At what age do i need to child proof my home toddler at home?

What the evidence says

There isn't one single "magic age" to childproof your home. Instead, pediatric safety experts say the best time is before your baby needs it, not after. That usually means starting around 4 to 6 months old, well before most babies start crawling.

The Canadian Paediatric Society advises parents to think ahead about what their child will be able to do next, and to add things like cupboard locks and latches before the baby can actually crawl to them. The idea is to stay one skill ahead of your child, rather than reacting after an injury happens.

HealthLinkBC in Canada and the American Academy of Pediatrics give the same basic timeline: babyproof before your baby is crawling, and have stair gates ready before your baby can climb or pull up to stand. Both groups stress this isn't a one-time task. As your child grows from rolling, to crawling, to walking, to climbing, new hazards appear, so you keep adjusting your home.

There's also some real research behind this. A randomized controlled trial that installed safety devices like stair gates, cabinet locks, and smoke detectors in homes when babies were around 6 months old found a 70 percent drop in injuries that were preventable by those devices, compared to homes that didn't get the devices.

In short: begin basic safety steps, like outlet covers, cupboard locks, and stair gates, by about 4 to 6 months, and keep checking your home at each new stage, from early crawling through the toddler years when climbing and opening things becomes possible.