babyproofing the house

KatWAG

Hi,

My LO obviously isnt crawling yet but I wanted to get a jump start on babyproofing our house. But I have no idea what I need to do. Do I really need to bolt the dresser to the wall?

So tell me, what steps are you taking? Are you going to do everything all at once? Or taking a more gradual approach?

Are you going just cover outlets and tack down cords or are you going for gold and hiring a company to glue down every movable object?

I have no idea where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks!

mcvgal

All I did with DS1 was cover the outlets and baby proof the kitchen cabinets that were within reach.

[Deleted User]

We only did cabinets and outlet covers with DS1. And I think we had a toilet lid lock at one point but that was temporary. It's not a bad idea to get safety straps for dressers or any furniture they could attempt to climb and have it tip over on them but we admittedly didn't do it (we may this time around since DS1 now has a tall dresser that's more apt to tip). If you have stairs I would get gates for sure but I'm speaking as someone who has fallen down stairs as a grown ass adult and I wouldn't want to risk it with my baby/toddler because that hurt, lol.

Huahine

I consider myself to be on the low end of the fear-driven spectrum. With DS1 we:

• put a baby gate at the top of the stairs (but not the bottom)
  
• put plug covers over the outlets
  
• attached a strap from the back of the flatscreen to the back of the media table below (this is really important - a silly number of injuries happen due to TVs falling on kids)
  
• attached tall book cases to the wall
• moved all medicines, chemicals, dishwasher detergent, etc, to the upper cabs.
  

Now that he is 3 years old (tomorrow, how did this happen?) I really need to move the knives out of drawers that he can now reach into. I regularly consider attaching dressers to walls.  He is a climber.  

Jordanjkmr

Since having the first two we bolted a few dressers to the wall and moved all dangerous chemicals to the basement. And probably a few more things that aren't coming to mind.

Because nothing can be 100% baby proofed (and eventually you need to leave the house anyway) I feel letting your kids know what is and isn't okay is important too. I know it might seem silly to bring this up when our LOs are so young but I do believe starting sooner rather than later isn't bad. These babies of ours are pretty smart.

My third is 6 months and sometimes l put his high chair within reach of the plant in the dining room. Bc I'm absent minded like that. I moved his hand away a few times and told him no touching. Now when I forget to move his chair out of reach, he will stare at the plant for a while and then turn to his toys and play. I was suprised it worked.

Sorry, this is my long way of saying take away the obvious dangers but focus on teaching your LO about what is and isn't okay as well.

Mamanorris81

I was just looking into getting foam mats for the tile in the kitchen. I thought they only had the alphabet one but I just found a faux wood one. We still have everything childproofed from DS1 so this is the only new addition.

Soon2BMrsN

We've done gates, outlet covers, and cabinet locks but the TV idea is a good one.

honeybee434

We will cover outlets, get the cabinet doors secured and move the wine racks. Other than that, I don't plan on doing much else right now. I'm sure I'll add things when she gets mobile that I see are a hazard that I'm not thinking about right now.

Huahine

On the theme of letting them explore and teaching them limits, the most valuable word I taught DS1 was "edge." Context didn't matter - whether we were walking close to a curb, near an escalator, or down a dock, all I had to do was remind him that there was an edge that he could fall off of, and he would be more careful.

alohababy14

I just bought outlet covers today since DS is seconds away from crawling. I'm looking for a stair gate second-hand. I caddy-cornered our couches to block access to the tall bookshelf. I still need to pick up some cabinet locks for the cleaning supply cabinet and talk to DH about what furniture we should strap.

[Deleted User]

We've got cover outlets and the squishy blacks tuff to line the coffee table edges and corners. I've also bought a playmat for the living room. Planning on getting cabinet latches too. That's about all I've got for now.

kjskjs

For DD, we used the plug ins for the plugs, door covers so she can't get into certain doors, and the kitchen cabinets and the cabinets in her bathroom. We also have a bench that covers the fireplace so that's sort of baby proofed and sort of just functional.

The only thing I still would like us to do is baby proof our bathroom cabinets and the drawers in the kitchen.

melissaquinn106

One of my girlfriends who has a June baby just installed these in the kitchen. They are magnets that you screw into the inside of the cabinets and then you have a magnet "key" you use to open them. I can't decide if it is genius or stupid. Do I really need to be screwing into the cabinet? But is it better than unsightly clips on the doors? I was over there the other day and it looks great and you seriously can't open them without a magnet key. We aren't crawling yet but I can imagine that it happens fast so something to think about I suppose...