When we’re childproofing the house, we never pay attention to the dangers of the garage. Many people may not realize it, but the garage can threaten their children’s safety.

Your child can unknowingly get stuck underneath the garage door. Perhaps you store certain items in your garage that can prove harmful if misused.

Therefore, one must ensure their garage is as safe for their children as any other part of the house. Keeping that in mind, we have devised a few preventive and precautionary measures to help you.

THE THREE STEPS TO ENSURE GARAGE DOOR CHILD SAFETY

1. Inspecting The Garage Door And Its Components Regularly

One of the most important things you can do is maintain your garage door regularly. This is the first step to childproofing your garage, as maintenance can help identify any potential issues before they escalate.

  • Ensuring regular garage door repairs and maintenance

All garage door parts (especially the most mobile ones) should be lubricated at least twice a year. Parts, e.g., spring and hinges, can develop cracks or gaps that must be fixed immediately.

If you notice any unusual noises coming from your door, contact a local garage door company immediately for help. Such noises are an indication of broken parts or misaligned tracks. It would be best if you got these bugs fixed before they become a threat to your children.

Inspecting The Garage Door And Its Components Regularly

Inspecting The Garage Door And Its Components Regularly

  • Check the sensors and safety reverse.

Motion sensors are the tiny black boxes on either side of the garage door. They form the door’s safety mechanism. Whenever a person or object is blocking the beam’s path, the sensors detect the object and stop the door’s movements in its path.

The door also has an auto-reverse feature. The auto-reverse is triggered whenever the sensors detect an obstacle, and the door starts moving back up. You can test it by placing a box or a ball under the door. If the door does not stop moving and crushes the object, your sensors are malfunctioning.

You can check the lenses for dirt and clean them if you find any. There might be water drops on the lenses blocking the beam, too. Use a dry cloth to wipe them dry.

  • Replace a garage door with a more efficient model

If you’ve recently shifted homes or have noticed that your garage door has broken down, you might need to replace it. Make sure to get a high-quality and dependable, Smart Garage Door Opener. To save money, you might buy cheap garage doors that are more likely to break down and threaten children.

Childproof Your Garage

Childproof Your Garage

2. Childproof Your Garage

Next, you must seal off small spaces, holes, or gaps the children might get through. Their curiosity often causes them to put small body parts such as fingers into sockets and switchboards. Such accidents should be avoided by childproofing measures.

  • Lock your cars and garage doors

Locking the garage door and the one that leads from the house to the garage is essential. This way, your child can not get into your garage at all.

  • Keep your floor tool-free

Ensuring that you do not leave any clutter lying around is necessary. This way, your children will neither step on them nor pick them up and hurt themselves with them.

  • Put dangerous items on the top shelf!

Many people keep their garage’s harmful objects such as toxic chemicals, tools, etc. Such items should be stored outside the children’s reach to ensure their safety.

  • Purchase a remote with child safety features

The garage door remote should always be kept safely away from a child’s reach. However, getting a remote with child safety features ensures that even if you accidentally leave it lying around, your children won’t be able to use it.

3. Educate Your Child On Garage Safety Precautions

The most crucial step is to teach your child about Garage Safety. Although rebellious, you can teach them some measures they might follow.

For older children who can play independently, you direct them to stay away from certain areas or object in the garage.

Educate Your Child On Garage Safety Precautions

Educate Your Child On Garage Safety Precautions

  • Teach garage safety

The following are some precautions you should teach your kids:

  • Never tell anyone the garage door’s password, even if they’re someone you know
  • Remove objects from the door’s path while closing it
  • Do not tinker with the door when it’s opening or closing
  • Do not touch any metal parts of the door

  • Explain the danger zones

Children should be made aware of the dangerous areas of the garage. For example, children should never go near the lifting cables. They are under high tension at all times. Hence if they break, the entire door could come crashing on your children.

The threats of a misaligned sensor should also be explained to the children. It not only scares them but also makes them cautious.

Bottom Line

Have your children been up to mischief in your garage? Are you afraid they might hurt themselves while fooling around? If yes, it’s high time you took measures to make your garage childproof. After all, there’s nothing more important than our children’s safety!