The Six Golden Rules to designing a safe bedroom for your kids! Part 3 of the ABCs of decorating chi
We want our children’s rooms to be a haven of peace and safety, just as we want these sensations to permeate throughout our homes. When we think about designing and furnishing a child’s room, we need to take into account the basic fact that our children spend a good deal of time in their rooms alone and unsupervised, which means we want their own “private space” to be as safe as possible, without having to 'pad the walls and install unbreakable everything'.
When it comes to our children’s safety, we need to examine the safety level of their rooms with the same intensity we examine their safety level of our cars.
When planning your child’s room consider these Six Golden Rules of Safety:
1) Insist that all painted surfaces, from walls to furniture to toys, are painted with no-lead, non-poisonous, long-lasting, child-friendly paints.
2) All windows must have bars attached from the outside, no matter how low-to-the-ground a window may be, a small child can fall out and hurt her/himself.
3) Electrical outlets must be covered with child-proof covers.
In today’s world, we never seem to have enough electrical sockets to recharge our army of gadgets and with that in mind, never overload electrical sockets with extension cords and multi-outlet strip sockets (me'fa'tzel in Hebrew). This rule is especially true in children's rooms!
In addition, install a circuit breaker to protect your children (and yourselves) from electrocution.
4) Make sure that any free-standing furniture, such as closets, dressers, radiators and the like, are untippable and sturdy. Install safety latches in all drawers to prevent small hands from prying them open.
Furniture and furnishings that are attached to the wall or hung, such as book shelves, curtains, wall hangings, light fixtures, televisions, must be securely attached to the wall and/or hung high enough that small hands cannot climb on them or pull them down. Discourage ‘high climber’ children from trying to grasp out-of-reach toys, by placing their favourite/most used items within easy reach.
5) Make certain that toys and all items in the room are both age-appropriate and undamaged. Don’t keep toys with tiny details, such as button eyes, noses, etc. within easy reach of babies and/or toddlers. It is easy for even a baby to pull off a button and swallow it or worse.
6) Make sure all your kids' furniture has smooth, round edges; is not broken or have loose hanging parts.
And above all else: BE PREPARED and prepare your family for any emergency! Take the time to ensure that everyone in your family knows the following:
CPR: Contact Magen David Adom for a course near you. https://www.mdais.org/en/2015-09-01-12-14-30
Who to contact in case of poisoning:
The National Center for Poison control in Israel is located in Rambam Hospital, Haifa, 04-8541900 https://www.rambam.org.il/englishsite/departments/laboratoryservices/ClinicalPharmacologyandToxicology/PoisonInformation/Pages/default.aspx
Who to contact in case of fire or other emergency: http://www.102.gov.il/english/Pages/HomePage.aspx
As always Beterem, the organization dedicated to creating a safe environment for children has great tips and ideas for your home safety. Check out their English language site: http://www.beterem.org/english/template/default.aspx?PageId=161&catId=98&maincat=23
Summer is here and for kids it’s the season for school vacation, fun in the sun and the freedom to do anything or nothing. Unfortunately summer is also peak season for children’s accidents both at home and away. Keep yourselves and your kids safe and enjoy the summer to its fullest!
Are you thinking about designing or refurbishing a child’s room? Give me a call today and let me design a SAFE dream kids’ room for your family!
Yael Diamond, Interior Designer and Project Manager, specializes in consulting, planning and designing private residences, elite apartments, offices, and public business. You can follow Yael on www.facebook.com/yaeldiamondesigns.
