If you have children, you want to protect your little ones from accidents and injuries. The home can have plenty of risks that you wouldn’t even think about, so childproofing your house will significantly improve their safety.
One critical step in making a safer home for your family is childproofing a garage. Discover what you can do to keep your children safe from garage-related injuries.
Is My Garage Safe for My Children?
Most garages pose inherent risks to children, such as vehicles, concrete floors, and outdoor supplies. You want to keep your child away from these dangers as much as you can. Before you change anything in your garage, look at its current state. Evaluate your garage’s safety by asking yourself these questions:
- Can my children reach the chemicals and tools I keep in my garage?
- What about less obvious risks like garbage, pet food, and gardening materials?
- How often do I maintain my garage door?
- Do I keep my garage as clutter-free as possible?
- How easily can my child get into and out of my garage?
- Do I lock my vehicles whenever I’m not using them?
How Do You Childproof a Garage?
Now that you have an idea of where to start making your garage safer, you can take the steps to childproof it. Consider strategies like:
- Storing chemicals and other dangerous substances out of reach. Remember that some children will try to use stools and counters to reach these items. Put them up as high as possible or lock them in a cabinet. If you use a locked cabinet, keep the key far away from your children.
- Adding a Dutch door to your garage exit. Close the bottom half of the door and leave the top half open to let fresh air in or transfer groceries.
- Getting rid of clutter. Many of us use our garages to store tools and supplies, but these items often end up all over the garage space. Use storage to keep your clutter away from places where children can trip over them.
What Can I Do to Practice Garage Door Safety?
Automatic garage doors can cause injury if you don’t take the utmost care. If you have a garage door opener, keep it secure at all times. Many kids get excited to open and close the door like a toy. When they try to do this, they can get caught in the door itself or in moving parts. Test your automatic door’s sensitivity to objects as small as two inches high so little fingers and toes don’t get hurt.
Install a New Garage Door to Protect Your Child
Garage door technology always finds new ways to make your garage more secure. Check out our inventory of residential garage doors today.
This post first appeared on https://customoverheaddoors.net