baby proofing?

Jennyinheaven

We will only be living in our current place for one more year, I realize this baby won't be super mobil for awhile, but how realistic is it of me to just wait on the whole baby proofing thing until we move?

fyafighterwife86

Do it. Don't ask questions.
You'd absolutely regret it if you took a chance bc you'll only be there a short time and something happened. Even if you just use outlet covers and cabinet clips-
It'll cost you all of $20 and an hour (IF that) of time.

pistolpackinmomma

How much do you really plan to do? IMO, people really go overboard with all of the baby proofing. I gated off the kitchen so the dog can have a safe haven and put outlet things in and that's it. NBD. I just keep my bedroom door and the bathroom doors closed and he can run through the rest of the house on his own. No furniture bolted to the wall or anything crazy like that.

PerkyAttractiveV4G1N4

pistolpackinmomma said:

No furniture bolted to the wall or anything crazy like that.

https://www.meghanshope.org

Is it really that "crazy" to tether furniture to a wall if it can prevent tragedies like Meghan's...?

Warning: blog is about a child's death, read at own risk.

Edit: did not mean to post this under my AE, but TB won't let me log out and back in under regular SN.

amroke

When we started baby proofing, we just did our family room and put gates up so our son was confined in there. He was fully supervised in any other room, doors were kept shut, etc. So maybe you can just do one room. But definitely don't skimp with baby proofing, do what you need to do to keep your kid safe.

tjkdlhb

A three year old in my community died when he climbed a dresser and it toppled over on him.

There is probably a lot that can wait until the baby starts moving.  But maybe baby proof 1-2 rooms and use gates to block access to any other space when it gets closer to that time?  That's essentially what we did.  Most baby proofing supplies like gates and outlet covers are easily transferable to other houses.

CuteFlatVag

Unnecessarily putting your child's life at risk should never "realistically" even be an option.

Edited: TB must like our AE's, since I logged in with my normal username email address and here I am.

MrsT2008

You will need to baby proof before a year is up.  But there is also no need to do it before baby is mobile (for us, that was 8 months).  So don't worry about it right now.

MrsT2008

And honestly, it's not that difficult to do.  Gates are easy and can save you from having to do a lot more if you want - for a while, when DD was just crawling, I basically just restricted her to the family room where all her toys were.  I had a gate in the doorway and that saved me from having to worry about things like the kitchen, bathroom, etc.

Empireceo

My son is 17 months old and the only baby proofing we've done is put a gate at the top of the stairs. It really is up to you, what kind of hazards are in your house and what you're comfortable with.

MrsT2008

savannah_girl said:

MrsT2008 said:

You will need to baby proof before a year is up.  But there is also no need to do it before baby is mobile (for us, that was 8 months).  So don't worry about it right now.

But some babies are mobile at 6 months. She needs to do some before it is to late. 
You don't wear a seatbelt after you have the accident, you wear it before you get in one. 

I said "for us" it was 8 months which in no way was implying that means she may not need to do it sooner.  And of course she would do it ahead of time, but that doesn't mean newborn phase.  She has time.

MrsT2008

And it's not as though baby proofing takes days or weeks to do.  Kid starts sitting on their own, go buy some stuff and spend an hour or two getting things done.  It really doesn't have to be too crazy.

amroke

savannah_girl said:

MrsT2008 said:

You will need to baby proof before a year is up.  But there is also no need to do it before baby is mobile (for us, that was 8 months).  So don't worry about it right now.

But some babies are mobile at 6 months. She needs to do some before it is to late. 
You don't wear a seatbelt after you have the accident, you wear it before you get in one. 

You do have some warning before the baby is mobile, though. Or at least we did, I can't speak for everyone. My son rocked back and forth before he ever crawled, and once he did that we knew it was time to start baby proofing.

typeset

I wouldn't bother proofing beyond outlet covers, cabinet locks, and a gate on the stairs (if applicable) in your situation. 

Furniture bolted to the wall isn't crazy, though, especially if you intend to leave the kiddo in his or her room while you shower or whatever. 

mrspopsicle

We are not crazy baby proofers in our house. We mostly shut doors. We did however, baby proof our open living room/kitchen and her bedroom and playroom.

At the very least you need to tether furniture and TVs to the wall, gate accessible staircases, and put locks on cabinets with chemicals/dangerous objects. You should also make sure your blinds are child safe or just get rid of them. A quick google search will pull up plenty of recent news stories that show why each of these are important.

My daughter crawled at 5 months and walked at 9. Of course, she was pulling herself up and cruising before then.

Baby proofing is cheap, does not take long and it will make your life easier in the end.

runningyogimama

My baby is 1 and had been mobile for so long that baby proofing had to start at 4-5 months (she rolled and army crawled and pulled up pretty early to get to her destinations). Like PPs said, just doing the little things will make like so much easier (and safer). Outlet plugs and baby gates at the minimum.

awc1986

We're going to wait until baby arrives then assess the hazards. We're a flood risk, so our outlets are high up the wall anyway, but we have very steep stairs (we live in a Victorian cottage) and lots of sharp edges furniture which will need looking at.

pistolpackinmomma

PerkyAttractiveV4G1N4 said:

pistolpackinmomma said:

No furniture bolted to the wall or anything crazy like that.

https://www.meghanshope.org

Is it really that "crazy" to tether furniture to a wall if it can prevent tragedies like Meghan's...?

Warning: blog is about a child's death, read at own risk.

Edit: did not mean to post this under my AE, but TB won't let me log out and back in under regular SN.

The only furniture we have that could be bolted is in his room. When he goes back there I follow because it normally means he is going to throw clothes all over the floor. I have never seen him try climbing his dresser though he climbs most everything else. I have more problems keeping him out of his toy box. By crazy I mean those who go so far to the extreme that they could leave their kids alone and never worry because they stopped just short of padding the walls. I don't leave my kid unattended and deal with the dangers as needed.

kristine526

Right now, baby proofing isn't #1 on my list (really, right now finding a comfortable position, sleeping, or eating all the food is about the only thing on my list), HOWEVER it is going to jump up much higher on my priority list as soon as LO gets here. We already have everything, except the furniture tethers. To me, it's not a realistic option to put your kid at risk, but that's just me.

Ladiebug710

We baby proofed as we needed to. I didn't do any before he was mobile. You don't have to do anything now

mileswithmyles

pistolpackinmomma said:

How much do you really plan to do? IMO, people really go overboard with all of the baby proofing. I gated off the kitchen so the dog can have a safe haven and put outlet things in and that's it. NBD. I just keep my bedroom door and the bathroom doors closed and he can run through the rest of the house on his own. No furniture bolted to the wall or anything crazy like that.

I live in Southern California and with the amount of earthquakes we've had lately, I'm bolting that shit to the wall in my nursery.

sthomas1222

Empireceo said:

My son is 17 months old and the only baby proofing we've done is put a gate at the top of the stairs. It really is up to you, what kind of hazards are in your house and what you're comfortable with.

Oh good I thought I was the only one! We put outlet covers on when pregnant with DD. Then gated the living room when she got mobile. Now she has free range downstairs, gate to keep her from going upstairs. She's got cabinets she's allowed into & knows which ones are a no-no. I tried putting locks on them but it didn't work. Maybe at the new place...?

jntaylor11

I baby proofed on an as needed basis. Once he was mobile (crawling 6m, walking/climbing 9m) I gated him into one room for the most part & that was safe. Then did everything else as needed. We did cabinets, a coffee table cusion, electrical outlets first. Later we tethered furniture, got appliance locks etc. I didn't want to go crazy & do everything up front, there are a ton of things you 'could' baby proof.

SweetTea420

When I was a child, I recall trying to climb up a dresser and it almost tipping over on me. Any furniture that is tall and can be tipped over easily by a child will be bolted to the walls in our house.

Jillzy86

My DH is remodeling our bathroom, and always is on to the next project. I am going to do the simple things like outlet covers etc., until he starts showing signs of mobility and then I will start going around baby proofing everything.

CaptainVajazzle

Suck it up and bolt things to the wall. 

spinsoffresonance

I'm in the camp no need to rush baby proofing, just address things as they come up.

When DD first started crawling we put up outlet covers. When she started climbing on the wall shelves holding TV components we took the shelves down. When she started getting into all the kitchen cabinets, we gated off the kitchen. We also took out the coffee table because of the sharp edges but primarily to have floor space to play. And we donated our cactus to a friend. I think the only thing we did before she was mobile was install shelves high up in the laundry room to hold all the cleaning products and chemicals that were previously under the kitchen sink, we keep no chemicals within her reach even with the kitchen gate. We keep the bathroom door closed. Our bedroom isn't baby proofed at all but DD never spends time in there alone.

pistolpackinmomma

Oh and I doubt he could tip his dresser. It's long and short and the top/flat side is against the floor (it's a dresser/changer combo and when we're done with the changer aspect we'll flip it over) and is solid oak. I can't even tip it without a struggle. I'd rather teach my kid not to climb his dresser if it becomes an issue.

danabsd

I've been baby proofing as I go. Like when she starts to get into cabinets cabinet locks went on. When she tried to climb the tall dresser that got bolted to the wall. She was fully mobile before we did anything.

So basically, no I don't think it would be crazy to wait. 

Xath

I did some things early, but mostly left things until he was mobile.  All of the furniture in his room is bolted to the wall, and the TV is tethered to the TV stand (my mom's coworker lost her son to a TV falling on him).  

Turns out he didn't become mobile on his own until 17 months due to muscle tone issues, so we never really needed to do a lot of the basics.  By the time he could move, he was also old enough that we could explain certain things to him.  

For those anti-furniture anchoring, consider that it's not only the child climbing on it that could cause it to topple.  For dressers, look at what happens to the unit if all of the drawers (fully loaded with stuff) are open at the same time.  On some furniture, that alone can cause it to tip.  Add the weight of a 30-40lb toddler pushing down on one of the drawers, and see what that does to the furniture.  

ho11yday

We didn't start baby proofing until DS started to do certain things. We started with the cabinet locks once he started opening them and making huge messes, then door handle guards once he opened the pantry, then pulled the knobs off the stove once he turned on the gas, then outlet covers once he started sticking things in there, then an extra latch at the front door once he could unlock it. I still need to secure his dresser to the wall but he hasn't managed to climb out if his crib yet.

Shell+Bell

We didn't do much baby proofing other than outlet plugs and a gate. Kids don't go in the kitchen /bathrooms without supervision.

We did have a scare where my first climbed the dresser and it fell on him. That was a terrible scare and we were incredibly fortunate that he didn't get so much as a bruise. The wall got the only damage when DH threw the dresser off of DS and put a hole in the wall. NBD there. We took the dresser out and put his clothes in the pull out Tupperware bins, only because we had them and did not have the hardware to screw the dresser to the wall.

Anyway, if we had a bookshelf or any climable furniture in the living room you belt that would get bolted down, but we don't. I swear my heart stopped when we heard that noise of the dresser when it fell. Don't want that to happen ever again

yvanehtnioj

One thing our realtor brought up (don't know why we were even talking about this when we bought our house) was a toilet cover lock thing, and she totally convinced me it's necessary. Things like regular cleaner under the sink don't worry me too much because while unpleasant, they aren't deadly...at least the hippie cleaner I use. But drowning? There's no second chances there. So I will be concentrating my babyproofing on that kind of stuff. Unfortunately our kitchen is "open concept" with the family room so I'll definitely have to move knives & remove knobs from the gas stove. We also need to lock up our guns.

danabsd

yvanehtnioj said:

One thing our realtor brought up (don't know why we were even talking about this when we bought our house) was a toilet cover lock thing, and she totally convinced me it's necessary. Things like regular cleaner under the sink don't worry me too much because while unpleasant, they aren't deadly...at least the hippie cleaner I use. But drowning? There's no second chances there. So I will be concentrating my babyproofing on that kind of stuff. Unfortunately our kitchen is "open concept" with the family room so I'll definitely have to move knives & remove knobs from the gas stove. We also need to lock up our guns.

I worry much more about her opening the cabinets and spilling the windex rather than drinking it.  Especially at this point.  Never once have I seen the need for a toilet seat lock. In fact if the toilet seat is open OCD toddler MUST close it.  A toilet paper lock, however, now that I could use. We can't even keep it on the roll. 

Jennyinheaven

Ok thanks , I will be covering outlet s right away, and we have already planned to just replace our super thin table with TV on it we have now with a low style sturdy IKEA type and TV on wall hook up. No stairs in current place and I think Ill just wait and do cabinets as needed, baby will be heavily supervised.

yvanehtnioj

danabsd said:

yvanehtnioj said:

One thing our realtor brought up (don't know why we were even talking about this when we bought our house) was a toilet cover lock thing, and she totally convinced me it's necessary. Things like regular cleaner under the sink don't worry me too much because while unpleasant, they aren't deadly...at least the hippie cleaner I use. But drowning? There's no second chances there. So I will be concentrating my babyproofing on that kind of stuff. Unfortunately our kitchen is "open concept" with the family room so I'll definitely have to move knives & remove knobs from the gas stove. We also need to lock up our guns.

I worry much more about her opening the cabinets and spilling the windex rather than drinking it.  Especially at this point.  Never once have I seen the need for a toilet seat lock. In fact if the toilet seat is open OCD toddler MUST close it.  A toilet paper lock, however, now that I could use. We can't even keep it on the roll. 

Fair enough, and I've actually never seen a toilet seat lock in anyone's house. But for some reason the realtor's spiel got me good.

danabsd

yvanehtnioj said:

danabsd said:

yvanehtnioj said:

One thing our realtor brought up (don't know why we were even talking about this when we bought our house) was a toilet cover lock thing, and she totally convinced me it's necessary. Things like regular cleaner under the sink don't worry me too much because while unpleasant, they aren't deadly...at least the hippie cleaner I use. But drowning? There's no second chances there. So I will be concentrating my babyproofing on that kind of stuff. Unfortunately our kitchen is "open concept" with the family room so I'll definitely have to move knives & remove knobs from the gas stove. We also need to lock up our guns.

I worry much more about her opening the cabinets and spilling the windex rather than drinking it.  Especially at this point.  Never once have I seen the need for a toilet seat lock. In fact if the toilet seat is open OCD toddler MUST close it.  A toilet paper lock, however, now that I could use. We can't even keep it on the roll. 

Fair enough, and I've actually never seen a toilet seat lock in anyone's house. But for some reason the realtor's spiel got me good.

Maybe she owns stock in the company? 

awc1986

This thread reminds me of a mug someone bought me. It says "i childproofed my home, but they still get in".

MrsT2008

Oh man, the toilet locks.  Seriously, just close the door or put a gate up so they can't get in there. 

deanna1313

Your baby will definitely be at the babyproofing age before you move a year from now. I don't blame you for wanting to save time and money by not baby proofing, but you will probably need to do it.
I would just do it minimally(which is pretty much my plan to begin with). I really think some people go crazy overboard with it. Maybe you can gate off the kitchen completely and do all the outlet covers. That's not too time consuming and you'll need them at your new house anyway. I don't plan to bolt any furniture to the walls.

danabsd

deanna1313 said:

Your baby will definitely be at the babyproofing age before you move a year from now. I don't blame you for wanting to save time and money by not baby proofing, but you will probably need to do it. I would just do it minimally(which is pretty much my plan to begin with). I really think some people go crazy overboard with it. Maybe you can gate off the kitchen completely and do all the outlet covers. That's not too time consuming and you'll need them at your new house anyway. I don't plan to bolt any furniture to the walls.

Glad we have you here to speak from experience.