7 Things Every Parent Needs for Their Home
Being a parent is tough enough – having to run to the store every other hour for something new to take care of your little ones is even tougher! That’s why it’s a good idea to make sure your home is stocked with certain essentials, ranging from supplies to decorations to certain furniture, whether you have a newborn (or several) or a few older kids always making messes. Here are seven things every parent needs for their home that you should buy the next time you go shopping.
Plastic Outlet Covers
When you have little ones of any age, you need to keep them away from your electrical outlets! That means investing in a handful of plastic outlet covers.
These handy-dandy devices can be slotted into open outlets, but are difficult to remove for anyone without a plastic or wooden tool. For kids under the age of two, plastic outlet covers might as well be steel shields. Use these to provide yourself with peace of mind and rest assured that your child can’t stick butter knives into open outlets when you aren't looking.
Washable Rugs
Let’s face it: kids make a ton of messes! Even if you teach them not to run with a drink in their hands, sooner or later someone will spill juice all over the floor or rug.
But that’s not a problem if you line your floors with washable rugs instead of pricy ones. Washable rugs can be cleaned just as easily as dirty laundry, so they will save you a lot of headaches down the road while also letting you decorate your family home to impress guests. Pick up a couple of washable rugs and swap them out for your standard rugs until your kids can be trusted to walk around with food and drink.
Shoe Rack
Your kids will also track in a lot of mud and dirt from the outdoors. With that in mind, parents should pick up a shoe rack for their homes ASAP.
Shoe racks positioned strategically near the backyard or garage door are excellent for stacking muddy kids' shoes (and related things, like toys or sticks). Plus, by putting a shoe rack by the door, you can easily train your child to take their shoes off by themselves. Making this task easy minimizes the chance that they'll "forget" to take their shoes off before jumping into bed!
First-Aid Kit
Accidents happen, which is why it’s important for parents to have a first-aid kit in the home all the time. A good first aid kit should be stocked with a standard spread of common items ranging from Band-Aids to gauze to alcohol wipes and more.
Just be sure to put your first-aid kit in an accessible place, like below the bathroom sink or in the kitchen. That way, you can easily access it if your child scrapes their knee or if someone else is injured from a backyard play session.
Snacks!
As a parent, the last thing you want is for anyone to go hungry (or get “hangry”). From time to time, you and your kids will both have a hankering for something delicious to eat. But if it’s not time for dinner, snacks will tide you over until mealtime.
Have some healthy snacks like fruits, whole-grain crackers, and vegetables ready to go in the refrigerator or cabinets. If your kids are old enough, you can even tell them where the snacks are and invite them to help themselves. Everyone knows kids get pretty hungry when they go through growth spurts!
Baby Monitor
But what if you are a parent to a newborn or infant? In that case, you should have at least one baby monitor in the home right from the get-go.
Baby monitors are excellent for promoting peace of mind since they let you keep an eye on your new baby when you are out taking care of yard work or tackling chores in the kitchen. Even after your child grows up a little bit, a baby monitor can help you keep an eye on your child's bedroom or the living room if you leave your kid behind to take care of an errand outside the home.
A (Tall) Bar Cart
Lastly, remember that you need to treat yourself from time to time! To that end, purchase a tall bar cart that your child can't reach and load it with your favorite beverages and ingredients. At the end of a long day, nothing will get you in the mood to relax faster than a well-stocked bar cart and dozens of delicious beverages at your fingertips. Put a few recipe cards in the same bar cart, so you can try something new each week!
Get these seven essentials down, and you’ll feel ready and able to tackle any parenting challenge in your future.