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March 04, 2005
Baby proofing
As Caleb gets more mobile and closer each day to crawling, we've been thinking about baby proofing the house. I'm wanting to get started on that this weekend. Since I've never done this before, I'm not sure how to go about it. I'm sure there are sites out there if I googled "baby proofing house" but I'd like your advice, if you have any to give. We have some of those outlet covers which we need to put into place. A question we have about those is that we have outlets on the FLOOR! The outlets are dark brown in color and the floor is brown so they kind of blend in. If we put a bright white outlet cover on it, won't it just attract Caleb to it? Maybe I should color the cover with a marker.
Also I've thought of getting those drawer closers, is that what they are called? You know the things you put on kitchen and bathroom drawers so the baby can't open them? Are those necessary? Also we have a lot of floor lamps, but we need the lighting they give. Is that too dangerous to leave them? I don't want to be too hyper about this stuff, but also wanting to keep Caleb safe. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by michellew at March 4, 2005 09:57 AM
Comments
Michelle, I think there is an appropriate middle-ground to be found on baby-proofing. Some friends turned their living room into a "baby-only" playground, which allowed them to never teach their children the meaning of "no." On the other hand, other friends have chosen not to baby-proof anything at all, which seems to be inviting danger.
Livia isn't very mobile yet, but I plan to put plugs in most reachable outlets, as well as move all cleaning supplies to upper cabinets. I also plan to put gates at the top of our stairs. I'll block off electrical cords (behind the tv/stereo), but otherwise I'll have to be vigilant to keep her from harming herself with lamp cords, etc.
Posted by: Rebecca at March 4, 2005 12:00 PM
I with Michelle in wondering what's up. I know it's a bit early for us, but since we'll be moving this summer, it might be nice to think about arrangements of things in a baby-proof kind of way.
Actually, Chris is already making sketches of the wires for our (rather extensive) home computer network (it's his hobby). Trying to centralize it so that there's one place that's a "no" place.
Posted by: Jeannette at March 4, 2005 12:58 PM
I think that the outlet covers are pretty important (not that I am diligent in making sure that all of mine are covered). Finding dark outlet covers or coloring them yourself sounds like a great idea. I have never used the locks for the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. I guess I have always taken other precautions to make sure that my little ones do not get into anything harmful, i.e.. my lower cabinets are filled with paper towels, plastic storage containers, juice cups, mixing bowls, and pots and pans. Each of my boys have gone through a phase where they repeatedly close their fingers in the drawers but soon learn not to do so. Our knives, cleaning products, and any medicines are kept in high cabinets. We also have floor lamps. Instead of getting rid of them, we trained our kids not to pull them over or touch the cords. They never really were a problem. The only accident related to child proofing that we have encountered was the result of using roman shades. I kept the long cords out of reach but did not think about the cords on the back of the shades...I hope that this helps a little.
Posted by: amber at March 4, 2005 01:11 PM
I agree with amber and have a similar take on stuff. First of all, every baby has their own thing that they love to touch, and also phases of touching. The covers worked for a while with Josiah until a few months back when he figured out how to take them off!! My boy is really pretty easy to disipline about this stuff. I think I have a cabinet thingy where the garbage can is. That's just too gross of a thing to not protect. But yeah, bathroom doors remain shut, cleaners are in hard to reach places, and knives are in a chopping block not in a drawer. Your house should be about Caleb being able to know what to do and what not to do. Of course every baby is different. My boy didn't crawl until 10 months and didn't walk until 13. I was able to move much faster than him for quite a while, and during that period you learn when it's time to possibly swat a hand or say a firm "NO" but for Jos, he wouldn't have understood what was going on until about 1 year when it came to discipline.I'd get a gate (they're necessary for stairs but can come in aweful handy for things you'd never think about!) and outlet covers and some drawer thingy's, some ipecac (sp?), but you'll find out the things that Caleb likes to touch and deal with it.
Posted by: katiek at March 4, 2005 03:03 PM
I agree with everyone else. Kate's been crawling for several months, and we haven't really baby proofed beyond outlet covers. There are lots of things we can't change, living in a rental. We have learned to redirect, redirect, redirect. When she started crawling at 5 months, she did not understand the concept of no touch. Now she is just starting to, but I try to keep it playful and cheerful and not to tempt her too much. Basically, I'm proactive and I just don't leave her in any room but her bedroom unsupervised. I read or cook or what have you while she plays and gets into everything, but I can hear her and look up and check on her easily and it's fine.
Posted by: kristen at March 7, 2005 03:42 PM
Michelle, I think the best way to baby proof your home is by watching Caleb, and letting him guide you in what you need to baby proof and what you don't. Since every kid is different (Ethan NEVER put one single thing in his mouth, Sam never kept anything out of it)you can go to a whole lot of effort, and still not think of everything. Or go to way more trouble than you need to, depending on the kid. Watch Caleb and see what he's into. Definitely cover the outlets, but I wouldn't worry about coloring them unless you think they are ugly or it becomes a persistent problem. In fact, if Caleb's attention is drawn to them, it will give you the opportunity to teach him that it is a "no" without the fear of an accident, since it will usually take a while for most kids to figure out how to get them out, and then he will learn that it is a "no" when he goes places where the outlets might not be covered. Judge things based on the consequence. Is closing his fingers in the door going to be a big deal to you? Is it life and death? Is it permanent?
Also, I've noticed that 7 months seems to be the age that most kids understand "no". In my own five kids, Amie's five, and others, this was consistently the age that we could expect to say "no" and get a response. I don't think it's at all unrealistic to start smacking a kid's hand after the first "no" after that age.
Amber's right about the shades. In addition to being a risk, they are so much trouble with kids around. I like the vinyl roll down shades which can be completely up and out of the way with no cords. Not as fashionable, but hey, raising kids isn't fashionable.
One more word of advice from learning the hard way. . .Every one of our kids was able to open the "toddler proof" locks for cabinet doors in no time at all, and we had two cabinet doors break because of the strain put on them by using the locks (forgetting about the locks and trying to open the door pulls on the door in an area not designed for that kind of pull), so I'm with Amber. Just put off limits stuff up high, and safe stuff down low. My bottom cabinets where I keep the Cheerios is Noah's favorite hiding spot! :)
Posted by: willa at March 9, 2005 01:48 PM
Have you seen the clear outlet covers that they have now? That's what I got and I really like them. I also have used the cabinet "locks" that actually aren't locks. They are magnets and you have a little spool size magnet that you use to open the doors. It is not as ugly as those ones that you have to push down on and then open, my daughter figured that out in no time. Your son is beautiful and I wish you all the happiness in your new found mommyhood. I also think that your sprouts look great! Are you doing a potted garden or a full blown family garden. Tomatoes are really easy to grow from seeds and keep in pots too. Good luck on your plantings.
Posted by: jami at March 9, 2005 09:55 PM
All the above are great suggestions. Don't forget to get down at his level & look around. It's amazing how you notice things that you never would have before. Babies love to pull things down...so be careful about anything hanging down over an edge. I agree that babies can learn "no" around 5-7 months....many times it's the tone of voice that is used as well as the word - obviously no shouting!
Posted by: Mom Thomas at March 10, 2005 09:40 AM
All the above are great suggestions. Don't forget to get down at his level & look around. It's amazing how you notice things that you never would have before. Babies love to pull things down...so be careful about anything hanging down over an edge. I agree that babies can learn "no" around 5-7 months....many times it's the tone of voice that is used as well as the word - obviously no shouting!
Posted by: Mom Thomas at March 10, 2005 09:41 AM