Easy beginnings

Babies are so cute and stationary at first. They stay wherever we place them for the first couple of months. All we need to do as parents is to make sure that the location of their placement is clean and free of any kind of hazards.

Then they become mobile

As soon as they start moving on their own, though, the world changes. They are now subject to hundreds or thousands of square feet of potential danger. The parental meter screams a red alert to our protection sensors, and it is now time to do a new assessment of our home for this curious and fearless little creeper.

Identify and minimize dangers

For the first assessment, get down on your belly and put yourself where your baby is to see the view of the world from their angle. Observe everything they have access to, including cracks and crevices that his tiny hands can fit inside.

Tip hazards

Think of all things wobbly and unstable that he may one day try to use to pull himself up. Also, look at any dangling cords that are so fun to pull. Now is the time to make new homes for those items or find a way to secure them from becoming a hazard to your baby.

From hand straight to the mouth

Most of the time, if a baby can hold it in his hand, he will try to taste it in his mouth. Look around and find what he has access to (you’re still on your belly, by the way). Look at the obvious things that fall from upper surfaces. Also, look underneath in the places where items may have spilled undetected. An old peanut, slimy goo, or a petrified frog (don’t laugh – I’ve been there, and I don’t want to talk about it) is very attractive to a little tot. Since this hazard is ongoing, repeat this exercise frequently, especially with larger families.

Keeping it clean

Now that a baby is creeping crawling, and rolling around on your carpet, how clean is it really? Is it clean enough to drag your tongue across it? Your baby is likely to do just that more than once, so now we look at the carpet with new eyes, too. Every time something approaches your carpet, ask yourself, “Would I lick that?”

Shoes

Shoes come into contact with millions of germs daily, whether we visually see them or not. The bigger the family, the bigger the germ population. Now is the perfect time to introduce and enforce the “no shoes in the house” rule to keep all of the icky, sticky things that are outside from coming inside for baby to taste.

Spills

Spills need to be cleaned with extra diligence to remove all bacterial hazards. White vinegar is useful for diluting. Citrus oil removes grease and grime with sanitizing effects. Do a spot test first, but hydrogen peroxide sanitizes most surfaces without a bleaching effect.

Professional cleaning

At the thought of a baby crawling around on the carpet, be very mindful of what kind of chemicals go on to your carpets. This goes double for carpet cleaners, for some of those chemicals can be harmful if touched, then transferred to the eyes or mouth. Some are safe after being completely dry – but don’t assume without asking. Better yet, Pure Carpet Cleaners specializes in low moisture carpet cleaning using a natural based solution made of orange, lemon, and grapefruit extract. Our products are environmentally safe for you and your whole family. Schedule your visit today! ccent 3;\lsdpr