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When you're a kid, your bedroom is your sanctuary.
It's where you sleep, it's where you feel safe and it's where you begin to face your fears of monsters and the darkness.
As a parent though, it pays to be observant of what is lying around in your children's rooms.
There are usually several things lying around in kids bedrooms so there are a few risks to keep in mind when arranging their furniture, electronics (when they're old enough) and toys.
Check out these 20 tips, covering a range of ages, to ensure your children's safety when they're alone in the bedroom.
For children ages 0-3 years it's especially important to be safety conscious:
Make sure your baby sleeps on their back in a secure crib with a firm mattress and a fitted sheet - This is to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). While it's still unknown exactly what causes SIDS, it's thought that allowing babies to sleep on their fronts impairs their breathing ability.
Never hang anything from the corners or sides of the babies crib - Anything that can easily be grabbed by your baby brings the risk of strangulation or suffocation.
Remove all of your child's toys, pillows and blankets from the crib when they're sleeping - Babies rolling over in their sleep could suffocate on pillows or blankets. Babies waking up while still alone shouldn't be allowed to play with toys when alone, due to the risk of suffocation.
Double and tripe-check all the screws, nuts and bolts that hold your child's crib together - This ensures that the crib remains stable while your baby is sleeping while also making sure that there are no small bits and pieces around that your child could swallow.
Keep a nightlight in the room - Young children are often scared of pitch black dark and if your child is old enough to move around when they wake up, this will give them enough light to see their surroundings and avoid injury.
Each and every room in your house should have a smoke alarm installed, especially your baby's room - Make sure to check the batteries and test all the alarms are working.
Ensure there are guards on the handles and locks of the windows in your child's room - Toddlers who are able to get up and move around while you're still sleeping are curious and ensuring they cannot open the windows will keep them from falling.
Pick up all your children's toys when they're finished playing - Ensuring the floor is clear will help you and your children to navigate in the night without fear of tripping.
At 4-12 years old your kids are more aware of the dangers around them but it's still important for you to keep on your toes:
Ensure your kid's room is free of trip hazards like electrical cables and loose carpets - Children aged between 4 and 9 years old generally spend all of their time running, jumping and flying around, seemingly at the speed of light, so it's important to make sure they stay on their feet.
Don't furnish your child's room with anything made out of glass - Glass tables, doors or wardrobes are easy to break through, especially when your child is running around at speed.
As with the baby's room above, your house should have smoke alarms throughout - Especially your kid's rooms.
Never have locks on the doors to your children's bedrooms - If your child is able to lock the door and becomes injured, you will not be able to reach them to assess their injuries. If you do install locks on your kid's doors, ensure you have the means to open it.
Make sure to regularly check the furniture if your kid's room - Keep an eye out for looseparts that could break off. Anything broken should be repaired.
Also be sure to secure larger furniture to the walls - Kid's love to climb as well as run. Securing their wardrobes, bookshelves and similar furniture to the walls will ensure that they do not get crushed or trapped underneath.
Ensure the bulbs in their lamps or nightlights are cool-to-the-touch lights to prevent the burning of inquisitive fingertips.
Make sure your kids pick up their toys when they've finished playing for the day - This will ensure that there are no trips hazards when your children wake up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.
As your kids get to their pre-teen and teen years they become even more aware of the dangers and will usually tidy up after themselves, however, there are still a few things you should check out:
Ensure that your (pre)teens do indeed tidy up after themselves - While older kids are less likely to trip over things left on the floor, it's still risky. Older kids generally have a little more furniture to hold computers or TV's and consoles, for example.
Ensure the plugs for their electronic devices don't become overloaded - Using too many plugs in one socket, even with an extension cord, can become seriously dangerous with risks of fire and electrocution. Be sure to check for a burning smell near the electronics as well as a black residue around the sockets on the wall, and the cord.
Keep the electrical cords from trailing underneath rugs or carpets - If there is a problem with a cable there is a risk of the rug or carpet catching fire, and it's also a trip hazard.
Keep lamps and other devices that heat up away from any delicate or flammable objects.
To make sure you are able to identify and understand the risks and are able to react with calm control in the act of an accident you can take the new COSHH Risk Assessor Certification™.
