Pulling up and cruising: a room-by-room babyproofing check

Hands grip the edge of the sofa. Knees wobble. Then, with a look of pure triumph, your baby is standing. Within days they may be shuffling sideways along the furniture, and everything above floor level is suddenly within reach. Most babies pull to stand somewhere around eight to ten months, and many cruise along furniture soon after. Now is the time for a proper safety walk through your home.

Get down on your knees, at your baby's eye level, and work through each room.

Living room

• Anchor heavy furniture such as bookcases, chests of drawers and TV units to the wall. Secure televisions so they cannot be pulled over.
• Tie up blind and curtain cords well out of reach, using cleats or safety devices. Looped cords are a strangulation risk.
• Remove tablecloths that can be pulled, bringing everything on the table down.
• Check for small objects: coins, buttons, small toy parts from older siblings, hair clips. If it fits through a toilet roll tube, it is a choking hazard.
• Find every button battery, in remote controls, car keys, scales, toys and greeting cards. Make sure battery compartments are screwed shut.
• Guard fires and heaters with a fixed fireguard.

Kitchen

• Keep cleaning products, dishwasher tablets and laundry capsules locked away or up high.
• Use the back rings of the cooker and turn pan handles inwards.
• Keep kettles and their cords at the back of the worktop. Never hold your baby while handling hot drinks or pans.
• Store knives and sharp utensils out of reach.
• Keep plastic bags and cling film away from little hands.

Bathroom

• Never leave your baby alone in or near water, even for a moment. Babies can drown quickly and silently in just a few centimetres of water. Bath seats are not safety devices.
• Empty the bath straight after use.
• Keep medicines, vitamins, razors and cosmetics locked away.
• Keep the toilet lid closed, or fit a lock.

Bedrooms and stairs

• Lower the cot mattress to its lowest setting once your baby can sit or pull up, so they cannot climb or fall out.
• Remove cot mobiles and anything hanging over the cot.
• Keep the cot away from windows, blind cords and furniture they could climb onto.
• Fit safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
• Fit window restrictors so windows cannot open wide enough for a child to fall through, and move furniture away from windows.

Outside and on the go

• Check gardens and compounds for ponds, buckets, water butts, open drains and wells. Cover or fence them.
• Store garden chemicals and fuels securely.
• Use a correctly fitted car seat for every journey, rear-facing for as long as your seat allows.

Supporting those first standing steps

Let your baby practise pulling up on sturdy, stable furniture. Bare feet indoors help balance and grip. Expect plenty of bumps and sit-down landings, which are part of learning. Your baby does not need shoes until they are walking outdoors.

When to get urgent help

Call emergency services or go to the emergency department immediately if your baby:

• Has swallowed, or might have swallowed, a button battery, magnet, medicine or household chemical, even if they seem fine
• Has a head injury followed by being unusually sleepy, vomiting, a seizure or unusual behaviour
• Has a burn or scald larger than a small coin, or any burn to the face, hands or genitals (cool it under running water while you get help)
• Has any breathing difficulty

Save your local emergency and poison advice numbers in your phone today.

Watched over

No home can be made perfectly safe, and no parent can watch every second. Babyproofing is wise love, and then there is a deeper rest:

"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." (Psalm 91:11, KJV)

Do what you can, carefully and well. Then entrust your adventurous little one to the God who watches over every step.

A prayer for a curious explorer

Lord, my baby wants to explore everything. Thank You for that curiosity. Help me see the dangers I might miss, and give me calm instead of fear. Watch over my child in all their ways, in every room and every step. Amen.