Babyproofing Checklist by Age: What to Change Before Each New Skill

The NHS’s point about young babies is that they soon learn to wriggle and kick, and before long they can roll off beds and changing tables. Its advice is to change nappies on a mat on the floor, never to leave a baby unattended on a bed, sofa or changing table even for a second, and to keep bouncing cradles and car seats on the floor rather than on a table or worktop.

If you use a changing table, the AAP asks for one with a guardrail on all four sides, a hand kept on your baby, and supplies within your reach but out of your baby’s. Our guide to rolling over covers why that changes the day the first roll happens.

Cords and bags matter from the start. The AAP advises avoiding window coverings with cords, and the NHS says to keep blind and curtain cords tied up and fixed so they are tight and out of reach. On plastic bags, the AAP says never to leave them lying around the house, and the NHS says to keep them, nappy bags included, out of reach and sight.

Hot drinks are the other early item. The NHS notes that a hot drink can still scald 15 minutes after it was made, and asks you to put it down well out of reach before you hold your baby.

The AAP’s poisons page treats crawling as the point to take extra steps. It says to put harmful items out of reach and out of sight, ideally in a cabinet with a lock or safety latch, before or as soon as your child begins crawling or walking. The NHS says that once babies learn to crawl, they may try to climb onto things such as sofas. Our crawling guide covers when this usually starts.

The AAP’s method for finding small objects is to get down at your child’s level and see what is there. It names coins, beads, buttons, pins and pills. Button and lithium coin batteries get their own warning: the AAP says they can cause swift, life-threatening damage if swallowed, and the NHS says they can cause severe internal burns.

On stairs, the AAP advises gates at both the top and the bottom when your child is learning to crawl and walk, firmly mounted to the home’s studs, and says to avoid accordion-style gates, which can trap an arm or a neck. The NHS adds that gaps in banisters or balcony railings wider than 6.5cm (2.5 inches) should be covered with boards or safety netting.

In the crib, the AAP says to lower the mattress before your baby can sit, and to set it at its lowest position before they learn to stand. The NHS says to remove cot toys and cot bumpers, because a baby can climb on them and fall out.

The AAP notes that children who are learning to walk will grab anything to steady themselves. It says children can be seriously hurt or even killed when they climb onto, fall against or pull themselves up on large furniture like bookshelves and dressers, and advises anchoring bookcases, dressers and TV stands to the wall.

The CPSC’s Anchor It campaign adds that a TV that is not wall mounted should still be anchored, that new furniture such as dressers comes with anti-tip devices that should be installed right away, and that toys and remote controls should be cleared from the tops of TVs and furniture so children are not tempted to climb.

Grabbing for balance is also how burns happen at this age. The AAP’s 1 to 2 year sheet names hot oven doors, wall heaters and outdoor grills, and says it is best to keep your child out of the kitchen while cooking. The NHS suggests cooking on the back rings with saucepan handles turned towards the back, and a cordless kettle or one with a short or curly flex.

For knocks, the AAP singles out coffee tables as a particular hazard for hard edges and sharp corners, and suggests moving such furniture out of traffic areas or using cushioned corner protectors; the NHS suggests corner protectors too. Our walking guide explains why the AAP opposes baby walkers, which also make a fall down the stairs more likely.

In the second year the list changes again. The AAP’s 1 to 2 year sheet says your child can open doors and drawers, take things apart and open bottles easily now, and warns that a chair left next to a kitchen counter, table or window lets a child climb to dangerously high places.

For windows, the AAP advises opening them from the top if possible, installing operable window guards above the first floor, and never putting anything a child might climb on in front of a window. It also says a screen is not strong enough to prevent a fall. The NHS describes window locks or safety catches that keep the opening under 6.5cm (2.5 inches), with adults knowing where the keys are in case of a fire.

The AAP’s simplest bathroom advice is to make the room inaccessible unless an adult is with the child, for example with a latch at adult height, and to make sure any lock can be opened from outside. It also suggests a toilet lid lock. Both the AAP and the NHS say never to leave a young child alone in the bath, even for a moment, that a bath seat is not a safety device, and to empty the bath after use.

The NHS says medicines are the most common cause of hospital admissions for poisoning in under-5s, and to keep them locked away or high up, out of reach and sight. The AAP calls safety caps child-resistant, not childproof, and asks for products to stay in their original containers. To prevent scalds, it says the hottest temperature at the faucet should be no more than 120°F (48.9°C), which in many cases you can set at the water heater.

One more item, from the AAP’s home safety page: the safest home for a child is one without a gun, and a gun kept at home should be stored unloaded and locked, with the ammunition locked separately.

Some items do not wait for a skill. The AAP asks for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on every level of the home and outside bedrooms, checked monthly. For smoke alarms, the NHS also says every level, tested at least monthly.

The AAP’s poisons page notes that most poisonings occur when parents or caregivers are home but not paying attention. Its answer is storage: locked cabinets, out of sight and reach.

The Poison Help number the AAP gives is 1-800-222-1222, and it suggests adding it to your phone contacts. If your child does put something poisonous in their mouth, the AAP says to call it immediately and not to make your child vomit. If your child is unconscious, not breathing or having convulsions or seizures, it says to call 911 or your local emergency number.

Stair gates. The NHS says to keep using gates at the top and bottom of the stairs until your child is at least 2, and adds that even 4 year olds may need some help on stairs. The AAP gives no end age, and its safety sheet for 2 to 4 year olds still says to use gates on stairways. No source opened for this page gives an age at which gates should come down.

Bath water. The two mostly agree: the NHS says to run cold water first, then hot, and check with your elbow, and the AAP suggests testing with your wrist or elbow and teaching a child who can turn the taps to start the cold first. Only the AAP sets a maximum temperature at the tap.

Where you live. The NHS advice names British safety standards for gates. Check which standards and emergency numbers apply where you live.

This is prevention. It is not first aid, and it cannot tell you whether an injury needs care. The AAP’s line is that if your child has a serious fall or does not act normally after a fall, call your doctor. Sleep safety is covered in our safe sleep guide and food in our choking hazards guide; car seats are not covered here. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.