If your baby is still happily lying exactly where you left them, baby proofing can feel like something for much further down the line.

Then suddenly they're rolling.

Then shuffling.

Then somehow they're on the other side of the room.

So, when should you actually start baby proofing your home?

The short answer is: before your baby becomes independently mobile.

There isn't one exact age when every family needs to start. Babies develop at different rates, and your home will have its own considerations. But starting early gives you time to make thoughtful changes rather than attempting to baby proof the entire house the weekend your little one discovers crawling.

What age should you start baby proofing?

Rather than working towards a particular month, it can be more useful to watch your baby's development.

Once your baby begins rolling, shuffling, crawling or trying to pull themselves up, their relationship with your home changes very quickly.

Things that previously seemed completely inaccessible suddenly aren't.

A good approach is to begin assessing your home before your baby is mobile, then put the important safety measures in place as their movement develops.

This is particularly important for areas such as stairs, where you don't want your baby's newfound mobility to take you by surprise.

Start by seeing your home from their perspective

One of the simplest ways to begin baby proofing is also one of the most effective: get down on the floor.

Literally.

Looking around your home from your baby's height can reveal things you'd never normally notice.

You might suddenly spot:

• trailing cables within grabbing distance

• low cupboards containing cleaning products or medicines

• accessible electrical sockets

• furniture that could potentially tip

• small objects that have found their way underneath furniture

• blind cords or other loops within reach

• sharp furniture corners

• tempting objects sitting just high enough to encourage climbing

As your baby grows, repeat the exercise. What isn't accessible to a six-month-old may be extremely accessible to a determined toddler.

When should you put up baby gates?

If your home has stairs, don't wait until your baby is confidently crawling towards them before thinking about safety gates.

Planning ahead also gives you time to find the right baby gate for your home and the location where it will be installed.

Not every baby gate works in every position.

At the top of the stairs in particular, you'll want to pay careful attention to the manufacturer's instructions and whether the gate is designed for that location.

A wall-mounted or screw-fit gate avoids the bottom bar commonly found on pressure-fit designs.

The BirchBaby Scalloped Gate is a wall-mounted safety gate designed without a bottom bar and is suitable for use at the top and bottom of stairs when correctly installed according to the instructions.

It can also be configured for one-way opening where needed, particularly useful when you don't want a gate swinging out over the stairs.

Most importantly, measure before ordering. Staircases and openings vary considerably, so check both the width of your opening and the fitting requirements of the particular gate you're considering.

Baby proofing the living room

Your living room is often where your baby gets their first real taste of independent exploration.

Start with the things they can pull, climb or grab.

Consider whether televisions, bookcases, drawers and other furniture need securing according to the manufacturer's guidance.

Then look at what you've styled within reach.

That beautiful stack of coffee-table books might survive. The heavy ceramic bowl sitting on top of them may need a temporary new home.

And while we're very much in favour of keeping a home feeling like your home after having children, sometimes a little editing is required.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be forever.

Baby proofing the kitchen

Kitchens offer an almost irresistible collection of doors, drawers and interesting objects.

Cleaning products, medicines and potentially hazardous items should be stored securely and out of reach. Depending on your kitchen and child's stage of development, suitable child-resistant cupboard and drawer locks may also be appropriate.

It's also worth looking upwards.

As babies begin pulling themselves up and eventually walking, things close to the edge of a worktop can become accessible surprisingly quickly. Hot drinks, pan handles, knives and appliances all deserve particular attention.

And don't underestimate how much reach a determined toddler can acquire when standing on their tiptoes.

Baby proofing the nursery

The nursery may already feel like the safest room in the house, but your priorities change once your baby can stand and climb.

Furniture stability becomes particularly important.

Consider items such as chests of drawers and wardrobes and follow the manufacturer's instructions for securing furniture where required.

You'll also want to reassess anything within reach of the cot as your baby becomes more mobile.

Something positioned safely beside a newborn's cot may become accessible once that newborn can stand.

Don't try to make your home completely risk-free

Baby proofing can become overwhelming very quickly.

Once you start looking for hazards, it's easy to feel as though absolutely everything in your house is suddenly dangerous.

The aim isn't to create a padded environment in which your child never encounters risk. It's to identify significant, preventable hazards and create a home in which they can explore more safely, alongside appropriate adult supervision.

Start with the highest-risk areas and work outwards.

For many homes, that means:

Stairs → furniture → hazardous substances → windows and blind cords → electrical hazards → smaller everyday risks.

You can then continue adapting your home as your child develops.

Does baby proofing have to ruin your interiors?

We might be slightly biased here, but absolutely not.

Becoming a parent inevitably changes how your home functions. It doesn't mean you suddenly stop caring how it looks.

You can make thoughtful decisions about the products you introduce.

Choose materials that complement your home. Look for products that solve a genuine problem without adding unnecessary visual clutter. And where something is going to become a prominent feature of your room for the next few years, there's nothing wrong with wanting it to be beautiful.

In fact, that frustration was part of the reason BirchBaby began.

When we looked at traditional baby gates, something didn't quite make sense.

This was an object that would sit prominently in some of the most visible areas of our homes, hallways, kitchens and staircases - yet almost no consideration seemed to have been given to how it actually looked.

So we created The Scalloped Gate: a wooden safety gate designed to perform an important job while feeling considered enough to belong in the home around it.

Because baby proofing should change how safely your home works.

It shouldn't have to change how you feel about it.

Start before they're on the move

If you're wondering whether it's too early to start baby proofing, that's probably the perfect time to begin thinking about it.

Walk through your home. Identify the areas that will need attention. Measure your stairs and doorways. Decide what needs securing, moving or storing differently.

Then you can make those changes gradually.

Because once they start moving, things tend to happen rather quickly.