How To Child Proof Your Garage!

Child Proofing Garages

Household garages can be very dangerous for toddlers and young children. Here is some helpful advice from Sears Garage Doors to keep your family safe in the room of the house containing dangerous machinery, equipment, and substances.

Keep the door locked or use a child gate

One of the first steps to keeping a child from getting into some of the dangerous objects common in garages is to make sure children are not in this part of the house without supervision. Placing a child-gate inside the door frame or setting a lock for the entrance to the garage are simple steps that can be taken to ensure a child’s safety. Of course, the following advice is still important for when children are in the garage even if they are with an adult.

Store hazardous and toxic materials out of reach

Keep liquids such as anti-freeze, fertilizers, pesticides, and gasoline on high shelves or in child-locked cabinets. The same goes for charcoal and other chemicals as well. Power tools should be kept in a similar fashion or in a locked and off-limits work bench.  If it goes in the yard, the grill, or the car keep it up high and out of reach, as these materials are dangerous if ingested. Power tools can be very dangerous as well if a child instead of a trained adult is using them. This can lead to serious injury.

Make sure motorized machines are off-limits

Keep car doors locked to lower the risk of hand injuries from doors closing on your child’s hand. Lawn mowers should be placed on high wall-hooks with the blades facing the wall and the battery removed if possible.

Keep containers closed or upside down

This applies to buckets as well as trash and recycling bins to ensure that children are not able to fall in and risk becoming trapped. These precautions also prevent liquid from accumulating and creating a drowning risk for toddlers.

Watch children carefully when opening and closing garage doors

Garage doors are capable of causing both brain damage and broken bones. To prevent these injuries, keep children close when the door is activated and make sure the garage-door opener is above their reach. Although not a cure-all solution for the need to supervise, sensors near the bottom of the door that stop it should an object pass through underneath will help ensure the safety of children if they walk beneath it.