How to make your holiday let child friendly

Interior Safety

Basic safety guidelines must be followed to protect visiting children from hazards. Some things to consider in your holiday let are:

• Doors & windows – doorstops and hinge guards can protect little fingers getting trapped, and window catches can stop children from opening the windows themselves. Blind cords should be securely attached to a wall connector
• Secure your furniture – make sure all loose furniture pieces are secure and can’t topple over.
• Lockable cupboards – any hazardous materials such as cleaning products or medicines/first aid kits should be safely put away in a locked cupboard, or well out of reach of any children.
• Kitchen drawers & cupboards – you could also consider child-proof catches on drawers and cupboards to stop little ones from rooting around and potentially harming themselves.
• Electrical items – ensure all electrical cords are safely tucked away out of reach, and consider fitting plug socket covers in any sockets not in use.
• Fireplaces – if your property has an open fire or log burner, make sure to keep fire tools out of children’s reach and supply a fire guard to be used at all times.
• Upstairs – non-slip bath mats are a great addition to child friendly cottages, and maybe even a stair gate for extra safety.

Crab Cottage

Exterior Safety

The exterior of the property mustn’t be forgotten either…some ideas to consider:

• Gardens – create a secure, enclosed garden area that children can enjoy. This could mean putting up a wall, gate, fence or hedge to provide privacy as well as safety. An enclosed garden is a must if near any busy roads.
• Ponds / swimming pools – if you have a pond, swimming pool, or stream in your garden, make sure it is fenced off and can’t be reached by any little ones unsupervised.
• Gravel paths – replace gravel paths with paving stones or concrete pathways, to eliminate the risk of children choking on small stones.
• Hot tubs – we recommend no children under the age of 8 years old use hot tubs for health and safety reasons. Make sure your guests are aware of this by putting notices around the hot tub and in your property welcome folder too.

Ivy Cottage

Additional Features for Child Friendly Cottages

Child friendly cottages should not only consider the health and safety of families, but also recognise how to make things easier for them during their holiday. Some things to think about could be:

• Cots & beds – travel cots are usually best for holiday cottages as they don’t take up too much room and can be packed away if guests don’t require them. You could also think about having at least one room with twin beds, orbuy zip links for the rooms. This allows you to change the beds into twins or doubles depending on the guests.
• Highchairs – bulky items like these are difficult to bring on holiday, so guests would greatly appreciate it if they were provided in their holiday home. Ensure you get a highchair with safety straps and regularly check for any damage, replacing immediately if any part is broken.
• Storage space – when catering for families, remember to provide plenty of room to store prams and carriers (such as a large entrance hall, utility room, or secure porch). It’s also helpful to have a bit of extra cupboard space in the kitchen for baby food & bottles.
• Toys & games – a selection of children’s books, games and DVD’s are perfect for keeping little ones occupied on rainy days. Outdoor toys are also great fun if you’ve got the garden space.
• Night lights – some properties are in rural locations with no street lighting, so if little ones wake in the night we recommend plug in sensor lights especially near stairs/steps

Making sure your holiday let is child-friendly doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. Just doing a few small tweaks to your existing property can make a big difference.

Are you in the early stages of holiday letting and need some more advice? Get your free letting guide from Yorkshire Coastal Cottages here.

*this blog has been updated based on original content written by Alice Willis*