Trip tips: Quick ways to childproof other people’s homes

When traveling with a toddler and visiting friends, grandparents or other relatives, it is important to make their home a safety zone to minimize the dangers in your child’s environment. Toddlers, especially, are curious and fast, so you’ll want to think one step ahead. Here, some precautions to consider:

Bring safety gates. Install a pressure-mounted gate (or several) at the bottom of stairs and between rooms where you don’t want your child to have access, like the living room with a fire roaring in the fireplace or the kitchen when Grandma is busy cooking. Keep bathroom doors securely closed or blocked off with a gate, too.

Use a crib or play yard. A crib (preferably manufactured after 2000, about a year after the latest voluntary standards for slat-attachment strength took effect) is the safest place for baby to nap or sleep, but if where you’re going doesn’t have one, a play yard you bring from home can work in a pinch. Use only the snug, tight-fitting mattress that came with it; if you use a sheet on the mattress, use only one designed specifically for that play yard’s mattress, that fits snugly and can’t be easily pulled off. Don’t add a second mattress, pillow, comforter, or other soft bedding including bumper pads. And never place an infant to sleep on an adult bed or other soft surface such as a water bed or air mattress. They’re not safe for infant use. Since 2002, 16 children have died after being placed to sleep on air mattresses, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

Be mindful of medicines. Remember to keep medicines (yours and theirs) off of bedside tables or unlocked drawers or cabinets, and store medications in a childproof, locked box kept on a high shelf outside the bathroom. Put vitamin supplements out of reach, too—iron pills and vitamins containing iron are leading child poisoners. Keep Grandma’s purse out-of-reach, too.

Keep your eyes peeled for choking and suffocation hazards. Pick up coins, uninflated balloons, popped balloon pieces, marbles, paper clips, push-pins, hard candies, batteries, and small magnets—anything small enough to fit through a toilet paper tube, just like you would in your own home. Remove vases and other knickknacks your child could break, fall on, or swallow. Tie plastic bags in knots before throwing them out.

Hitting the road? Bring a car seat and use it every time your baby rides in a vehicle. If you forget yours at home or the car seat Grandma supplies isn’t up to snuff (perhaps she bought one secondhand), buy a new one when you get to where you’re going. It’s money well-spent for the peace of mind you’ll feel knowing that your baby is riding safely. See our latest car seat Ratings. 

For more advice, check out our guide to childproofing and safety.

Comments

[crispinpierce]

We also check for the presence of loaded guns when visiting others, and insist that guns and ammunition be separated and completely inaccessible to children.