home safe child impairments
Adapting your home to meet your child’s unique needs will help create a space where they can thrive and have a fun, happy childhood. Making your home a safe space can be as small as child-proofing doors and changing lighting to make structural changes to accommodate wheelchairs or other physical aids.
Adjusting for Sensory Impairments
Creating a safe home for your little one with sensory impairments begins with knowing your child’s needs. Know what overstimulates them and what stimulus they need to develop and feed their sensory needs. It can include toning down colors and visual stimuli. Or, you can add tactile stimulation for your child with under-stimulation to feel comfortable.
Reducing Overstimulation
You can help your child stay comfortable and have fun at home by reducing the amount of visual and auditory stimuli throughout your home. Changing the color of the walls throughout your home to a calmer, neutral paint, as well as installing light dimmers and reducing clutter, will help keep visual stimulation to a minimum for your little one, who gets overstimulated quickly.
Additionally, consider adding soundproofing where it is possible to keep too much outside sound from getting into your home. It’s never possible to block out all of the sounds that could stress your child. Creating a comfortable space with low stimulation and even sound-blocking headphones will give them a place to play in comfort.
Create a Sensory Corner
Just like some children get overstimulated easily, many children also experience under-stimulation. This can create a potential safety hazard when looking to satisfy that need. Creating a sensory corner with different textures and stimulating activities will give them a space to go when they crave sensory input.
The base of your little one’s sensory station should be a comfortable, durable sofa. Lovesac offers the perfect couch that will work for you and your little one with a customizable section arrangement and easy-to-remove machine washable covers. Most importantly, Lovesac covers come in various textures and colors to meet your child’s unique needs.
You can also pile various toys, pillows, and blankets on the couch. This will give them a choice of tactile inputs. Adding an MP3 player with sound-blocking headphones will also allow your child to choose different comforting sounds to meet their needs while blocking out any unpleasant noise.
Adjusting for Physical Impairments
For children with physical impairments that make it challenging to move around or require movement aids, their home’s layout and space are crucial in making them feel comfortable and safe.
Open Up Space
The most important thing you can do is make sure there is plenty of space for your child to navigate safely while still playing and just being a kid. Keep furniture around the perimeter of each room, and reduce – or altogether remove – any low-profile furniture like coffee tables and stools that they can easily trip over.
Helping your child keep their toys and belongings away will make it easier for them to play and move around safely. Keep smaller items off the floor and ensure any cords are secured along the wall where possible. This will reduce tripping hazards in the main living space so that you can let your little one play without worry.
Make Simple Furniture Changes
It’s important to foster your child’s urge to explore and be independent. This sometimes requires additional tools for your little one’s unique needs.
Consider changing your furniture with straightforward designs for your child to get in and out without sacrificing comfort. Lovesac will help you find a couch that will work for your family and offer designs that sit slightly lower or with additional armrests to make it both functional and comfortable.
You can also install grab bars in your bathroom and child’s bedroom so they can move around independently when needed. Grabbing bars near the toilet, shower, and your little one’s bed will help foster independence and allow them to grow at their own pace.
Making Your Home Safe for Your Child with Impairments
Every child deserves to feel comfortable and safe in their home. Adapting your home to the needs of your little ones with impairments will help them thrive and enjoy their childhood in a space meant for them. When you put in the effort to design an area with your child’s needs in mind, it will help them develop mentally and physically while reducing stress because you know they’ll be safe.