Making Your Child’s Bedroom A Safety Zone

We have all heard the horror stories, like the one that was found in the headlines of a recent edition of the Star Tribune, that involve an intruder breaking into a child’s bedroom.  In this story, it was a seven year old girl who was terrified to find a man beside her bed in the middle of the night.

While locking doors and windows can help defend against this, there are, unfortunately, many other concerns that one must consider before putting their child to sleep at night.  There are a few things that parents can do to ensure kids of all ages sleep a little more safely. 

A child’s bedroom set should be set within the room, with special emphasis paid to the door and the windows.  Access to the door should be quick and easy, in case the child needs to get out during the night for any reason.  Furthermore, pieces of furniture such as nightstands or dressers that have sharp edges should be tucked out of the way of little heads that could be cut or seriously bruised when a kid runs through the room.  While many sets will include nightstands, there is also the option of choosing a storage bed that has drawers and shelves built-in.  This will free up the space that would otherwise be eaten up by the side table and will also help prevent accidental collisions.

Windows, as mentioned above, are also an important point to consider when laying out a child’s room.  His or her bed should not be placed in front of windows that can be easily reached.  Accidents involving falls or broken glass are far too likely if this is the case.  However, windows should not be seen as the enemy either.  In case of a fire, a child’s bedroom window can be a lifeline.  It is still recommended that something be displayed in the window that would give rescue workers a clue that a child sleeps in the room.