How to Create a Healthy Bedroom for your Kids

I have talked in the past about ways to baby proof your house and our guest writer, Ashley, gave even more information on how to make your child’s room safe! Ashley is a full time college student writing her way through college. When she’s not writing she enjoys hiking and any other outdoor activity imaginable. 

The urge to make your child’s bedroom a safe space is an overwhelming one. If you could bubble wrap them and their furnishings, you would. Since that’s not possible, you do the next best thing which is to protect them from both visible and hidden dangers. It takes some effort to get started, but once everything is in place, you’ll find that you’ve greatly reduced the potential for harm in a lasting way. Following are three tips to get you started on making a safe and healthy bedroom for your kids while reducing your own stress levels.

Make Sure Furniture is Level

Image via Flickr by Mirage floors

Furniture is a necessary part of a child’s bedroom, but it has a hidden danger if it’s not set up properly. Make sure that legs are level, nothing rocks, and that heavy pieces are bolted to wall studs if possible. The latter may seem like an extreme response, but children have a tendency to climb dressers and other tall pieces of furniture as they explore their world. They can get seriously injured if the heavy piece of furniture they decided to climb winds up falling on them. The same goes for furniture that’s not level. Either find a way to make the piece stable, or just don’t use it. 

Improve Air Quality and Reduce Allergens

The goal of reducing allergens is to create an atmosphere that won’t cause coughing and wheezing while the kids are playing in their room. You want to minimize the amount of irritants floating around in the air that the kids are breathing. There are several methods available to reduce allergens and improve air quality. Best of all, they’re not difficult to implement.

Hypoallergenic pillows use man-made materials that won’t aggravate the sinuses with dust and microbes, and an allergen cover on the mattress acts as a barrier to allergens resting inside. A humidifier makes the air moist and weighs down dust particles. Make sure to change the filter on your HVAC units regularly and get the system serviced and cleaned in the fall and spring. 

Use Safety Covers on Outlets

Don’t think – just do when it comes to covering outlets. Children get curious and put their fingers in outlets. There is always a worst case scenario with electricity. 

Covering an outlet may be a bit inconvenient for adults who need to plug in humidifiers when their children are sick or need to plug in other electronics. But an adult can get around an inconvenience with ease and avoid putting their child at risk of electrocution. Children are curious, and it’s best to let them explore in safety. 

No one wants to come off as an alarmist when it comes to making the kids’ bedroom a healthy and safe place for them to be. It’s a matter of minimizing risk, getting rid of potential dangers, and preventing children from getting into trouble in the first place. It’s peace of mind for you and a healthy environment for your child.