Staying with grandma and grandpa: babyproofing a second home

A house that is not set up for a crawler

An afternoon or night at grandma and grandpa's is a fixed part of the week for many families, and usually it goes well. Yet the grandparents' house is rarely set up for a baby who grabs everything and wants to reach everywhere. The cupboards are full of glassware at knee height, the medicines are on the worktop and the stairs have no gate. Grandparents often raised children themselves years ago, with different rules and different equipment, and as a result do not always see the risks anymore. This article helps you walk through the house calmly together with them, without it feeling like criticism. The goal is a place where your child is safe and where grandma and grandpa can babysit with peace of mind.

The conversation: looking together instead of imposing

Most accidents at grandparents' homes happen not through unwillingness, but through habit and through things that have been there for years. So start with a conversation instead of a list of demands: ask whether you can do a round of the house together at your child's height. Literally walk bent over or on your knees, so that you both see what a crawler sees. Explain why certain advice has changed since their own children were small, such as the rules for safe sleeping and the advice on baby walkers. Offer to bring a stair gate or cupboard locks yourself, then it feels less like an order. Agree which rooms your child does and does not enter; a closed door is often simpler than adapting a whole room.

The sleepover checklist in six points

• •Medicines, vitamins and the pill organiser high up and locked away, not on the worktop or bedside table
• •Cleaning products and dishwasher tablets out of the cupboard under the sink
• •Stair gate or a closed door at the stairs, even for a single step
• •A safe bed of their own: cot or travel cot with a bare mattress, no duvet or pillow
• •Sockets covered and loose cables from lamps and chargers tucked away
• •Old baby equipment from the attic first checked for CE marking and recalls

Medicines: the biggest difference from home

Grandparents' homes more often contain medicines than your own, and they are often within easy reach: blood pressure pills in a pill organiser on the table, painkillers in the kitchen drawer, an ointment on the bedside table. Many adult medicines are dangerous for a baby even in small amounts, and the colourful pills in a pill organiser look suspiciously like sweets. Ask whether all medicines can go in a locked cupboard or on a high shelf, also during the visit, and whether the pill organiser goes straight back after use. The same applies to the handbag with peppermints, pills and a lighter; it is best hung high on a hook. If your child has taken something anyway, call your GP or the out-of-hours GP service immediately and keep the packaging at hand; doctors consult the Dutch National Poisons Information Centre (NVIC) if needed. If your child has trouble breathing or is unconscious, call 112.

Old things from the attic: cot, playpen and high chair

Many grandparents keep the cot, the playpen or the high chair from the old days, and would love to use them again. That is a lovely gesture, but old baby equipment does not always meet current safety requirements. For a cot, check the distance between the bars, the height of the side and whether the base is still sturdy; for a playpen, look at bars, hinges and a stable base. A high chair needs a harness and a sturdy stance, and an old baby walker is not used, not even because it happens to still be there. If in doubt, search online whether the product has ever been recalled and check whether a CE marking and instructions are included. A new travel cot is often cheaper than you think and takes these worries away in one go.

Sleeping at grandma and grandpa's

For a sleepover, the same rules apply as at home: on the back, in a bed of their own, on a firm mattress without a duvet, pillow, bumper or large soft toys. Go through the rules beforehand, because many grandparents put their own children to sleep on their tummy or under a small duvet. Bring your own sleeping bag and a familiar comforter, so that the environment is new but the ritual stays recognisable. Place the cot away from windows, curtain cords, radiators and sockets, and check the temperature in the room. If one of the grandparents smokes, discuss that there is no smoking indoors or near the child. If in doubt about sleeping at a sleepover address, the consultatiebureau (child health clinic) is happy to advise.

Kitchen, bathroom and living room in one round

Go through the three busiest rooms with the eye you use at home. In the kitchen it is about cleaning products under the sink, dishwasher tablets, knives in a low drawer, hot drinks on tablecloths and pans on the front burners. In the bathroom, look at medicines, razor blades and mouthwash, a closed toilet lid and never leaving a child alone with a bath full of water. In the living room, look at sharp corners of coffee tables, a TV that can tip over, houseplants that may be poisonous, small objects on low side tables and cables from lamps and chargers. Small measures already help: a cupboard lock on the cleaning cupboard, a corner protector and a fixed high place for the coffee. The room checklists in this app can be used directly for this.

Garden, shed and pets

Grandparents more often have a garden, a shed and a pet, and each of them deserves an extra look. Ponds, rain barrels and buckets of water are a drowning risk, even with a low water level, and are best covered or emptied while you are there. The shed with tools, pesticides and fertilisers stays locked. A dog or cat that is not used to babies is never left alone with your child in a room, however sweet the animal is. Also look at berries and low-hanging fruit in the garden and at the gate to the street. For a summer sleepover, the rules for sun and heat from the seasonal guide in this app apply as well.

Agreements for when something happens

However well the house is prepared, agreements for emergencies are part of a sleepover. Make sure grandma and grandpa have your phone number, the GP's number and the address of the nearest out-of-hours GP service at hand. Also write your child's current weight and any allergies on a note, so that a doctor can act quickly. Let them know which medicines your child uses and how you give them, and leave the dosing syringe with them. A first aid course for grandparents, for example through the Red Cross, is a gift that lasts for years. And the most important rule stays simple: if in doubt, call your GP, the out-of-hours GP service or 112.

A place that belongs to all of you

A babyproof house at grandma and grandpa's does not have to be a renovation. A stair gate, a few cupboard locks, a high shelf for medicines and a safe cot cover most of the risks. The rest is habit: closing doors, putting the pill organiser away and hanging the bag on the hook. Repeat the round of the house when your child enters a new phase, because a crawler and a climber call for different measures. Keep the conversation open and thank the grandparents for their effort, because they care for your child with love. Use the room checklists in this app as a shared tool, so that you all have the same list in mind.