We all know the importance of baby proofing at home, but what happens when you’re visiting Great Aunt Sue or Grandma Shirley over the holidays? Are their homes baby proofed? With a few simple precautions, you can make your visit a little more relaxed for both yourself and your hosts.

Take along portable gates
If your child is just beginning to walk or has still not perfected climbing stairs, it’s important to make sure your child doesn’t have access to the stairs. So it’s a good idea to bring a few pressure mounted gates with you that you can install. But remember that you should never use a pressure mounted gate at the top of the stairs because your child can lean on the gate and go toppling over with it. Placing one gate at the bottom of the staircase and one outside the bedroom they will be in, will eliminate access to stairs. It is also a good idea to “transform” any room with fragile or dangerous items into a kid-free zone by installing another gate preventing access to that room.

Remove dangerous products and secure unsafe area
If possible, ask your host to move cleaning products, other potentially toxic substances and dangerous equipment to a basement or a garage while you are visiting and to keep these areas off-limits. Laundry rooms, home offices and exercise rooms can be extremely dangerous to toddlers and young children. Ask that these doors be kept closed at all times while you are there and, if possible, locked.

Beware of kitchen hazards
Suggest that your host use the back burners when cooking and make sure that sharp knives are not left near the edge of kitchen counters. Cabinet drawers that contain sharp and dangerous objects can be secured with rubber bands.  If alcohol is kept in an accessible cabinet, find out if it can be moved somewhere else, or secure that cabinet as well.

Bring along a carbon monoxide detector
One of the most over-looked dangers is carbon monoxide poisoning. Because carbon monoxide will affect small children first, the home you’re visiting should have at least one, but preferably, several carbon monoxide detectors installed. The basement is the most important area to monitor since carbon monoxide poisoning is caused by the build up of carbon monoxide from fuel burning devices that aren't properly ventilated. The most common of these devices are furnaces and boilers which are generally located in the basement. However, carbon monoxide poisoning can also be caused by improperly ventilated dryers, fireplaces, stoves, etc. You may feel silly bringing one with you, but if you and/or your children will be sleeping in a downstairs basement or the children will be playing there it is better to be safe than sorry

Be prepared for an emergency
Get the name of a local pediatrician and locate him as well as the local hospital on a map. If your child becomes ill or is seriously hurt, you want to be sure to have this information available immediately.