Kids like to explore.

In what feels like the blink of an eye, they go from a thought in your mind, to a bump in mommy's tummy, to a red-faced, crying creature with some serious lung power. From there, they're off to the races learning and growing by scooting, crawling, tumbling, falling, and putting things in their mouths.

During this whirlwind, you always need to be prepared to protect them from themselves.

The Terrible Two's are a particular turbulent period, so you need to fortify your home well in advance, so that you can have peace of mind about their safety whether they're right in front of you or out of your sight.

This is something that a lot of first-time moms struggle with -- as a UAB study revealed that most couldn't identify more than 50% of the hazards that kids 1 to 3 years old are susceptible to when given a tour of a model home.

To make sure you are able to identify serious hazards in your home that'll protect your little one, read on and use these tips.

1. Invest In Some Easy To Use Childproof Locks And Barriers

There are plenty of locks you can invest in that will keep your kids out of the most dangerous areas of your home.

Start with setting up barriers that completely block out the kitchen or anywhere in the home you don't want your child to crawl or walk to when they begin to explore. This way, if they want some freedom outside of the playpen, they're still able to do so in a controlled environment.

More than 50,000 kids 4 years old or younger were sent to the emergency room in recent years for ingesting medicines. They're also at poison risk when household cleaning products are left out. When you put locks on your cabinets and keep the dangerous products out of sight and out of reach, you'll greatly reduce this risk.

Just in case, keep the number for poison control handy so that you are able to take action.

2. Take Care Of Your Infrastructure

The key way to protect your kids from harm is to make sure your home is up to par.

Ensure that you are keeping your carbon monoxide monitor on and working, and that you change the batteries in your smoke detector. Changing the batteries is something that should be done every month.

You should also be sure that you're doing things like tightening door hinges and keeping your furniture from falling apart through regular maintenance. The better put together your home fixtures, the easier it'll be to be calm and collected as your little one explores.

3. Cover Those Electric Outlets

Since wandering and exploring toddlers are prone to stick their finger or other objects into outlets, do everything you can to prevent electrical shock by covering them.

Pay a little bit of extra money to get the most durable socket covers you can find. If you have a bigger budget, spring for an outlet off switch that will cut the electricity to that outlet off altogether.

This way, your child can have free reign without you being worried.

4. Sweep And Vacuum Regularly

Finally, it's sometimes the objects around your house that create the biggest problems, not the fixtures.

In this regard, be sure that you do what you can to prevent choking hazards by sweeping and vacuuming on a regular basis. You need to take choking hazards seriously, since it happens to be the leading cause of death for kids 4 and under.

A clean home is a safe home, so even if you don't have time to tidy up, make sure that you hire a cleaning service that can help you out every week or so.

Consider these tips to protect your child from some preventable emergencies.