If you’re a parent, you know that any area of the house can pose safety hazards for your children. When left unattended, for instance, they can fall off the bed in the bedroom, slip on a wet bathroom floor or choke on toys in their playroom.

For these reasons and others like them, it’s essential to create a safe environment for your children. You can install a guard rail on your bed, put slip-proof carpets and rugs in your bath and screen their toys for choking hazards. And don’t neglect to childproof another part of your Cairns property: the garage.

The Potential Hazards in Your Garage

Think for a moment about what’s in your garage and you’ll quickly realise that it’s a potentially harmful environment for children. Apart from your vehicle, you probably have sharp tools, toxic substances and countless other items that could injure a child if not securely stored. Even your garage door, if not maintained properly, can be dangerous.

Of course, you don’t typically leave your kids in the garage. But apart from keeping it off-limits, apply the following childproofing methods as a precautionary measure:

1. Secure the access from your house to the garage

Prevention is better than cure, so the first step in childproofing your garage is to control children’s access to it. Make sure the door leading to your garage is always locked. Installing a Dutch door, with its two independent top and bottom sections, may also be a good idea. This allows you to see into the house or pass items through the open top door while preventing children from getting through with the bottom part locked.

2. Lock up dangerous substances

Leftover paint, fertilizer, pesticide, petrol and other chemicals are items often found in the garage. Keep these and other toxic or poisonous materials out of your child’s reach, and under lock and key. When left within your child’s reach, like on the floor of your garage or in a low, unlocked cabinet, these substances may be accidentally ingested by your little one.

According to Healthdirect Australia, children below five years old have the highest risk of accidental poisoning, so keeping these substances out of their reach, in locked drawers or cabinets, is essential to childproofing the area.

3. Make vehicles inaccessible to children

Kids are always on the lookout for someplace new to play in and your car is no exception. This is a potential hazard because they might climb in and accidentally get locked inside. This can result in suffocation or heat stroke, especially in the summer. That is why car doors and trunks should remain locked when not in use. 

4. Store tools properly

Power tools, heavy storage boxes, garden tools and other odds and ends that are typically stored in the garage are potential hazards to children. These tools may pose a tripping hazard for or may fall on your child.  That’s why, like chemical substances, you must keep these things stored and locked up securely.

5. Maintain your garage door

At least once a month, you should perform a quick maintenance check of your Cairns home’s garage door. A malfunctioning garage door is one of the biggest dangers to your children because it might suddenly fall on them.

Make sure the garage door and motor are operating smoothly. Check the cables, springs and pulleys and listen for unusual creaks. Make sure your garage door remote is functioning well.

If there’s something wrong, you can always call for maintenance services. Tablelands-based Infinite Garage Doors offers garage door spring, motor and remote repair services in Cairns. With our high-quality repair and maintenance services, we’ll help you keep your garage a safe place for children.

Contact Infinite Garage Doors at 041 299 581 to schedule a service; we’d love to hear from you