Improving the Interior and Exterior of Your Home

Tips On Renovations That Make Your Staircase Safe For Your Kids

Your staircase can be a fatal hazard for your kids, especially if you've not baby proofed the staircase. To avoid unnecessary accidents on the staircase, you should identify the best protective fixtures to install so that your staircase can be baby friendly. Below are tips on how you can refurbish your staircase and make it safe for your kids to use.

Install Baby Gates

Baby gates act as barriers at the entry points of staircases and come in handy in keeping kids off the staircase. Baby gates are especially essential for babies who have just learnt how to crawl or walk because it's hard for toddlers to understand and follow instructions and so they may not remember to keep off the stairs.

The size of the staircase opening and the design of your staircase will determine the best type of baby gates you should have. To get the best fit baby gates, call in a specialist who may take the measurements of your staircase and design a custom-made gate perfect for you. Also, for optimal safety at the top of your staircase, it's best to use a baby gate that's mounted on the wall instead of a retractable gate that is detachable, advises Parent Guide.

Install Tread and Handrail Lighting

Installing lights under the tread of your staircase and along the handrail helps kids to use the staircase better than if the lighting wasn't installed. The under-tread lighting helps your child to see the steps clearly and as a result the chances of tripping are minimised significantly. The handrail lighting will also make it easy for kids to use the staircase rails for support because they will be able to follow the lit-up frame easily.

You may want to install under-tread and handrail lighting that stay on throughout the day and night. Keeping the lights on throughout is helpful, especially in the case that your kid might use the stairs at night without switching on the main lights. Also, using energy efficient lights for your staircase is advisable because the staircase lighting will hardly raise your power bill.

Safeguard the Stair Railing

Creating a barrier along your staircase railing or banister will make the railing safer for your kids to use. The gap between a staircase rails can lead to a fatal fall if your child tries to pass through the gaps. Also, your kids can miss the rails when they trip and get hurt by the banister or the stairs. Installing a banister guard on the staircase railing helps prevent unnecessary accidents, advises Parent Guide.

Net and plastic banister guards are examples of barriers you can use to safeguard your staircase banister or railing. The banister guard runs along the length of the railing and covers up the gaps between the rails. So in case your child trips, the child will always have something on the railing to hold on to.

Baby proofing your staircase will help you avoid unnecessary accidents. The above-mentioned tips can help you make your staircase safer for your kids.  


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