5 Special Baby Safety Considerations in a Loft Apartment

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5 Special Baby Safety Considerations in a Loft Apartment

Staff Writer · Jul 19, 2010

Many parents prefer not to live in a loft apartment with a baby, because of the safety issues. The main concern is the open space and stairway above the ground floor of the loft, and you have to be very careful, or your baby can fall and suffer serious injury, even death. It might be time to consider moving to a regular one or two bedroom apartment instead, but if that’s not an option right now, then at least make sure these baby safety measures are in place:

1 – Banister Shield

The first thing you’ll want to tackle in your loft apartment are the spaces in between the banister. You baby can easily fit through ones that measure more than 3 inches in width between posts, and fall from the top floor or get stuck in them. A banister shield is made of plastic and sturdy material that you attach to the banister to prevent your baby from entering those spaces. You can buy ones that are transparent. Common measurements for these are 15 inches long and 33 inches high.

2 – Hardware-Mounted Baby Safety Gate

At the top of the stairs, you’ll need to install a hardware-mounted baby safety gate. Avoid pressure-mounted and other baby gates that aren’t permanent. While those are easy to set up, and don’t leave holes in the walls, they don’t work if your baby tries to climb on it. It’s true that you have to install brackets, and your landlord might require you to pay for that, but it’s worth your baby’s safety. Buy two gates, and put one at the top and the other at the bottom of the stairs.

3 -Best Place for Crib

You can keep your baby’s crib upstairs with you in the bedroom, once you baby proof the stairs. For privacy, you can use a divider or screen upstairs that retracts. Your baby will have her own separate area of the room, which may help to teach her to sleep at night. You’ll also have easy access to her in the middle of the night without the need to navigate stairs, to put her back to sleep or to feed her.

4 – Electrical Outlet Caps

Buy electric outlet caps for all of the outlets in your loft apartment. You can find packages that contain 36 caps or more, and you should plug them into outlets that are exposed. Don’t assume that your baby won’t have any interest in electrical outlets, or that the outlets are out of the way. It’s when you least expect it, that she will wonder to those outlets and stick her fingers in it.

5 – Toys

One the easiest and effective ways to keep your baby safe in your loft apartment is to keep toys away from stairs. Don’t give your baby a reason to venture to the stairs in the first place, even after you’ve put up a gate. Be diligent about removing toys as you see them.

Your child’s safety is in your hands, and not your landlord’s. Try to baby proof your loft apartment prior to arriving home with your baby.

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