How to Safely Babyproof Electronics to Avoid Accidents

Everybody gets excited when babies start crawling and walking. But, after a few days, that initial glee might turn into alarm after seeing the innocent mischief that newly mobile family members can generate. These little bundles of joy don’t think like adults, so it’s not always easy for parents to anticipate and prevent problems.

Crawlers and toddlers always seem to find screens to smudge and cords to tug. Here are some tips that will help keep electronics in good working order and, even more important, keep babies safe.

Most parents know they can buy plastic covers to insert inside of outlets. This keeps inquisitive tikes from sticking their fingers where they don’t belong. However, some parents might not know that companies also make power strip covers. These cover outlets and keep babies from accidentally turning off the power strip and all the electronics plugged into them.

An occasional hard shutdown should not harm modern electronics, according to Damien Mason of ProPrivacy.com. Still, it can sometimes risk corrupting files, losing unsaved work, and is bound to cause some annoyance.

Eventually, crawling babies will look for furniture they can use to pull themselves up into a standing position. A sofa or solid chair might work fine for this kind of activity, but young children don’t have the judgment to figure out which furniture will hold up against their weight.

According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, unstable furniture, appliances, and electronics tipped over and resulted in serious injuries or deaths in over 10,000 children younger than nine between 2017 and 2019. Quite a few of these accidents involved TV sets and stands.

Parents should look for anti-tip or earthquake straps that can help keep such furniture stable. These strips will also hold the electronics firmly in place on top of their mounts and are essential if you want to babyproof electronics. If parents can’t figure out a good way to secure some items, they may need to find more stable replacements for their child’s safety.

These days, most households have dozens of cables and cords plugged in all the time. Babies could handle or chew on these cords and risk electrical shocks, pull down the heavy objects attached to the cord, or even strangle themselves. To minimize this risk, try to keep unattended cords out of reach and consider using cord wraps or cord protectors.

Some developers have released tablet and phone apps for babies as young as one year old. But, of course, parents should provide supervision for these early encounters with very young children and smartphones or tablets.

Screen protectors and cases can protect the device in case the baby drops it or decides it’s more fun to use as a teething toy. Also, make certain that the baby can’t accidentally run up any surprising bills by locking your purchases. Apple and other firms have faced large class-action lawsuits over unintended charges made by children.

Parental foresight and supervision provide the best line of defense between babies and electronics. A baby monitor can help check on children when parents can’t stay in the same room. Even the most diligent parents have to sleep sometimes, right?

Another way to protect your electronics is by purchasing an Upsie extended warranty. Upsie’s warranties protect a range of electronics, including smartphones, tablets, TVs, and more. In addition to offering protection plans for all sorts of electronics and appliances, Upsie also provides extended warranties for baby monitors.