Safety Tips for Fun Indoor Play with Kids

Kids at any age know to have fun even in the most unlikely places. Toddlers, preschoolers, and sometimes even babies find lots of joy in playing with anything from a pile of leaves to pillows and blocks. This proves that it’s always possible to keep your little one entertained at home.

A safe and secure home can easily turn into a scene of chaos when one isn’t careful. Curious babies, toddlers, and young kids may face different accidents while playing at home, from tripping on stray wires to sucking on shoes and detergent bottles. Besides keeping your little one entertained, it’s also vital to ensure safety during indoor play. Here are some good safety tips to follow while playing with your child indoors.

1. Establish safety rules

Toddlers and preschoolers can, in fact, understand family rules just as long as you explain and enforce things properly. Before you both begin your next sofa fort adventure, take time to introduce rules for your kids to follow during playtime. Phrase rules in the simplest and most specific terms possible to prevent any confusion or misunderstanding. Your child will have an easy time following simple rules like “No jumping on the couch”, “No running”, and “Be nice to the dog.”

It also helps to explain why you need to enforce such playtime rules in the first place. For instance, you can say “You’ll hit your head when you jump on the couch. You can jump on the floor with me, instead.” Your child will be encouraged to follow safety rules when he’s involved in the conversation, so do be open to any questions and suggestions from him.

Another way to encourage your child to follow safety rules is to write them down on a fun poster. You and your child can both come up with safety rule ideas and have tons of fun illustrating them in a colorful poster. Your little one is sure to have an easy time understanding and following a creative safety poster that he helped make!

2. Set up safety barriers

A curious child won’t always be able to resist wandering into a mysterious room, whether it be a kitchen or storage closet. To better ensure your children’s safety indoors, set up barriers in danger zones and provide your kids with a secure space where they can play without worries. Be sure to use secure locks on outdoor gates and fences, and do buy safe playpens where babies and toddlers can relax during the day.

3. Check regularly on toys

Toys don’t stay new and pristine forever. At some point, hazards like broken parts and cracks may begin to show up in your child’s toy box. It’s important to check up on how your little one’s toys are doing before they’re used for playtime. Stuffed toys should be properly cleaned and not torn anywhere. If a stuffed bear has tiny balls inside, it could easily turn into a choking hazard after some time. Solid toys should also be free of cracks and other possible hazards. Tiny cracks and crevices may not seem like a big deal at first, but they can, in fact, hurt a baby or toddler’s delicate skin.

Finally, make sure that your child’s playthings haven’t been dragged around the backyard or stuck into a pet’s mouth. If you have doubts, do take time to clean or disinfect your child’s toys since bacteria and dirt can cause problems for your little one’s health. Cleaning second-hand toys bought from yard sales or given as gifts is also a good precaution to take. You never whose hands (or paws and mouth) have been on them, after all.

4. Keep things locked and stored

Before beginning indoor playtime with your little explorer be sure to lock closets and other open doors. Get rid of any stray wires, scissors, cleaning products, or other harmful objects from easy to reach places. You should also lock cabinets, ovens, and fridges since curious kids can easily trap themselves inside these spaces. If you think your child isn’t ready to play with pets yet, bring the family dog or cat in a safe area free from little human hands. Cleaning up before playtime may be exhausting, but it’s a sure way to avoid any unfortunate accidents.

5. Be careful with pets

Even the most loyal cats and dogs have their limits. Any animal that’s pinched, hit, and bothered long enough is sure to fight back. That being said, when it’s time to introduce pet play to your child, set gentle and safe pet play as your first objective. Limit pet playtime to gentle petting and stroking before moving onto fetch. Let your kids know about what actions to avoid when playing with pets (such as pulling on tails and ears), and make sure to give your pet enough alone time too.

Little kids should never be left alone in a room with pets. Otherwise, they could end up bitten and bruised. Pet playtime with your child should always be supervised by either you or another trusted caretaker. If you need to ask someone else to watch over pet playtime, make sure that they can intervene in case your pet gets annoyed or frustrated. On the other hand, if playtime with your pet can’t be supervised, it’s much better to keep the family pet separated from your curious toddler.

6. Set safety rules with siblings

It always warms the heart to see big and little siblings getting along. Of course, it also helps to set ground rules with older kids first before letting them have fun with their baby brothers or sisters. As confident as older kids and teens are in their safe play activities, accidents can, in fact, happen at any moment. Some activities, such as watching action movies or playing with a smartphone for too long, can also be very harmful to babies and young kids. It helps a lot to explain to older siblings what activities should and shouldn’t be done before letting them engage in playtime.

An older sibling’s emotional state can also have a huge impact on little kids. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers may suffer deeply if their older playmates scream or play too roughly with them. Be prepared to step in at the first sign of trouble and put an end to playtime if your older child’s mood starts to sour. When possible, discuss the importance of handling emotions with your older children and explain how their actions can have a huge impact on their younger siblings. Simply listening to your kids explain what they could be dealing with and helping them handle their feelings goes a long way.

7. Prepare emergency supplies

Accidents and injuries can’t always be avoided. No matter how careful we are, it’s still important to be prepared for the worst. One of the best ways to deal with emergencies is to prepare an emergency kit at home. This kit should include the numbers of emergency contacts (such as relatives, the police, a family doctor, etc.), kid-friendly antibiotics (you might want to consult your family pediatrician for this one), gauze pads and bandages, and other supplies that can be used in a medical emergency.

There are plenty of family first-aid kits that you can buy at the pharmacy. These kits are usually well-stocked with emergency supplies that are safe for all ages. Of course, it also helps to add or remove supplies depending on what’s safe for your family. You can also consult your family pediatrician for advice about a home first aid kit. They’ll be able to tell you what medicines are safe for babies, what essentials are needed in case of a bruise, and other important advice.

One of the best emergency supplies you can have at home is an electric nasal aspirator. Unlike manual aspirators, which can collect mold and dirt when left unused for too long, electric aspirators are made to stay always clean and usable. Since these aspirators don’t have any sharp edges or tiny parts, they won’t scratch up or irritate a child’s nasal canal either.

When your little one has trouble with indoor play due to colds or allergies, you can suck all their worries away using a safe and reliable electric nasal aspirator. Watolt’s electric nasal aspirator for babies and young kids unclogs tiny noses and provides fun sounds and lights that are sure to make distressed kids feel better. Order your own nasal aspirator from our online store and enjoy safe indoor play with your kids today!