I feel like I have a completely different baby now that Lola is able to walk. She’s into EVERYTHING. Which, ultimately, is a really good thing because she’s active, curious and wanting to explore the world. But as a mom, that makes me “explore” the world — especially my house — with a different set of eyes. What can she reach? Would she stick her finger in that? Would she put that in her mouth? (answers: more than you think, yes, and yes)

So, I’m posting tips that I learned from an expert at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital because they were SUPER helpful for me, and I think you’ll agree. The biggest thing I learned from the expert as we went through the house is about child-proofing the laundry room. It’s the one I never even thought about when we initially child-proofed the house (I’m the only one who does laundry so I figured no one else would be in there). But it’s a really important room to safeguard — everything from keeping up cords on the blinds, putting the little child-proof plugs in electrical outlets, putting up cleaners (even ones like Windex… those bright colors look like juice!), and keeping your laundry pacs up out of a child’s reach and the container closed to keep your family safe.

Sounds so simple, but now that I made those few little tweaks I feel SO much better! Check back every few days, and I’ll have more helpful tips for you here on the blog! I also encourage you to check out this site to learn more about keeping your home and family safe! Oh, and watch the video below of an “Ask the Experts” segment I did on Star64 with the expert at Children’s about how to keep your child’s room safe!