Children are curious and adventurous by nature, but when they’re babies, this curiosity can often result in an injury or accident. While parents do their best to keep their babies safe and protected all day long, in actuality, the greatest risk for injury to the baby lies in the baby’s own bedroom.

If you’re a new parent, baby-proofing the baby’s bedroom will help you reduce middle-of-the-night cries of pain and allow the baby greater freedom to explore once he or she starts crawling and walking. Here are seven affordable and easy steps you can take to make your baby’s room safer.

Step 1: Baby-Proofing the Crib

When your baby is still a newborn, it will be important to install bumpers along the inside perimeter of the crib to help provide a cushion should the baby roll toward the edges. Over time, as the baby grows, he or she will try to use the bumpers as a means of stepping out of the crib, so make sure you tie the bumper ties so they can move up and down. If the bumper will not slide down, you will be giving your baby the step he or she needs to fall out of the crib. Eventually, you will be able to get rid of the bumpers altogether. Also, experts recommend you use the mesh bumpers instead of the old-fashioned padded ones because some babies have reportedly been injured by getting caught in the bumper and being unable to breathe.

Step 2: Use a Baby Monitor

Baby monitors are very sensitive, and they can broadcast any peep or whisper your baby makes to the hand-held receiver no matter where it is in the house. This device will give you the early warning that your baby may be awake and trying to get out of the crib. In order to keep the baby safe, the monitor should be placed at the other end of the room on a surface where the baby can’t reach it.

Step 3: Secure the Furniture

As babies grow, they will try climbing on anything and everything – including the dressers and any other furniture in their bedrooms. In order to prevent a tragic accident like a dresser falling over on your baby, secure your furniture by installing furniture anchors on it and secure the anchors to the wall studs for maximum hold. Nylon anchors work great because they are effective even when the stud isn’t located directly behind the furniture.

Step 4: Keep Curtain Tassels and Window Blind Cords Out of Reach

Babies can quickly get tangled up in long, dangling curtain tassels and window blind cords and these thin cords can easily get wrapped around the baby’s neck where they could make it difficult to breathe. Use ties or cord cleats to keep the cords where they can still be functional yet high enough so that the baby can’t reach them.

Step 5: Cover All Open Receptacles

All of the electrical outlet in the baby’s bedroom should be blocked with a piece of furniture or left unused and protected by a baby-proof outlet cover.

By Dave Donovan