1. Baby on the Loose
Learning to crawl is an important milestone for your child, but it also means the start of the baby protection era for you. Suddenly your sedentary baby turns into a curious explorer, able to get into a slew of hazards. Every year, 2.5 million children are killed or injured accidentally by hazards in the home. The leading cause of death for children under the age of 14 is unintentional injury. It's important to have a childproof home, which includes the refrigerator because your baby can climb in there and be deprived of oxygen. In addition to that safety hazard, he can open the door and pull out everything inside. He may also drop a glass container, so you want to keep him out of the fridge.
2. Clean it up
Take care of the outside of the refrigerator. Move any refrigerator magnets, pictures and other choking hazards that are on the front of the refrigerator door up higher, out of your baby's reach. If any of them are prone to falling off the fridge, take them off entirely. It's better not to take the chance.
3. Latch out Little Fingers
Buy an appliance latch. They are easy to find at any baby store, big box store or online. They're simple to install because most styles are peel-n-stick. Peel the two parts apart and press one side to the refrigerator and the other to the door. The fridge will open just a little bit, but your child's little fingers won't be able to get inside. Make sure the childproof locks that you choose will disable temporarily when adults want to get into the refrigerator. Many styles have a press to release function that you can operate but not your baby. There are also some with an on and off feature so you can disable it once the baby's in bed. It's also important to take into account the type of fridge you have. Most latches will work with side-by-side and top-and-bottom refrigerator models. You'll need two latches for side-by-side models.
4. Higher is Better
Put drinks and anything else in a glass container as high up in the refrigerator as possible. This especially pertains to alcoholic drinks. Place all beer bottles and liquor high up because if your child does manage to get in the fridge, you want to make sure he doesn't get into the alcohol. You also want to ensure that glass containers don't fall out and break on the kitchen floor.
5. Cabinets are For Storage, not Fridges
Keep the top of the refrigerator relatively sparse. There's a chance your little one will try to get into the fridge by pulling hard on the handles, not understanding why mommy and daddy can open it and he can't. If he does that and you have vases or appliances stored on top of the appliance, there is the chance he can rock them right off the top and onto his head. While he's no He-man, if the fridge has any sort of give to it, this could be another legitimate danger.
