Babyproofing checklist room-by-room

This is the babyproofing list we wish someone had handed us at 6 months. Built around the actual injury data, not the catalog of every gadget sold on Amazon.

When to start babyproofing

The standard answer is 6 months, but the honest answer is "before you think you need to." Babies roll earlier than parents expect, crawl earlier than parents expect, and pull to stand earlier than parents expect. By the time you see them do it for the first time, they have already been practicing for days.

If you are reading this and your baby is 4 months or older, start now. If your baby is already crawling, you are not behind. You are exactly where most parents are. Walk through your home with a clipboard or your phone notes and follow the list below room by room.

Living room: the five highest-risk items

• TV and dresser anchoring. Furniture tip-overs kill or seriously injure a child every two weeks in the US. Use the anti-tip strap that came with the TV stand or buy a furniture strap kit. Every dresser, every bookshelf, every TV.
• Cord wrangling. Window blind cords, lamp cords, and electronics cords are strangulation and pull-down hazards. Cordless blinds are the gold standard for nurseries and play areas. Bundle electronics cords behind a couch and out of reach.
• Outlets. Use sliding-cover outlet plates, not the small plug-in covers, which babies can pull out and choke on.
• Coffee table corners and fireplace hearths. A 9-month-old who is cruising will fall and hit one of these within a month. Foam corner bumpers help. Move sharp-cornered tables out of the main play zone if you can.
• Small objects on the floor. Anything smaller than 1.25 inches (the rim of a toilet paper tube) can choke a baby. Vacuum daily once they are mobile.

Kitchen: lock what burns and poisons

• Stove guards and knob covers. Front-burner pots and pulled-down kettles cause severe scalds. Knob covers prevent toddlers from turning on the gas.
• Lock the cabinet under the sink. This is where dish soap, dishwasher pods, and bleach live. Laundry pods and dishwasher pods are the most-called poison control items for children.
• Knife drawer lock. The drawer with knives, scissors, and food processor blades.
• Trash can with a lid. Or move the bin into a locked cabinet.
• Magnets on the fridge. If they are smaller than a golf ball, move them up high. Two ingested neodymium magnets can puncture intestines.

Bathroom: the room with the most stealth hazards

Bathrooms are the highest-risk room per square foot. They have water, medications, hot surfaces, and slippery floors all in one place. Babyproofing rule one: keep the door closed.

• Toilet lock. Babies can drown in 1 inch of water and the toilet bowl is deeper than that. The lock takes 5 seconds to install.
• Medicine cabinet lock or move medications up high. All medications, including vitamins, gummies, and topical creams. Iron pills and prenatal vitamins are some of the most dangerous accidental ingestions.
• Water heater set to 120F or below. Above 120F, a child can scald in seconds. Most newer heaters ship at this setting. Check yours.
• Non-slip bath mat plus a thermometer in the tub. A baby's skin burns faster than yours.
• Curling iron and hair tools. Even a "cool" iron stays hot for 20 minutes. Unplug and stow up high.

Nursery: safe sleep first, everything else second

• Crib meets current standards. Bought new since 2011 (after the drop-side ban). Mattress firm, sheet tight, nothing else in the crib until 12 months.
• Cordless blinds in the nursery. No long cords, ever.
• Dresser anchored to the wall. Even a small dresser. Especially the changing-table dresser.
• Changing pad with a safety strap, even if you never use it. Or change on the floor.
• Sleep sack instead of loose blankets. Until 12 to 18 months.
• Diaper cream and lotion off the changing table once baby reaches. Diaper rash cream can cause vomiting if eaten.

Stairs and entryways

• Gate at the top of the stairs. Hardware-mounted (drilled into wall studs), not pressure-mounted. Pressure gates can pop out if a toddler leans on them.
• Gate at the bottom of the stairs. Pressure-mounted is fine here. The risk at the bottom is just slowing the toddler down, not preventing a fall.
• Door handle covers on exterior doors. Or a high deadbolt. Once a toddler can reach the handle, they can walk outside. Look up "elopement" if you want to be terrified.
• Garage door opener up high. Out of reach of curious 2-year-olds.

The five things you can actually skip

Babyproofing companies will sell you a $400 starter kit. You don't need most of it. Skip:

• Edge bumpers on every piece of furniture. A few high-traffic corners is plenty. Most coffee tables are not the leading cause of injury.
• Cabinet locks on every cabinet. Lock the dangerous ones. Leave the tupperware cabinet alone. It is the cheapest babysitter you will ever have.
• Doorstops and door-finger pinch guards. Nice in theory, rarely used after the first month.
• Stove-front pull-out covers. Knob covers do the heavy lifting. The pull-out cover is overkill.
• Toilet paper holders that lock. A roll of TP unrolled across the floor is not a hazard. It is content for your camera roll.

Outdoors and car

• Car seat installed correctly. Rear-facing until at least 2 years old. Use a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) once if you can — most fire stations have one.
• Stroller with a 5-point harness, always buckled. Even for a "quick" trip.
• Pool with a 4-sided fence and a self-latching gate. If you have a pool, this is the single most important babyproofing item in your entire life.
• Babywearing carrier with the TICKS rule. Tight, in view, close enough to kiss, keep chin off chest, supported back.
• Sun protection. Hat, UPF 50 clothing, and sunscreen on babies over 6 months.

The kit you actually need

The bare minimum babyproofing kit, if you bought nothing else:

• 4 furniture anchor straps
• 2 stair gates (one hardware-mounted, one pressure)
• 10 outlet covers (sliding plate style)
• 4 cabinet locks (kitchen + bathroom)
• 1 toilet lock per bathroom
• 1 stove knob cover set
• 3 cordless blind cleats or short-cord clips
• 1 first aid kit (read up on infant CPR before you need it)

That is the under-$150 starter. Add more only when you see your specific baby do a specific thing.

When the babyproofing test is "the floor test"

Once a month, get on the floor where your baby plays. Look at the room from their height. What is reachable? What is dangling? What is in their mouth-zone? You will see things you never noticed from standing height. Outlet that lost its cover. Coin under the couch. Mystery sticky thing under a chair. Pick them up before they pick them up.

When to call the pediatrician

• Suspected ingestion of any medication, vitamin, cleaning product, or laundry pod. Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 immediately, then your pediatrician.
• Suspected button battery or magnet ingestion. Go to the ER.
• Any fall from above their standing height (changing table, couch, stairs) followed by vomiting, lethargy, or loss of consciousness.
• Any burn larger than a quarter, on the face, or on the hands/feet.
• Any near-drowning event, even if baby seems fine afterward.