Kid bedroom should be filled with toys. According to pediatricians, though, there are a handful of things, including those intended for kids, that parents may want to avoid to make the room safer.
Insider consulted with five pediatricians who discussed in their children's playroom what they would stop seeing. Pediatricians also recommend saving the phone number for poison control, taking a CPR lesson, and reading first aid tips.
From toy chests to exposed sockets, when planning your kid's bedroom, in this article, we will show the toys pediatricians suggest to think twice before using them.
READ: On Survival: 6 Essential Life Skills that Early Kid Should Know by Age 10
6 Things Pediatricians Won't Keep in Kid's Bedroom
1. As these can cause hearing loss, one pediatrician advises staying clear of super loud toys.
A mother of three, ER pediatrician Dr. Nkeiruka Orajiaka, said, "Growing up, we always wanted our toys to be the loudest,"
But Orajiaka says parents might want to stay away from toys that may be loud enough to harm their kids' ears.
The Sight and Hearing Association found that within 15 minutes of using them, some familiar toys could cause harm. If one of these toys happens to be your child's favorite, try some plastic packaging tape to cover the speaker, which will dampen the sound. Or just removed the batteries from the toys and let your children use them without proper function.
2. A playroom that is unbracketed or unstable furniture should also be avoided.
Every Insider pediatrician said that parents should make sure their heavy furniture is correctly fixed to the wall.
"In any room, we have to be concerned about the furniture," Dr. Meghan Martin, said. Dr. Martin is an emergency physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and is a mom of four.
"Furniture really should be secured to the wall using a bracket, wall strap, anchor - something that's pretty strong. So if the kid does try and climb on it, it's not going to tip over on them," she added.
It can make an enormous difference when using easy, cheap brackets or furniture straps.
3. One pediatrician urged families not to use a baby walker.
One pediatrician, who is also a lactation consultant and mother, Dr. Syeda Amna Husain, said her kids never used a baby walker. That's because research suggests that they might not be healthy.
An unattended baby can easily walk into unsafe areas of a house, such as a staircase, pool, or hot stove, while using a walker. They could bump into a wall as well, which could disassemble art or Furniture.
A ban on the sale and manufacture of mobile infant walkers was called for by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It advises parents to ditch baby walkers and instead opt for stationary activity centers or playpens.
4. Pediatricians recommend that parents sort through children's toys to eliminate any tiny parts that could present a danger of choking.
Children ages six months to three years are at the most significant risk for choking on food and non-food products, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics' Healthy Children website.
Every pediatrician also said that small pieces of toys are a possible risk of choking the babies.
5. In the playroom and the entire household, pediatricians suggest that heavy artwork and mirrors be avoided.
Heavy wall art, mirrors, sculptures, or other furniture have a high chance of falling onto your child. It could cause severe injuries if the decor is encased in glass or has sharp corners.
If you want to have some artwork, it is best to choose light pieces and make sure to safely hang the artwork in a place far from where your child is playing.
6. Since it can smash small fingers, a toy chest is a no-go because if a child climbs inside, they might struggle to get out.
In the homes of Dr. Orajiaka or Dr. Krupa Playforth, a Virginia-based pediatrician and mother of two, you won't find a toy chest for a handful of reasons.
Potentially, the toy chest or a bin with a lid may close on the infant, crushing their fingers or other parts of the body. Perhaps worse, a child might climb into the chest and get stuck and suffocated by mistake.
The U.S. Consumer Product Protection Commission emphasizes the possibility of risks of toy chests, reporting 34 deaths directly related to toy chests between 1996 and 2014.
Alternatively, parents should go for a toy bin that has no lid.
