When it comes to making your home safe for your baby, it can feel quite overwhelming at times. If you are wondering if you should hire a professional babyproofer, then you have come to the right place! We want you to feel totally comfortable with the safety standards of your house!
First of all, I want to point out that not all areas have “professional babyproofers” available for hire, so just because you might want one, doesn’t mean you will be able to find one. In certain situations, you may be able to hire a local handyman if you need professional help with installations, though.
Secondly, remember that most professional babyproofers are not cheap to hire, so make sure that you have the budget in place to afford this unique and wonderful service. A professional babyproofer puts a lot of time and effort into knowing their business and will charge for both the evaluation and any installation.
So let’s say that you live in an area where you can hire a professional babyproofer AND can afford one…should you hire one?
In most situations, yes, we do recommend that you do!
*Even if you are quite handy and wish to do all the installations yourself, the evaluation services are worth their weight in gold!
So, just to make it clear, most professional babyproofers have at least two distinct services:
Part One: The Evaluation — This is when they come to your home and look for all the hazardous areas that need to be addressed. The great thing is that they are full of great advice and are trained to look for problem areas that the average parent just simply wouldn’t notice!
Some of the potential hazards that they will address will apply to when your child is crawling and others will be designated as hazards for a toddler who is walking. Then the babyproofer will write you a detailed list and the corresponding costs associated with tackling each necessary area.
Make sure you address any special situations that you know of, such as if your child has special needs or unique spaces. Plus use this opportunity to discuss if you have decided to use certain products or brands, to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
Part Two: The Installation — This portion of the professional babyproofer’s job involves correctly installing each product in the necessary areas. Keep in mind that it probably won’t take them nearly as long to do this as it would for you to! Remember they’ve had lots of practice!
Oftentimes when you hire a professional babyproofer, you will end up with better quality products, since they have access to great babyproofing solutions. Plus, you will surely get less damage to your walls, baseboards, and door frames because they know what to avoid.
It’s even possible that not only will you be saving yourself a lot of time in installation, you might even save money overall by heeding their “unique solutions” and “up-to-date” safety advice and keeping the damage to your home to a minimum.
When should I make an appointment with a professional babyproofer?
To get the most out of your investment if you should hire a professional babyproofer, we suggest getting your evaluation done before your baby can crawl, so probably around the time they reach 4 months or so.
Remember that kids who grow up in a babyproof-ed environment accept it all as normal and rarely fight against it!
According to a report by the Center for Disease Control, over 16,000 children under the age of 4 years died from preventable causes such as drowning, suffocation, or being struck by falling objects. Don’t take any chances with your baby. Think ahead and prepare for proper babyproofing!
*If for some reason you have excellent handyman skills, please don’t think that we are trying to say that you shouldn’t install your own babyproofing products. Even people who have no experience can hang a baby gate successfully! So if you don’t hire anyone, that’s okay, too!
Happy Baby Gating and Happy Babyproofing!
