Babyproofing

cottonlily84 · August 2012

Short of sticking in some outlet covers in her nursery before she was born I have done none. I kept telling DH we needed to get on the ball but now that DD is finally crawling and pulling up I really don't feel the need to anymore. I watch her closely so I'm not sure how much baby proofing I really need to do. For example we have a wall length raised hearth, heavy wooden furniture, a dog crate, etc in our living room. I don't think there's a way to make all this stuff baby safe so I just have to watch her. Is that nuts? Or dangerous?

ASmallWonder · August 2012

We didn't go crazy. We have outlet covers (and special covers for outlets with things plugged in) and we put cabinet locks on the under sink cabinet (where the dishwashing liquid,etc. is. We also have two tall wooden bookcases and we anchored those to the wall. I never really worried too much about him hitting his head on the coffee table or whatever because they'll sort of figure out how to conk their head on anything (like the floor when you're standing right there

mm&es · August 2012

I think it depends on you and the child. With DD1, we hardly did any babyproofing. She was a very cautious child, and I could keep a close eye on her. With DD2, we're going to have to do a lot more, since my attention is always divided and she is much more curious.

memali26 · August 2012

elmoali:
We didn't go crazy. We have outlet covers (and special covers for outlets with things plugged in) and we put cabinet locks on the under sink cabinet (where the dishwashing liquid,etc. is. We also have two tall wooden bookcases and we anchored those to the wall. I never really worried too much about him hitting his head on the coffee table or whatever because they'll sort of figure out how to conk their head on anything (like the floor when you're standing right there

This is pretty much all we did, except we put also put a fence around the entertainment center (it has glass shelves) and removed the coffee table (not enough room for it and all the baby stuff!). With two kids they've pretty much taken over the house with their stuff anyway, so we just baby proofed the dangerous stuff and let them have the run of the place.

ladybugpjb · August 2012

We didn't do much. There are outlet covers on all of the outlets. I made it so he can't knock the fan over in his room. I put cabinet locks in the kitchen (but he never goes in there, so that feels like a waste).

The only thing I was really concerned about were the bookcases (because we have a gazillion books) and the tv, so DH anchored those to the wall.

The bookcases were a source of paranoia for me because of a really old episode of Gray's Anatomy (of all things). A baby ( I think it was Dr. Bailey's) died because he pulled up on the bookshelf and the shelf fell over and crushed him.

Actually, I'm paranoid of one other thing. I also put the door protectors on (the things that keep the door from shutting the whole way) because my niece (age 6) got part of her finger pinched off when another kid closed the door on it. They reattached it in the ER, but still. Ick.

ns1 · August 2012

This sounds exactly like DH and I! I've been saying we need to baby proof at each new milestone, but now that she's pulling up and crawling everywhere, I just keep an eye on her and really don't see big dangers that haven't been addressed. Like PPs said, I've put covers in the outlets, locks on the important cabinets, and anchored bookcases, but that's about it! So, you're not the only one!

cottonlily84 · August 2012

We're about to put two new bookcases in the living room so I will definitely take the advice to anchor those. We don't allow her into the kitchen so cabinet locks would be a waste for us too. She only goes in the living room and nursery. The hearth bothers me a bit tho we don't let her near it. I would still like something to soften that. Idk, guess I was feeling a little slack for how little we've done. DD will just fall over and bonk her head on the floor for no reason so it's not like the furniture poses a new danger for her!

mpstochlinski8 · August 2012

we didnt do too much either, outlet covers and kitchen cabinets locks on the doors we havent even gotten around to the drawer locks and they do open them alot. Im not worried about them getting in the drawers since there isnt anything they can get hurt with but they do get their fingers slammed in the drawers so we need to get to the locks soon! I watch my boys closely mainly because everything goes in their mouths now. we have an open floor plan so other than a baby gate to the hall and locking the cat door thats really all we do. I dont think its crazy just keep an eye on LO

jenb_99 · August 2012

We haven't gone crazy with our babyproofing. A few small things like anchoring topheavy furniture, latching cabinets that contain sharp or toxic items, gating off the kitchen and closing doors to rooms that aren't in use, and using outlet covers, but that's about it. Mostly we just keep DS in our sights and try to teach him what is okay and what is off-limits. He obvs doesn't get it yet, but he will at some point.

I've known friends who lock everything up tight, even the toilets, but I don't want to make my own house inaccessible or unwelcoming to me or my guests. I think babies do need to get into some mischief partly for fun and partly as a learning process, and like a couple of PPs said, they can find ways to hurt themselves even on seemingly benign things like flat carpeted floors.

Most of the babyproofing we've done lately is for our own sanity, not his safety. Things like moving all the DVDs to shelves he can't reach, latching drawers that he keeps rearranging for us, setting the TP on the window sill or the back of the toilet instead of on the wall hook, etc.

blu-eyedwife · August 2012

We anchored all the furniture to the walls, put the contents of the bookshelves into fabric shelves so he couldn't mess with them, cabinet locks, and a coffee table cover. That's it. Now he pretty much has free reign in the house which is great for everyone.

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