Practical tips for a house with children in it. Mostly about making the house work, and about the few safety things that are worth being rigid on.
Safety, where being fussy is justified
- Blind cords. A genuine and continuing cause of child deaths. Cleats, safety clips, or
cordless blinds, and cots and beds away from windows.
- Button batteries. Swallowing one causes severe internal burns within hours. They are in
remotes, toys, scales and greetings cards. Treat a suspected swallow as an emergency.
- Liquid laundry capsules, which look like sweets and cause chemical burns. High and shut
away, always.
- Water. A child can drown in very little, very quickly and silently. Never leave a small
child alone in a bath, not for a moment.
- Hot drinks, which stay hot enough to scald a child for far longer than people assume.
- Furniture anchored to the wall. Chests of drawers tip when climbed.
The practical stuff
- Wash stains out before they go anywhere near heat. Most children's stains are protein
or fruit, and heat sets both. See stain removal.
- Label everything that leaves the house. A laundry marker on a care label survives more
washes than sewn-in tags.
- One box per category, not per room. Children can tidy by category long before they can
tidy by any other logic.
- Buy uniform big and hem it rather than buying twice.
- Sun cream in the bag all summer, because the day it matters is the day you did not plan
on being out.
And the thing that is not a tip
Most of it will not stay tidy, and that is not a failure of system. Aim for a house that resets quickly rather than one that stays perfect.