If there’s one thing that’s universally true about toddlers, it’s that they’re good at finding germs and sharing germs. Therefore, whether you’re caring for one toddler or a group of toddlers, it’s important to make an effort to keep their playroom safe and hygienic. Fortunately, with the right tools and materials, reducing a toddler’s exposure to germs is a fairly straightforward process.
Sanitize Toys
When toddlers have toys, they inevitably end up in their mouths. This means that if you want to protect the toddlers in your life, it’s vital that you sanitize their toys between uses. It’s a good idea to keep a diluted bleach solution available so that you can immerse the toys and clean them quickly. This process is especially important if you’re caring for more than one toddler, as unsanitized toys can become a prime way for germs to spread.
Keep it Cool
When a toddler plays, it creates a lot of heat. If you have multiple toddlers playing in the same room, this can make the room uncomfortably hot quite quickly. To avoid this problem, it’s important to have a good air conditioner ready to go at all times, even when the weather outside isn’t that warm. One solution is to use zoned air conditioners so that you can keep the playroom cool without freezing the rest of your home.
Plug All the Outlets
While you’re looking for ways to keep a room safe for a toddler, one of the first things you’re likely to do is to block the outlets with safety plugs. What many people overlook, though, are the hidden outlets behind furniture or other obstructions. Be assured, though, that if there is any possible way for a toddler to reach these hidden outlets, they will make it happen. Therefore, it’s vital that you block every outlet in a room, not just those that you can see when you first walk in.
Anchor Furniture
Toddlers are naturally curious. It’s how they learn about the world around them. Unfortunately, this curiosity can sometimes put them in dangerous situations. For example, one of the things many toddlers enjoy doing is climbing anything that seems to have a foothold. If the furniture they try to climb isn’t anchored to the wall, it could fall with them, leading to serious injuries. To keep your toddlers safe, make sure to anchor all furniture to the wall with drywall anchors or by screwing directly into a stud.
Observe
Even if you think you have created a perfectly safe environment for the toddlers you care for, there’s a good chance that you’ve missed something. To find out what that “something” is, all you have to do is observe the toddlers as they’re playing in the playroom you’ve set up for them. Within a few minutes, you’ll likely have multiple ideas for changes you can make to ensure the toddlers in your life are as safe as possible.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
