Having a safe home is a top priority for most families so learning How to Make Your Home Safe for Both the Young and Elderly is very important.
This is especially true if you have both young children and elderly parents living within the home.
Both the old and the young are more prone to accidents within the home, making it essential that you take some steps to protect them.
Below are some simple steps you can use to make your home a lot safer and hopefully avoid any emergencies.
Table of Contents
Install Safety Gates
Safety gates are perfect for children who have just learned to crawl or are starting to walk.
Rather than baby-proofing the entire home, you can simply put up some safety gates to keep children out of some rooms.
You can also place safety gates at the top of stairs to prevent children from attempting to go down on their own.
Safety gates are typically easy to set up and taken down, meaning you can easily move them out of the way when your child goes to bed.
To learn more about the proper way to install a safety gate you can check out this guide.
Stair Railings
If the stairs in your home do not currently have railings, you will want to install some.
Railings provide support when you’re attempting to go up or downstairs, which is important for people who cannot walk that well.
You’ll want your children to have something to hold onto as they learn to navigate stairs, and anyone older in your home will appreciate the extra support.
Installing a railing is typically an easy job, you just need to ensure that it is securely fastened to the wall.
Find a railing that not only goes with your décor but is easy to hold onto.
Non-slip Surfaces
According to RosewoodHomecare.com, a home care provider in Georgia, “Falls are the leading cause of injuries and deaths in elderly Americans.”
If you have any slippery surfaces around your home, falling becomes even more likely.
For example, you may have a tile floor within your bathroom or shower or a smooth stone walkway right next to your pool.
With any potentially slippery floor surface in your home, you should look for a way to make it more stable.
In fact, you could add a shower mat that increases traction or add an outdoor rug on top of your slippery stones to improve pool safety.
Falling is all too easy when you’re young or elderly, so do what you can to make your floors as easy to grip as possible.
Emergency Button
If an accident does occur, you’ll want emergency services to arrive as quickly as possible.
One way you can get this is by purchasing an emergency button.
An emergency button is a small device that elderly people can wear that when pushed will immediately connect them with the local emergency responders.
You can even teach your slightly older children how to use the button so that they can use it should an accident happen to a grandparent while they are babysitting.
During an accident you may not be able to get to a phone and every second counts, so get yourself an emergency button just in case.
Avoid Sharp Edges
Finally, you should look to remove any sharp edges around your home.
For example, you may have a rectangular coffee table or dresser somewhere in your home.
If someone falls in the house, you don’t want to make the matter worse by having them fall into something sharp.
Besides that, young children often run around without looking where they are going and are liable to bump into that sharp corner and cause an injury.
If you can’t get rid of the furniture with the sharp edge, opt instead to cover it up with something soft, like a cut-up pool noodle.
Make Your Home Safer
We all take basic safety precautions around the home.
We make sure our smoke alarms work, that we don’t leave the stove on and that there’s a working fire extinguisher somewhere nearby.
But when you have young and old living under the same roof, it’s important that you take a few extra precautions.
So, take some time and examine what things you could do to improve the safety of your home.
Maybe you need to get rid of some sharp furniture or make your shower a little less slippery.
Whatever it is, make a list, then start putting your plans into action.
When everyone in your home is able to remain safe and injury-free, you’ll be glad you did.
Check out these related articles; A Baby Friendly Home, Are you Worried about losing your Independence when you Retire and 5 Essential Tasks When Moving to a New Home.
