According to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), an estimated one million children under the age of 15 experience accidents around the home—and that’s in the UK alone. Sadly, most of these are preventable.

Every parent knows that baby proofing the home is tricky business. Children’s short statures, curious natures and inexperience mean there are boundless opportunities for them to get injured. On top of that, babies and toddlers have a knack for finding the one danger that’s slipped through their parents’ radar.

The ROSPA places the most serious accidents in the kitchen and on the stairs. For that reason, my husband and I have decided to purchase multiple gates for our home. These effectively prevent our family's youngest from accessing these areas unless supervised. Baby International offers a great range of gates and room dividers starting at ¥380. We’ve also purchased a roll of anti-slip tape for the stairs for just ¥29.90.

Another must in our home: corner bumpers. While tearing around our house, my son has come dangerously close to catching a corner of a table on more than one occasion. We love Ikea’s hand-shaped corner bumpers, which brighten up the room with their fun design (¥59 for a pack of eight) in addition to helping to prevent injury.

Children’s inquisitive natures mean that once they are mobile, they will explore all areas of the home. To them, drawers and cupboards are treasure troves worthy of some serious investigation. To prevent trapped fingers and broken valuables, I recommend purchasing cupboard and drawer locks from Lijia Baby. The adhesive cupboard locks (¥18) are also surprisingly handy on windows.

Last but not least, my husband and I have made a point of covering all of our electrical sockets with outlet covers to keep tiny fingers out. These are available from any of the stores mentioned earlier.

For more information and tips on home safety, take a look at www.homesafetycouncil.org. With a small investment in time and money, it is easy to keep the whole family safe.

How do you babyproof your home? Give us more tips and tricks in the comments below