby's eye level and look for anything they could reach, grab, climb or put in their mouth.

Know the stages

• Newborn to 4 months: falls from beds, sofas, changing surfaces and arms, plus safe sleep and car seat safety.
• 4 to 8 months: rolling, sitting and reaching. Hot drinks, small objects and dangling cords become risks.
• 8 to 12 months: crawling, pulling up and cruising. Stairs, furniture that can tip, cupboards, sockets and doors need attention.
• From 12 months: climbing, opening things and running. Windows, balconies, water and medicines become the main concerns.

Throughout the home

• Fit stair gates, screwed into the wall at the top of the stairs, and window locks or stops that limit opening to less than 10 cm (4 inches).
• Anchor bookcases, dressers and TVs to the wall so they cannot be pulled over.
• Cover unused sockets and tidy away cables.
• Blind and curtain cords can strangle. Use cordless blinds or keep cords well out of reach, and keep cots and beds away from them.
• Use corner guards on sharp furniture, and fit guards around fires, heaters and radiators.
• Keep coins, small toys, magnets and anything that fits inside a toilet roll tube out of reach, because these are choking hazards.
• Know which of your houseplants are poisonous and move them out of reach.
• Avoid wheeled baby walkers. They cause falls on stairs and let babies reach hazards faster.

Button batteries and magnets

Button (coin) batteries and small powerful magnets are among the most dangerous items in the home. A swallowed button battery can cause severe internal burns within hours, even if your child seems well. Keep remote controls, key fobs, toys, scales and musical cards that use them out of reach. If you think your child has swallowed a battery or more than one magnet, go to emergency care straight away. Do not wait for symptoms and do not make them vomit.

Kitchen

• Fit locks on cupboards holding cleaning products, dishwasher tablets and laundry capsules. The capsules are brightly coloured and can cause serious poisoning and eye injuries.
• Cook on the back rings, turn pan handles inwards and keep kettle cords out of reach.
• Never carry a hot drink while holding your baby. A hot drink can still scald many minutes after it was made.
• Keep knives, glass and plastic bags out of reach.
• Use the highchair harness every time, and never leave your baby alone in it.
• Keep your baby out of the kitchen while you cook, in a playpen, a safe seat or behind a gate.

Bathroom

• Never leave a baby alone in or near water, even for a moment. Drowning can happen in seconds and in very shallow water, so stay within arm's reach.
• Set your water heater so that tap water is no hotter than about 49 °C (120 °F), and test bath water with your elbow or a thermometer. A bath for a baby should feel warm, not hot, at about 37 to 38 °C.
• Use a non-slip mat, and keep medicines, razors and hair dryers in a locked cabinet.
• Empty baths and buckets straight after use, and fit a lock on the toilet lid.

Your baby's room and sleep

• Use a cot that meets your country's safety standard, with a firm, flat mattress. Keep pillows, bumpers, toys and loose blankets out, and place your baby on their back to sleep.
• Put the cot away from windows, blind cords, radiators and heaters.
• When changing a nappy, keep one hand on your baby. Straps do not replace supervision, and changing on a mat on the floor removes the risk of a fall.

Garden, pets and outdoors

• Fence off ponds and pools, empty paddling pools after use and keep garden gates latched.
• Never leave a baby alone with a pet, and keep pet food, litter and medicines out of reach.
• Lock garden sheds and store weedkillers and other chemicals out of reach.

In the car

Use a correctly fitted car seat suited to your baby's age, height and weight on every journey, including short ones. Keep your baby rear-facing for as long as the seat allows, and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Never leave a child alone in a car, even briefly, because it can heat up dangerously fast.

Be prepared

• Learn infant first aid and CPR. Local hospitals, the Red Cross, St John Ambulance and similar groups run short courses.
• Save emergency numbers and your poison information number in your phone and on the fridge. In the US, Poison Help is 1-800-222-1222.
• Keep a first-aid kit at home and do not give medicines without advice.
• Check that smoke alarms work, fit a carbon monoxide alarm on every floor and plan a fire escape route.

You cannot remove every risk, and no gadget replaces supervision. Aim to make the home safer and stay within arm's reach when your baby is near stairs, water or anything hot. Go through this list again every few months as your baby learns new skills.

This content is for general information only and is not medical advice. Every pregnancy and every baby is different. Always talk to your doctor, midwife or paediatrician about your own situation, and seek urgent care if you are worried.