Although most homeowners perceive their homes as their sanctuaries, sometimes, your house can be a dangerous place, especially if you have seniors or children in the household. Luckily, numerous home modifications can help you make your home an overall safer and more secure space for both old and young.
That said, here are ways to make your home safer for older family members and children.
Hire Professionals to Check On Loved Ones When Away
To add an extra layer of care and protection in your home, have someone check up on your elderly parent or loved one when you’re away. More individuals have taken CNA training to care for elderly and sick patients at home. The CNA can ensure that the elderly are well taken care of medically and physically while they’re away at work or on a business trip.
Install Window Guards
If tripping and slipping are some of the most hazardous for older individuals, falling is a significant hazard for kids at home — and some of the most traumatic falls come from children falling out windows. Luckily, this scenario is preventable, and all you need to do is install window guards or locks, preventing the windows from opening. Window guards and locks can open small enough to let a breeze in without risking your child’s safety.
Install Bathroom Grab Bars
Most falls that happen inside a home happen in the bathroom, a common incident among seniors. Luckily, this is a preventable epidemic, and you can ensure your grandparents’ or aging parents’ safety by installing grab bars throughout each bathroom in your home. The best part is that you can buy grab bars at most hardware stores, and you can install them yourself, ensuring safety while saving you money.
Anchor Furniture
In recent years, children’s health organizations have detected a massive increase in fatal furniture tip-over injuries, commonly known as ‘crush injuries.’ Although traditional tube TVs were too heavy for kids to tip over, modern flat-screen TVs can easily be toppled by a toddler, bringing down dressers or bookshelves — seriously injuring a child. To help protect your kids, you must anchor all the furniture you have, including your TVs, dressers, desks, and shelves, into a secure foundation.
Check Thresholds
Making home thresholds easier to cross is one of the best things you can do to ensure an older individual’s safety at home. After all, raised floorings between each room in your house can be a massive trip hazard to seniors, which can be potentially fatal. Depending on the senior’s needs, you can either flatten your thresholds or add indoor ramps and handrails to make the house safer and more secure for them.
Childproof Important Storage Spaces
Children are naturally curious, so it’s best to hide and lock up dangerous items that they consume. These include alcoholic beverages, home cleaning supplies, cosmetics, and medications. Sometimes, most homeowners miss locking up cabinets and drawers with these potentially fatal items. Luckily, you can remedy this by installing inexpensive latches. Besides that, make sure to have your local poison control number in the kitchen to help you address any future incidents fast.
Provide Easy Seating
One of the easiest ways to make your home more senior-friendly is by installing accessible seating in the house — for instance, a small bench near the front porch of your house for putting on shoes. It’s best to add seating areas on the most accident-prone places for older individuals, such as the kitchen and shower. Plus, adding stools in these areas make it easier for seniors to go on about their daily activities.
Install Barriers Around Home Pools
Home pools often pose drowning risks to kids. Experts revealed that nearly half of the children that drowned in home pools weren’t swimming at the time but instead wandered outside and fell into the pool by accident. What’s most worrying is that these incidents happen year-round and can be more hazardous during wintertime.
That’s why if you have a pool at home, remember to install a fence around it to prevent anyone from accidentally falling into the pool. After all, you can’t watch your kids all the time, so the more barriers you put up, the better. Additionally, it’s best to use a fence with a self-latching lock to ensure your kids can’t reach it.
To prevent injuries and falls, all while ensuring everyone’s safety in your home, it’s important for families to incorporate a few safety measurements, such as those mentioned, to make your house more secure and safe for kids and aging individuals alike.