Child Proofing Recommendations?

PrincessWoods · May 2011

Hi ladies! My little man is close to crawling so I need to baby proof stat. Went to Babies R Us last night and was overwhelmed by how many options there were. Which ones actually work or are the safest? Outlets - clear plastic inserts vs. "deluxe" press fit vs. full outlet cover etc? Coffee Table - corner guards only vs. full foam bumper vs. elastic edge guard? Cabinet/Drawer Locks - Slide Locks vs. magnetic vs. Latch Thanks so much for your advice!

MrsGo4Hockeychick · May 2011

in all honesty, I think most baby proofing stuff is a waste of money.

Outlet covers are choking hazards, and it's a LOT harder to actually electrocute yourself in an outlet than people realize. Your LO's fingers won't fit, and if it's not metal, it's not going to conduct electricity. Your LO should not have any small metal toys that will fit in an outlet anyways.

We don't have a coffee table now, but we did when my brother and sister were growing up, and never put anything on it.

cabinets and drawers: see if you can keep the ones they can reach full of unbreakables and things that wouldn't harm your LO. We actually just put a gate at our kitchen door. I will say, I worked at a group home that had the magnet locks and they were a HUGE PITA (necessary because one of the residents had PICA). The magnet was constantly being lost, and they were really hard to get open sometimes as well.

tag7430 · May 2011

We used the clear plastic outlet covers and slide locks - one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. Like MrsGo4Hockey, I rearranged the rest of the cabinets/drawers so that the contents are baby friendly. Our coffee table is an oval so I didn't use any guards.

AlishaMay · May 2011

I disagree about the outlet covers - when are a baby's fingers ever dry? A friend's younger brother touched an outlet with wet fingers growing up and had a burn to show for it. Did he get electrocuted - no, but he did get burned. We use the kind that plug into the outlet, they're difficult to get out sometimes but I guess that means it will be for them too.

We got the latches that mount into the doors and drawers that have the little tab you push down on to open. I can do it one handed, and it's no big hassle for me.

We don't have to use the guards on tables, ours are either round or we replaced our main coffee table with a padded, leather ottoman that has trays on top. But my thinking about the elastic kind are that it could be sort of slippery when your little guy is to the stage of pulling himself up on the table. I'd go with something that attaches firmly to the table.

Lastly, this is my all time favorite baby proofing item! You didn't mention whether or not you had a fireplace, but if you do, I highly recommend it. I guess they will make them for other things too than hearths if you need them.

karelaorange · May 2011

I think outlet covers are a must, and ours are definitely too big to be choking hazards. The downside, though, is that now, whenever she sees an uncovered outlet she's drawn to it.

If you have blinds, these are the only winders I've found that work:

https://www.amazon.com/KidCo-Blindwinder-set-of-2/dp/B00018XCJW/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1304525913&sr=1-1

they're spendy, but after trying several others they're the only ones I can get to work.

MesmrEwe · May 2011

I agree with the PP that most "Babyproofing" products are a COMPLETE waste of money!! A strong rubber band will keep them out of the cabinet under the sink just fine. The outlet covers are the only thing we got for our place since the crib was next to a few outlets. That and stairway gate are about all you really NEED. None of the other stuff was worth the time/effort. They're only in that phase a short time.

MrsGo4Hockeychick · May 2011

karelaorange:
I think outlet covers are a must, and ours are definitely too big to be choking hazards. The downside, though, is that now, whenever she sees an uncovered outlet she's drawn to it.
If you have blinds, these are the only winders I've found that work:
https://www.amazon.com/KidCo-Blindwinder-set-of-2/dp/B00018XCJW/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1304525913&sr=1-1
they're spendy, but after trying several others they're the only ones I can get to work.

I don't know which covers you have, but if they're the plug in ones, they most certainly are choking hazards. I have a choke tube at home from my days of working at zany brainy, and I have yet to find a plug in outlet cover that doesn't fit in it.

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