WWYD? RE: childproofing

hersheykiss · February 2011

E's birthday party is in a few weeks and we will have about 15 kids ranging in age from 1-10 yrs old. We have never really child proofed our house, we never needed it. (Please no flames, this works for our family.) E pretty much stays out of the cabinets, bathrooms, stairs etc. She knows what she can get into and what she can't. We have plug covers over most of the outlets, but some are pretty loose and could be taken out by a child if they were interested in it.

We plan to set up one room as the kid play area for the party and I am putting on more secure plug covers. I don't mind putting them on the outlets as we are rarely in that room and never use the outlets except at Christmas.

Problem, my cabinets under the sinks in the bathroom and kitchen are not child proofed. I really do not want to have to put anything on them if I have to because I would either have to take them off after the party or deal with them long term.

WWYD? Warn the parents about the cabinets, suck it up and put locks on the cabinets, or SS?

mrsmyers8 · February 2011

first thing that comes to mind is you are so lucky your kid knows what they can and can't play with. secondly,,, will you be having any other kids? if you do childproof it would be good for the next kid. since all kids are not alike...

sevans1975 · February 2011

I wouldn't go around child-proofing just for a party...we don't have cabinet locks or anything either.

I would just let the parents know about it and ask them to make sure they don't go into the bathroom unattended, etc.

Also...the parents should be watching their kids anyway and not expecting you to be the Safety Patrol, you know?

sweetfern · February 2011

You could put something like this on the cabinet that you can simply take off after the party...

https://www.amazon.com/KidCo-S334-W-Sliding-Cabinet-Lock/dp/B0009ET8EG/ref=sr_1_12?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1297188238&sr=1-12

hersheykiss · February 2011

We are trying for another child, and I know each child is different. I am not pregnant now, so it would be at least a year before I would need it done. We intended on childproofing as we needed, as E was getting into things. We just have never needed it. If the kitchen cabinets are open, she gets furious and closes them.

mburkhe · February 2011

Can you throw all the dangerous stuff in a tote and store it in the basement or away from the kids for the day?

On our cabinets I bought a a buckle type thing from Walmart....it has sticky stuff on each end and latches. I put that on the outside of the cabinet to keep my DD out. They have fallen off, they only lasted a few months, but when they came off they didn't ruin the cabinet. It will be a cheap, quick fix that you can un-do after the party.

IEtoLA · February 2011

We haven't childproofed our cabinets either, so no flame here. We close doors to areas we don't want the kids going into and for the most part if a child has access to it, we make sure that it won't be harmful to them. But I honestly feel that while you are inviting a bunch of kids over, it is still up to the parents to monitor their children. I know when I go to someone's home I am constantly watching DD and wouldn't expect the hosts to change up their living arrangments for us. If it works for you, leave it alone.

4realyo · February 2011

I only have a cabinet lock on the cabinet underneath my sink (because i keep dish soap, etc in there). its an external plastic piece that goes over the know so it doesnt damage our cabinets. I dont have any other cabinets locked. I keep all bathroom doors closed so she cant get in the bathroom and I keep all guns in a safe. That is the extent of my childproofing. I dont think you really need to do anything special for the party as parents should watch their own kids imo. If you have something dangerous (like poison or a cleaning solution in a cabinet, i woudl lock that or put it away). The only other thing is that I went to a party at my sisters house the other day and she lives in a split level so there are 2 staircases and she didnt have gates and it was a bit of a pain to watch both staircases, but we managed. We dont have stair gates at my house so I cant really complain.

Krisann79 · February 2011

#1). No flames here. We only use the outlet covers. We have moved most of the cleaning stuff up so she can't reach it but we really don't have to childproof because right now we're with her all the time. If we have to use the restroom we just take her with.

#2). On the cabinets. I'd just put up a child or doggy gate so it blocks the kids off from the kitchen all together.

vmm0016 · February 2011

I would just let the parents know that you do not have the cabinets child proofed. I thinkg that should be fine.

FlaCourtney · February 2011

I don't think any of those kids would have reason to be in your bathroom or kitchen alone, so it's probably not an issue (and you can keep the bathroom door closed) but you definitely don't want to be responsible for anything you could prevent.

You could do a few things -- warn the parents, remove cleaners or anything dangerous, put up temporary locks (like these: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2919697).

I'm amazed your daughter doesn't go for the cabinets. My son is all over ours. I don't have them all locked, but I do for the ones w/ hazardous and breakable items.

LauranBilly · February 2011

I would not get child locks for my home for one birthday party.. especially if you werent too keen on the idea of leaving them. So just warn the parents of younger LO's that your house isnt baby proof. Its Toddler proof!

pinkram · February 2011

IEtoLA:
We haven't childproofed our cabinets either, so no flame here. We close doors to areas we don't want the kids going into and for the most part if a child has access to it, we make sure that it won't be harmful to them. But I honestly feel that while you are inviting a bunch of kids over, it is still up to the parents to monitor their children. I know when I go to someone's home I am constantly watching DD and wouldn't expect the hosts to change up their living arrangments for us. If it works for you, leave it alone.

this

jnealet · February 2011

I would never think to child proof for a party. And I'm with you - the extent of our child proofing was to buy a gate and carry it upstairs where is still sits in the box.

I would hope the parents would watch their children while they are at someone else's house.

outnumbered · February 2011

Put a cabinet lock on or remove dangers from underneath the cabinets. Even the most vigilant parent can lose sight of their child. Sliding locks are cheap and do not need to be drilled on. Here is the one we use.

https://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Home-Safety/Latches-Locks/Details/1909-48387-SecureTech-Cabinet-Lock

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · February 2011

sevans1975:
I wouldn't go around child-proofing just for a party...we don't have cabinet locks or anything either.
I would just let the parents know about it and ask them to make sure they don't go into the bathroom unattended, etc.
Also...the parents should be watching their kids anyway and not expecting you to be the Safety Patrol, you know?

I wholeheartedly agree. I'm sure your friends have taken their LO's to places that weren't child-proofed numerous times before - I doubt anyone has ever childproofed their homes just to accommodate them. Just let them know that their are no locks on the cabinets, etc. And in the end, whether you childproofed or not doesn't matter: they should still keep an eye on their kids (or make sure someone else is!) at all times.

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