The Baby-Proofing Checklist: Crawl Through Your Home Before Your Baby Does

Unintentional injury is one of the top threats to young children — and most home accidents are preventable. The best inspection method: get down to your baby's height and crawl through your home.

Highest priority (lethal risks)

Choking: anything smaller than a ping-pong ball (button batteries, magnet balls, coins, pen caps) goes locked away or up high. Swallowed button batteries and magnets are surgical emergencies
Falls: window restrictors; no climbable furniture near windows or balconies; stair gates top and bottom
Water: empty tubs and buckets immediately after use — toddlers can drown in 5cm of water; keep bathroom doors closed
Furniture tip-overs: anchor bookcases, dressers and TVs to the wall — dresser tip-overs are a classic climbing-age accident

High priority

Burns: kettles and pots to the back; cook on rear burners; replace tablecloths with non-slip mats (pulling a cloth of hot soup is a textbook accident); set water heaters below 50°C
Poisoning: medicines, cleaners, laundry pods and alcohol locked up high; "child-resistant" caps delay, they don't prevent
Electricity: outlet covers on; chargers unplugged and stored

Standard fixes

Corner guards on tables and cabinets
Latches on drawers and cupboards (knife and medicine storage especially)
Shorten or cloud blind cords — strangulation risk
Non-slip pads under rugs; treads on stairs

Two commonly missed points

Grandparents' homes need the same treatment — pill organisers tend to live on bedside tables
Proofing doesn't replace supervision: equipment is the safety net; eyes-on supervision is the primary defence, especially near water and in kitchens

Re-audit every 3 months as your baby unlocks new skills (crawling → standing → climbing).