Our featured baby proofing expert today is no other than Baby Proofing Montgomery. Bill Brooner, Founder and President of the company, not to mention, a baby proofing expert himself, established the business in 2008.
We are very lucky to get a chance to do this interview with Bill in order to showcase what their company can do for your home and your family. I'm sure by now you are wondering what Bill and his team can offer. Baby Proofing Montgomery is a professional child proofing and safety consultation company. They help make homes safer for infants and toddlers. Their services include child proofing consultations, home safety evaluations, product sales and installations. The company’s safety consultations and in-home evaluations are educational and eye opening. His team are trained to identify potential hazards and provide solutions to make the home safer for children. They look at your home’s unique features to determine the level of child protection needed. Their objective is to minimize risk based on the layout of your home and age of your children. Bill and his team work with you to determine the most appropriate solutions for you and your family. They have professional installers that are knowledgeable about child safety products and skilled at installing each item.
We all know that there are a lot of baby proofing businesses around. What sets Baby Proofing Montgomery apart from all its competitors? As Bill said, "Baby Proofing Montgomery is the only company that does what we do (conducts in-home evaluations, as well as sells and installs safety products), in the central Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia region." In addition, he stated, "We are members of the International Association for Child Safety (IAFCS.org)". FYI, Bill Brooner was awarded the Professional Child Proofing designation in 2012.
The founder also discussed their best achievements. "Knowing that we've helped many hundreds of families reduce risks of accidents in their homes and receiving referrals from clients. Referrals truly are the best compliment that we can receive. In addition, each member of our team, from office staff to evaluators and installers, has passed the National Home Hazards exam," he added. We salute Bill and his team for having this mindset. We believe that by doing what we are passionate and care about, everything will follow.
Here are some things that Bill and his team notice that parents overlook when baby proofing their homes. Let us find out Baby Proofing Montgomery's tips to eliminate these risks:
- Many parents wisely place safety gates at the top of the stairs, but not at the bottom. They overlook the fact that a child can climb up and fall backwards down the steps. (We also remind people to use gates designed for stairs. Pressure gates are not—they are for doorways and hallways.)
- Furniture tip-overs are another big problem. They recommend that anything taller than it should be strapped to the wall (dressers, bookshelves, etc.). TVs should also be anchored to avoid tip-overs.
- Poisoning is another major issue. All medications, cleaners, detergents, etc., should be placed high up, out of a child's reach and locked up.
- Many parents also forget that they keep medications in their purses and work bags, which they leave sitting on the floor, in their mudroom, etc., within their child's reach.
- Burns are another area of concern. Specifically, burns from stove tops and scalds from hot baths. When cooking, pot handles should be turned toward the back of the stove, out of a child's reach and the home's water heater should be turned down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Infants and young toddlers' bath water should be 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Like other businesses around, the team has goals set for the year to achieve success. Their primary goal is to continue to provide superior customer service and to maintain high standard of customer satisfaction. In terms of products, they will continue to evaluate new items in order to provide their clients with the best and highest quality safety products. The company will also continue to build their team to meet the growing needs in an expanding market. All these, to service a large area, including central MD, Washington, DC, and Northern VA.
Of course we wanted to know how the business came about. Bill was a successful management consultant in international development for 35 years. He then went on to be a home inspector. Working as an inspector made him cognizant of many safety issues in homes. That, along with the gift of grandchildren, motivated his passion to help others make homes safer for their children.
Here are more of their best tips that you may want to start implementing in your homes. Bill recommends that the best time to start babyproofing is before your child starts crawling and discovering all the dangers in your home. However, if your baby is already crawling, or even learning to walk, it's not too late. The key is to make sure your baby's surroundings encourage growth and help your baby explore safely. "The first thing to do is to get down on the floor to see what your child sees—from his/her point of view. This can be an eye-opening experience, and will help you identify some of the hidden dangers that exist. Remember, baby proofing is an on-going process. As children grow and develop, so does their curiosity. We recommend crawling around and reassessing things every month or so," he said.
Every house is unique and has different hazards that are often overlooked by the untrained eye. As highlighted above, they strictly follow procedures in inspecting homes. Part of which is looking for the common and not-so-common hazards. As their clients often say, Baby Proofing Montgomery provides peace of mind to parents. The clients are thankful that they don't have to worry about whether the gates and latches are installed correctly. This type of compliment is priceless to the company. They'd take away your worries by choosing the best products which they guarantee work. They will give you options and will provide the safest environment for your loved ones. Parents are often overwhelmed and confused by the variety of safety products available in stores and online. While stores offer many products, the choices are usually limited to a few manufacturers and often include products that professional child proofers do not recommend due to poor quality or ineffective operation. This can lead to disuse, misuse, or injury. Professional child proofers have access to better quality childproofing products, as well as knowing the best way to fasten gates to walls and the best latches for cabinets and drawers for each client's home.
As per Bill, "Child proofing your home is not a substitute for adult supervision or educating young ones about safety. However, it does provide a safer environment for them to explore, play and grow."
For more information, visit their website babyproofingmontgomery.com, Facebook page facebook.com/
