If you own a home and have children, you want to know that
your kids are protected from potential accidents and injuries. And considering
there are many risks around your home that you may not even think about,
considering what you need to do to make it safer for your child is more than
just a value proposition, it is a matter of safeguarding your loved ones.
This is where your garage door comes in. Garage doors post
inherent risks to children, whether it be from vehicles, floors, objects
related to the function of the garage door. Beyond the garage door itself,
depending on how you use your garage, there could be any number of risks
associated objects lying around your garage. You want to do a proper evaluation
of your garage to determine whether it poses a risk to a child who may wander
into it, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you have liquids or tools lying around your
garage that could harm your child? - Are you ensuring proper garage door maintenance?
- Is your garage cluttered with dangerous objects?
- How easy is it for your child to enter and exit
the garage?
Your answers to these questions will determine how
child-safe your garage is.
Steps to
Childproofing Your Garage
Once you have done a proper evaluation of the garage, you
want to take the necessary steps to childproof it. Do you have chemicals or
other dangerous liquids within reach? Even your child is young, and you think
they may not be able to reach objects on shelves, they may use stools or
counters to try and reach the items. The best way to prevent this is by
utilizing locked cabinet that can be kept as out of reach for small children as
possible.
One of the things just about any homeowner with a garage
struggles with is clutter. It is extremely important for the safety of your
children – and even yourself in some cases – to get rid of clutter in the home.
Never leave tools and supplies strewn haphazardly around the garage. Always
store potentially dangerous objects when you are done with them.
You also want to consider the entrance and exit to your
garage from within the house. Do you routinely keep the door locked? Far too
many families keep the interior door unlocked because they believe they are
safe if the garage door is closed, but that poses an unnecessary risk if your
child enters the garage through the interior door.
Finally, do you lock your car even when it is parked in your
garage? You want to make sure you don’t leave your car unlocked expecting everything
is okay, then end up with a problem if your child or toddler does get into the
garage and car. What if they grab your keys? Might they turn the car on and
potentially get locked into the garage? You can imagine how this would turn
out. Not good. Prevent it by locking your car even when it is parked in the
garage.
You could also consider installing a Dutch door on your
garage exit. This allows you to close the bottom half of the door and leave the
top half open for fresh air or to move objects in or out of the garage. While
installing a different type of inner door may seem extreme, what is too extreme
when it comes to the safety of your child?
Examining Garage Door
Safety
Automatic garage doors can cause injury to a child or
toddler if they are not managed properly. While you may think having a garage
door opener will always be safe, you must always also keep it secure. To many
children, opening and closing a garage door can be like operating a giant toy. All
a child must do is reach the garage door button or grab the remote from off
your keychain and enter the garage to “play” with the door. Even with motion
sensors installed, there are ways the garage door can injure your child.
Whether it be through getting caught in the door itself or
getting hurt by moving parts, there is danger here. Compounding the fact, small
children usually cannot reach the emergency cord to shut the door. You want to
make sure you test the sensitivity of your garage door’s motion sensor to see
if it can sense objects as small as a couple inches. Consider that is the size
of a child’s finger and the importance of this task becomes clear.
The condition of your garage door comes into focus when you
evaluate whether it presents a danger to your child. Is your garage door
properly maintained? Is it old or are there components that are not functioning
properly? Garage door technology is always evolving with new ways to make it
more secure, not just from thieves, but from little ones who might wander into
the garage.
The fact is this: No measure is too much where the
protection of your little ones is concerned. Always take accounting of the
condition of your garage and look for ways in which it may pose an unwanted
risk to your child. Don’t wait to make changes that might keep the unthinkable
from happening. Your garage may not necessarily be a “living space” in your
home, but it is no less important and should be looked at through a careful
eye.
Is your garage door old, worn out, in need of repair, or possibly presenting an unnecessary risk to you and your family? Don’t wait. Learn more about how we can quickly, safely, and cost-effectively repair or install a new garage door for you simply by contacting your Expert Garage Door Professionals.