"I also have a lot of friends pop around who have vehicles so I had to watch she didn't play in the driveway.
"Now there's new fencing and a safety gate so I can let her play outside without having to worry about her wandering off."
The Housing New Zealand programme began in November 2013 with the aim of reducing the risk of children being run over in their driveways or getting out on to the road. One of the improvements is creating fenced-off play areas for children - separate from driveways - and another seven Wanganui homes will have the work done in the next few months.
Housing New Zealand regional manager Darren Toy said the priority was for properties where there were children aged 5 and under, as toddlers were at the greatest risk of being injured in a driveway accident.
The improvements ranged from installing fencing, self-closing gates with child-resistant latches, speed restriction signs, speed humps and convex mirrors, where appropriate.
"The work we carry out depends on the type of property - but the key priority is creating fenced play areas for children that are separate from the driveway," Mr Toy said.
"Ultimately we aim to complete 13,000 properties across New Zealand over four years."
Housing NZ supported the work by Safekids Aotearoa, the injury prevention service of Auckland's Starship Hospital, to prevent children being run over, he said.
According to Safekids, New Zealand had one of the highest recorded rates of child driveway death and injury in the world, with a child hospitalised every two weeks and five children dying on average each year from driveway injuries.
The majority of children injured were toddlers, aged about 2, and their injuries were often severe.
Most of the injuries came from children being run over by relatives.
Housing New Zealand provides driveway safety advice to people when they move into a state rental home and regularly include driveway safety information in tenant newsletters.
Some simple safety behaviours could also help reduce the risk of accidents on driveways, Mr Toy said
"Know where your children are before getting in the car, check for kids before driving off and always supervise children around vehicles. Following these tips and making driveway safety improvements can definitely help save lives."
