Prevent Injuries: Tips for Childproofing Your Home Office

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If you are a stay-at-home mom or dad, you may think that working from a home office is the solution
to one of the biggest problems plaguing parents today: how do you balance the pressures of work
with being present for your children? And while a home office does seem like an excellent solution,
it can also provide temptations for tykes who go exploring in the wrong place. This can result in
damages to your office or equipment and injuries for your children. If you want to increase or keep your
productivity and spend quality time with your precious babies, follow these easy tips for childproofing
your office:

Safety spot check. That open power outlet is a wonderful place to introduce Mr. Spoon. And those
cords dangling from the window blinds make excellent ropes for climbing and exploring. If your child
has access to the room where you keep your office and you think they can access it (and odds are that
they will), you can practice prevention by being proactive instead of reactive: cover up outlets that are
not in use, keep window blind cords secured and out of reach of tiny hands, and make sure that there
are no chemicals (even something simple, like white out) laying out for kids to consume. If you store
them in drawers, make sure the drawers are locked. Keep electrical wires stored or tied.

Put It Away! Install cabinets in your office with drawers and doors that can be secured, latched, or
locked. This will protect your important papers as well as providing a place where your child will not
be able to reach for that tempting bottle of cleaning solution. Keeping doors latched also goes for the
refrigerator and for the garbage can lid.

Lock It Down! That big bookcase where you stacked your law books could easily tip over, particularly if
encouraged by your child (it’s also like scaling Mount Everest for the pacifier set). Lock it down by using
an anchor harness so you can attach it to the wall securely.

Modeling. Your kids learn by watching you, which often means they want to imitate you. Create a place
in the home replicating your office for your children. You can give them paper and crayons to work
with, or create age-appropriate assignments for them to complete. (As an added bonus, your child gets
to use creativity to practice their imaginative skills!)

Babygate. Not to be confused with the Nixon scandal. If you are the proud parent of a toddler, you
already know that they will get into anything they can put their little hands on. The simplest solution to
keep them out of the office is to use a baby gate.

These simple strategies will keep your beautiful babies safe and secure and also teach them valuable
lessons about responsibility and boundaries while you can continue to work out of your home.
Everyone wins! And after all, you don’t want to have to contact an injury accident law firm, do you?