When redesigning a bathroom in your home, you must keep in mind your children’s safety. As you are changing out your commode, sink, and tub, look around the room and see changes that can be made to for childproofing the bathroom. Here are some ideas to think about.
Entrances and Exits
If your children are curious, you want to make sure that the entrances and exits to your bathroom are secure. This means looking at the doors and windows. There are a number of locking devices that can be used to ensure that little hands cannot get into an unsupervised bathroom or out of a window. The locks should be high enough so that little hands cannot access them. Another problem that occurs with windows and doors is fingers getting pinched. There are a number of pinch guards that can be purchased to mitigate this risk.
Hazards
Another way to keep your children safe is to look around your bathroom, at their height, and determine if there are hazards. Curious children might want to check out the cleaners that are in the cabinets. A way to deter this behavior is to have locks on the cabinets or move the cleaners out of the bathroom. Then you have to look at hair cleaners, hair color, razors, soaps, bath soaks, and other items you might use every day to get ready. Another problem is that children might find the toilet water interesting to play with. A lock on the lid of the commode can prevent this.
One of the other hazards that might be overlooked is the temperature that the bathroom water is set at. To prevent a burn to your child’s skin while bathing or washing their hands, it is important to know what your temperature is set at and adjust as necessary to a safe level. You want to make sure it is less than burn level, but still warm enough to bathe. A good temperature for your hot water heater is 110 degrees. After the bathwater is started for your child, make sure you check it on your wrist before placing them in the water.
Safe Bathing
Other methods for childproofing the bathroom include covering the faucet on the tub, so your child does not hurt their head. You can also use safety glass to enclose your shower area so that it does not shatter if it is hit. GFCI outlets are good to make sure that no one gets shocked. As always, children should never be left unattended when they are in the shower or tub.
