Choosing A Toddler Friendly Home
/We have started a list of concerns to keep in mind during home shopping when you have toddlers.
When you are home shopping and have toddlers, you consider all aspects of every home your realtor shows you. Instinctively you know what to look for, but there are things that you may not be aware are a danger to little ones. Read on our tips for choosing a home that will provide you with peace of mind when you are a parent. These are concerns past clients have brought up when they are home shopping.
1. Avoid the stairs, buy a one-story home
When you have little ones, it can be stressful to own a two-story home. Although a lot of us dream of owning a big house with a two story space and grand stair case (in which one day we will see our daughter come down dressed up for prom) you should avoid the stairs.
For some of us paranoid parents, we dread stairs because:
- A toddler can fall
- A limb getting can get stuck between railings
- Toddlers learn to climb the stair gate you installed to baby proof the house
So avoid the stairs if you can.
2. Say no to the pool
We all dream with our backyard oasis. Pools make homes feel like resorts on the weekends. You will take precautions and gate the pool and put alarms on the doors, but you will always find your self double checking all doors. You can get the pool build later when they are older.
3. Pick a flat backyard
Yep! Sometimes we look for houses that have a big backyard but we forget to check that it is leveled. Sloped yards are perfect if you are just planning to garden, maybe build a pool, or not used at all. Sloped yards are undesired when you have children. As a parent you need a flat-leveled yard to play sports like: soccer, football,kickball...etc. You cannot play sports in a sloped yard no matter how big. You may think a slope yard is fine and that you will just use the front of the house or the side yard to play sports, but it might not work. Playing sports in front of the house is not an option because you lose all privacy, the road is too close, and you can easily picture your child running towards the ball and crossing the road. The side yard is just awkward, small, and has a A/C unit. Pick a home with a nice backyard.
4. Fenced Yard
This is self explanatory...PRIVACY. Also, it is a lot harder for kids/toddlers to run away from you when the backyard is fenced. We love a privacy fence because kids WILL run away naked around the house, or in the backyard when you set up a little kid splash pool.
5. No lake
You have all the same worries as the pool plus the added wild life. Also, it's yucky and has one gazillion germs we do not want our kids to touch.
6. Near playground but not next to it
Yep! you read this correctly. We want a community playground for our kids. We do not want to buy a house with the playground as our next door neighbor because:
- When it is bedtime the bigger kids go to the playground and they are noisy.
- During daytime when you are not in the mood for socializing there are a gazillion people in the playground
- Some will walk back home leaving a trail of trash all over your yard
- Cars will be parked in front of your house
It sounds mean, but when you have babies in the house anything can become a nuisance.
7. Highway in the horizon
Honestly, it is just noisy. When it is the smaller residential road with the brick wall dividing your yard and road, the problem is the dirt that the wind picks up from the road and brings into your home and pool. We also seen cars crashing into those brick fences, it is odd but happens.
8. Corner walls
You may have noticed some homes have updated rounded corners in the walls of the home. This is a plus and we love it. Rounded corners help avoid ouchies, boo boos.
REMEMBER TODDLERS WILL GET INTO TROUBLE IN A BLINK OF AN EYE. We hope you enjoyed our list. We will update when we hear more tips or concerns. This doesn't apply to everyone and all places. All scenarios are different.
If you have any suggestions please let us know and we can update/fix our list.
(Yes, extreme over-the-top paranoid parents made this list)