We live in southeastern Virginia surrounded by water. I love being near the water-most of the time! When hurricane season begins, I start to worry a little bit about living near the coast I admit! I also worry a little bit now that we have a young child who is walking and exploring the world around him.

Where I grew up, we had lots of water around our property. Our neighbor had a large pond, a creek divided our property into two, and our water supply came from a spring house. My mother spoke often about her water based fears, but it didn’t really occur to me as a kid that she had valid concerns.

I didn’t have to deal with water worries until I had my son. Before then, we lived inland in another state and we didn’t have a pool in the backyard. We didn’t have a pond, a spring house, or a creek either.

Things have changed. Not only do we live near the water, but we have a pool and a pond in the backyard. I understand my mother’s water worries now.

When our son began crawling, I started worrying about safety issues, like all parents do. We began to baby proof the house and continued as our son’s world expanded. Our son is walking like a champ now and it is summer time. His older siblings are in and out of the house and spending a lot of time in the pool. I began to ponder how I could prevent a water accident, but yet allow the older children access between the pool and the house. It was time to baby proof the yard too.

We researched infant swimming lessons which help your child to learn about water safety and basic survival skills if they would happen to fall into a pool. We haven’t enrolled him yet, but I intend to do so.

I created a set of barriers between the pool and the house. We keep our gates locked to the yard because of safety concerns as we have a neighborhood full of small children. The only way to access the pool is through the laundry room/office in the house.

In the hallway leading to the house door which leads to the pool, we set up several baby gates for safety. The older children can step over the gates, but my son can’t.

We put a baby safety handle on the door that leads out to the pool. My son can’t turn the handle, but the older children can. We also put a double lock on the door so at night, I can check to make sure that both locks are locked for safety.

We put in a new pet door and door as we had a door for our Labrador Retriever to go in and out into the yard. While the door was a great thing for the dog, it was also big enough for our son to crawl through.

We have steps that lead up to the pool and we are currently building a deck and fence around our above ground pool. The fence will be gated for additional safety.

Are you keeping outdoor hazards in mind when you baby proof your property? What are some things that you have done to keep your child safe during the summer season?

Before your child begins to walk is the time to start baby proofing your home. Babies and toddlers learn by touching and by putting things in their little mouths, so making sure that their environment is safe from hazards is important.

Here are some basic guidelines for baby proofing your home.

First, get down to your baby?s level. By crawling and lying on the floor, you can spot potential dangers before your child can, and correct them. Go through your house room by room to look for potential hazards and then find a way to correct them.

• Living Room, Family Room Great Room
  In the living area of your home, make sure that rugs are secured to avoid slipping or tripping hazards. Repair loose floor or linoleum tiles, or fraying carpet, so that they are not a potential hazard. Tied electrical cords together and secure them in place so that they cannot be pulled on or used to pull down objects such as lamps, or chewed or sucked on. Also be sure to cover all outlets with protective covers so that little fingers (or other objects) cannot be inserted into them.
  
  Make sure furniture is sturdy and will not easily topple over if your baby pulls on or tries to crawl onto it. Repair wobbly furniture or put it away where baby can?t get to it.
  
  Clear small items off tables and dressers. Any item that is small enough to fit in an empty cardboard paper towel roll is a potential choking hazard for your baby. Keys, loose change, rings, buttons, lighters, and other small items are potential choking hazards.
  
  Keep pet toys out of your child?s reach as well ? not only are they a potential choking hazard, but they are a health hazard as well.

• Kitchen
  Install locking mechanisms cabinet doors and drawers so that baby cannot open them. Store any cleaning supplies, alcohol and other hazardous items in a cabinet out of your child?s reach. Consider making one drawer in the kitchen your baby?s play drawer, filled with safe and interesting items such as plastic food storage containers, wooden spoons, pots and pans, etc., that he or she can pull our and play with, keeping him or her occupied while you?re in the kitchen.

• Bathroom
  Babies can drown in just a few inches of water; never leave your child alone in the bathroom. Keep shampoos, soaps and razors off the bathtub ledge and out of reach. Also keep the toilet lid down and consider installing a locking mechanism. Make sure all electrical appliances are stored out of reach and cannot be pulled down by their cords.

Okay, so you have already installed the gates and the proper latches. You’ve purchased a hearth pad, the toilet bowl has a lid lock, the detergents and other household chemicals are all in cabinets not within the baby’s reach. More so, furnitures’ edges have been cushioned and mats have been lined with non-skid material.

You are all set!

Oh no, actually, not yet… unless you have crawled your way around your home.

Though the other measures you have already implemented are not without their merit, most parents usually forget that they are baby proofing their homes (or the hotel room, or grandma’s home) for people coming from a totally different perspective. We tend to protect them from what we can anticipate with our five-to-six feet frame, and yet these kids will spend at least three years on all fours, depending on how soon they learn to walk and how soon they cease from lying on the floor or playing under tables.

So crawl your way around your home and see it from a two-foot perspective. Things like a splinter of wood or a nail hanging out, or a bunch of rope that hasn’t seen the light of day for years under a cabinet can all pose serious dangers to your child. Attend to these to truly have a childproofed home.

Sure, accidents will still happen but at least you can rest easy letting your baby crawl around because you know you’ve given baby proofing your best shot.