A Modern Home Safety Checklist, with Tide

This post has been sponsored by Tide.  All opinions contained herein are my own.  Please view our disclosure for more information.

As parents, we know how important it is to safeguard our homes to protect little ones, and take great care to think of every detail and check every box.  But the modern home is changing – and so are the things we need to consider when childproofing.  The need for a modern home safety checklist has never been more apparent.

March 19 – 25^th is National Poison Prevention Week, and a good time to examine the safety measures we’re taking in and around our homes.

Updated layouts to modern homes can expose kids to hazards in rooms that were previously remote, like the laundry room or home office.  In fact, 1 in 3 parents say their laundry room is located near where family members spend most of their time, like the living room or kitchen, and less than 5% list the home office as a childproofing priority.*

Today’s home now regularly includes items like USB outlets which are increasingly replacing classic three prong outlets, shattered smartphone screens that can be tempting to touch, and new innovations in cleaning – like liquid laundry pacs.  It’s clear we as parents need an approach to safety that is current and considers new technology and products in the modern household.  For these reasons, Tide partnered with BabyCenter to talk to parents about home safety and update the safety checklist.

You’ve probably hear of these tips:

–          Cover outlets with safety plugs or plastic covers

–          Lock cabinets that contain cleaning products, especially if they’re at floor-level

–          Keep sharp objects, such as scissors and knives, out of sight and out of reach

–          When cooking, use the back burner of your stove and turn pot handles away from the edge

–          Place safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs

But what about these?

–          Don’t forget the laundry room: 1 in 3 parents say their laundry room is located near where family members spend most of their time and only 23% of parents who purchase laundry packets count them as a top safety concern*, but they should always be properly safeguarded.  Store them up out of reach and out of sight, keep them closed with secure packaging, so you can keep little ones safe.

–          Secure screens: use brackets or push back computer monitors or flat screen TVs so they won’t topple over

–          Don’t lose track of tech accessories: wireless headphones, adapters and other dongles can pose a choking hazard

–          Store electrical cords: tuck phone, tablet and laptop chargers behind furniture or above cabinets

–          Store remotes securely: keep them hidden away so prying fingers can’t get to the batteries

We love the convenience of laundry pacs, and like millions of other families, have integrated them into our laundering as an effective detergent option.  We know safe storage of laundry packets is vital, especially since like many modern homes, our laundry room is on our main level near our family room and kitchen.  Knowing Tide has created the first-ever child-resistant design with a new Child-guard ™ zipper is an added safeguard we value as parents to little ones.  But even with a sealable feature, we know it’s important to keep any laundry packets up and away and keep them closed to keep our kids safe.

We received the latest Tide laundry pacs complimentary, and were impressed with the results.  We love that they’re a 3-in-1 laundry solution, that consists of a detergent, stain remover and brightener all in one.  Living as a large family means endless piles of laundry, and getting clothes clean and bright the first time is a time saver, and that’s a huge parenting win around here.  We also love the portability of the laundry pacs for trips to the cottage, and other travel experiences as a family.

We found this partnership a great experience to update our own awareness of safeguards we can implement in our own modern home to keep our little ones free of harm.  We hope you found this information valuable also.  Here’s your printable version of the Childproofing 2.0: Tips for the Modern Home

Tide is committed to keeping kids safe, including helping parents understand the importance of safe use and storage of laundry packets. Visit here for more childproofing tips .  Also visit Tide on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram for the latest updates.

*Survey conducted within Canada by BabyCenter on behalf of Tide from 02/17/2017 – 03/01/2017 among 1,080 adults 18+ years old.  Tide PODS is a registered trademark of Procter & Gamble and Child-Guard ™ is a registered trademark of Presto.