As we near the end of the boys' bedroom makeover, safety is something that has been on my mind from day one. There are lots of little things to think about, and something I think gets overlooked is electrical safety. It's easy to think about large pieces of furniture, keeping sharp things out of their reach, and making sure they don't fall off the bed. Those are all important, but sometimes the things we don't always see are just as vital. That's why I'm giving you 5 things to think about when it comes to electrical safety in your home, and specifically, in kids' rooms.

1. HIDING CORDS

 Our boys may be turning 3 soon, but we'd still like to keep an eye on them, so we'll be keeping a video monitor in here. Of course, that means there will be a cord running from the camera to the outlet, and curious hands might be tempted to play with the cords. For this reason, we use a cord cover (did you know they're even paintable, so you can have them match your wall colour?). They're super easy to put up and literally just need to be stuck onto the wall. If you're really careful, they can even be removed without damaging the paint underneath, but even if a little paint comes up, it's totally worth it for the added safety. For their sconces, we attached the cord to the wall so it can't be pulled.

2. HIRING PROFESSIONALS

We're avid DIY-ers in this house, but even we have our limits, and electrical work is it. When we first moved into this house, there was a lot to be done, including switching over most of the outlets and switches, on top of some rewiring. Having a Licensed Electrical Contractor who is qualified to do the job put our minds at ease, and we know we don't have to worry about whether or not the job was done correctly. If you want to find a Licensed Electrical Contractor in your area, you can look for one using ESA online look-up tool. 

3. CHILD PROOFING

Rather than using anything to cover up outlets, we opted for child safety outlets, also known as tamper resistant outlets, everywhere. This means the boys can't just shove things into the outlets, and we can rest easy knowing this is the best way to keep them safe. You can read more about the types of outlets you should use on the Electrical Safety Authority site. We also replaced any cracked or broken plates, to also make sure there would be no curious fingers trying to get into anything, keeping them safe from a potential shock!

4. USING POWER BARS

At one point, we had a noise machine, night light, the monitor and a lamp all being plugged into the same outlet. This meant we had to get a proper power bar with surge protection to ensure we wouldn't run into any issues. I kept  the power bar up high on their dresser so it was completely out of reach. Here's it's hidden behind the dresser with velcro!

5. EDUCATION (Next Steps)

As the boys get older, we'll be teaching them how to safely plug and unplug things, and to never yank on cords. Letting them know how to properly do this ensures they are always safe, and we model this behaviour to them now so that, even if subconsciously, they're aware of it.Thanks so much to the Electrical Safety Authority for sponsoring this post and helping us keep the kiddos a bit safer! As always, the opinions stated here are all my own, and I just want to help you be a little safer, too!