A Guide to Creating a Safe Play Area For Your Baby

When your baby gets old enough to start playing, there are many things to take into consideration. It’s a very good idea to give your baby to have their own personal space to play in—you might not realize it, but babies need independence!

The best way to do this is to give them a safe, designated play area. Since your home will be different than my home or anyone else’s home, it will take some thought and creativity on your own part to create the perfect baby play area.

However, there are some general tips you can follow that will definitely help in your planning.

Tips For Maximizing the Safety of Your Baby’s Play Area

It’s very important that your play area is safe; many children are injured or killed in accidents at home. There are some things you can do to make your play area as safe as possible, and here are some of them.

• The play area must always have someone to supervise at all times. Whether it’s you, your partner, another family member or an older, responsible sibling, someone should be keeping an eye on your baby at all times.
• The ideal play area will be in a safe area of the house, with no access to stairs, no furniture or other items that might topple over, etc. There should also be nothing that your child might try to climb up onto or play with.
• Cover all electrical outlets with a socket cover. It’s even better if you can put the play area in a room without any electrical sockets in reach at all.
• Make sure that there are no dangling cords, curtain or blind drawstrings, or anything else that might be a strangulation hazard if within your baby’s reach.
• The play area should be completely clean at all times. Even the most insignificant piece of dust in the ground will quickly end up in your curious baby’s mouth. Be sure to clean it on a regular basis, and keep an eye out for any foreign objects that might end up in your baby’s reach.
• Give your play area a smooth, easy surface to play on. When your baby is crawling or learning to walk, they will be falling over a lot. A good solution to this is are interlocking foam play mats: they make a perfect floor for your baby’s play area.
• Play close attention to the baby toys you purchase. Always be sure to adhere to the age limits suggested by manufacturers, and remember that any toys with small parts are a choking hazard.

What to Buy For a Baby’s Play Area

There are many items you might want to consider purchasing for your baby’s play area. From safety items to toys, here are some of the things to think about.

• Playpens & Playards — A playpen or playard is something many parents use in their child’s play area. They are especially useful for when your child is younger, because they make for a perfect small play area, but be sure to always have someone supervising while they’re in it. You can read our guide on finding the best playpen and best playard for advice.
• Baby Toys — Of course, you’ll need baby toys! As mentioned, make sure that you purchase baby toys that are age-appropriate as well as suitable for a play area. Our guide on the best baby toys will probably be a help to you.
• Baby Gates — If your playard is going to be in an area near stairs (not recommended) or you want to be able to keep your child out of other rooms of the house, a baby gate is a great solution. Our information on the best baby gate will give you more information on these items.
• Electrical Outlet Covers — If your play area has electrical outlets within your child’s reach, it’s absolutely vital to cover them out with outlet covers. Our preferred supplier, Amazon, has a great deal on electrical outlet covers that you can see by clicking here.
• Foam Flooring — Foam flooring is an excellent idea to protect your child from falls, which will definitely happen. It’s a low-cost solution that I recommend. You can see Amazon’s selection of interlocking foam flooring right here.

Final Thoughts

Designing a neat baby play area is pretty easy if you do enough planning. Above all, just make sure that it’s safe. While the above tips should definitely help, using common sense will help adapt the tips to your particular home. I’m sure you’ll be able to make a great play area for your baby in no time!