Baby-proofing checklist: make your home safer

Baby-proofing starts with the things that can seriously hurt a baby: access to stairs or water, medicines and cleaning products, small objects, hot surfaces and loose cords. Deal with those before lower-priority extras such as corner cushions. Many useful changes involve moving or securing things you already own.

Start before your baby becomes mobile, including rolling across the floor. Then check again when they begin pulling up, reaching higher or climbing: a shelf that was out of reach last month may now be accessible from a chair. Look from floor level as well as standing height, and make the same checks in homes your baby regularly visits.

Stairs, windows and furniture

These changes matter before crawling and become more important as your baby starts pulling up.

• Block access to both ends of the stairs. Choose gates marked BS EN 1930:2011 and fit them to their instructions. At the top, use a screw-fix gate without a bottom bar to trip over. At the bottom, check the gate's permitted position and fixing requirements rather than assuming every pressure-fit design will work. Our guide to baby gates and stair gates compares the main options.
• Check the gate each day as you use it: close the latch after passing through, look for loose fittings and keep stairs clear. Open the gate rather than climbing over it. If your child starts opening or climbing it, reassess access to the stairs and the gate's use limits; do not stack gates to make a taller barrier.
• Move climbable furniture away from windows and balconies. Fit appropriate window locks or restrictors. NHS guidance recommends restricting the opening to less than 6.5 cm. Keep keys where adults can find them in a fire, but children cannot reach them.
• Secure furniture that could topple. Fix tall or unstable units and TVs securely using the appropriate fittings and instructions. Keep tempting toys off the top of furniture. Corner protectors and edge guards can cushion sharp edges once the more serious fall and tip-over risks are addressed; remove any loose pieces.

Use the highchair's harness every time, and keep bouncers on the floor. For nappy changes, a mat on the floor avoids the risk of rolling off a raised surface.

Bedrooms and play areas: sleep, cords and small objects

Keep the sleep space clear. Put your baby on their back on a firm, flat mattress in their own cot or Moses basket, in your room for at least the first six months. Use a correctly fitting baby sleeping bag or lightweight bedding tucked in securely with their feet at the foot of the cot. Keep their head uncovered and leave out pillows, duvets, bumpers, soft toys, nests and positioners.

Check the surrounding room too:

• Blind and curtain cords: secure them high up and out of reach with the appropriate cleat or tensioning device. Move the cot, bed and climbable furniture away from cords. Fit all supplied safety devices when installing blinds.
• Monitor and charger leads: keep equipment and the whole cable route well away from the cot and your baby's reach. When comparing baby monitors, plan where the camera and cable will go before choosing a viewing position.
• Small objects: clear coins, jewellery, loose toy parts and older children's small toys from floors, low shelves and sofa gaps. Keep nappy sacks and plastic bags out of reach and away from the cot.
• Button batteries and magnets: check battery compartments on remotes, lights and toys. Put items with loose or damaged battery covers away from children. Store new and used batteries securely until disposal, and keep small loose magnets and magnetic fidget sets away from babies.

Supervise play with pets and keep pet food, medicines and small pet toys outside your baby's play area.

Kitchen and utility room: poisons, heat and sharp items

Move medicines and chemicals to high or locked storage, out of sight and reach. Include laundry capsules, dishwasher tablets, cleaning sprays, vapes and refills, alcohol and garden chemicals. Keep products in their original packaging and put them away immediately after use. Child-resistant caps can delay access, but children may still open them.

Fit suitable child safety locks for cupboards and drawers where hazardous contents remain accessible. Check that the lock catches and that adhesive or screws remain secure. Remember visitors' bags and bedside tablets as well as the kitchen cupboard.

For heat and sharp objects:

• Put hot drinks down out of reach before picking up your baby. Keep them away from table edges and trailing tablecloths.
• Use the back hob rings where possible, turn pan handles towards the back and keep kettle cables away from the edge.
• Put irons and hair straighteners out of reach while they cool, including their cables.
• Store knives, scissors, matches and lighters where children cannot reach them. Use a securely attached fireguard around an open fire or heater.

Bathroom and garden: keep water under supervision

Have towels, nappies and clothes ready before the bath. Stay within arm's reach throughout, even with a bath seat or an older sibling present. If you need to leave, take your baby with you: drowning can happen quietly in very little water.

Run cold water first, add hot water, mix well and check with your elbow before putting your baby in. A baby bath thermometer can help with the temperature check. If you use a baby bath mat, check that it grips before each bath; neither accessory changes the need to stay beside your baby.

Empty the bath, buckets and paddling pool after use. Block access to ponds and pools with suitable barriers or secure covers, and check whether your child could get into a neighbour's garden. Keep bathroom cleaning products and medicines in the same high or locked storage as other poisons.

Electrical sockets, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide

Regular UK sockets already have built-in safety shutters. Socket covers are not the main electrical safety measure, and they cannot fix faulty wiring. Keep appliance cables out of reach, switch off unused appliances and avoid leaving a live charging lead where a baby could put its end in their mouth. Have damaged, hot or scorched sockets and electrical faults checked by a qualified electrician.

Check that you have working smoke alarms on every level and appropriate coverage where fires could start. A kitchen needs a heat alarm; carbon monoxide alarms belong in rooms with fuel-burning appliances. Follow installation and testing instructions and ask your local fire and rescue service about the right arrangement for your home. Our comparison of combined smoke and carbon monoxide alarms explains when a combined unit fits that plan.

Keep escape routes clear and agree how adults will get the baby out. In a fire, get out, stay out and call 999.

When to get urgent help

Call 999 immediately if your baby is choking, struggling to breathe, unconscious, difficult to wake, having a seizure, bleeding heavily or seriously injured. Follow the call handler's first-aid instructions.

• Possible swallowed button battery or magnet: go straight to A&E or call 999 for an ambulance, even if your baby seems well. Do not wait for symptoms.
• Possible poisoning: call 999 or go to A&E if you think your baby may have swallowed, touched or breathed in something harmful. If you are unsure whether the substance is harmful, get urgent telephone advice. Do not make them sick or give food or drink; take the packaging if available.
• Burn or scald: cool it under cool running water for 20 minutes, keeping the rest of your baby warm. Leave stuck clothing in place. Call 999 or go to A&E for a large or deep burn, a burn to the face, genitals or bottom, or one caused by chemicals or electricity. For other burns, get advice if unsure what to do; the NHS burns guidance explains the next steps.
• Suspected carbon monoxide exposure: go outside and get medical advice promptly. Do not go back in until advised. Call 999 for breathing difficulty, loss of consciousness, sudden confusion or weakness.

For urgent advice when it is not an emergency, call 111 in England, Scotland or Wales. Use the phone service for a baby, rather than 111 online. In Northern Ireland, contact your GP or the GP out-of-hours service. Get advice after an accident if you are worried or unsure how serious it is.