Parenting & Family

Baby Proofing the House

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  • Aug 20th, 2014 11:38 pm
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Deal Addict
Jul 29, 2013
1396 posts
33924 upvotes
Montreal
Stock R wrote: We did very little baby proofing. Our constant vigilance method provided very little opportunity for Jr to seriously hurt himself. Potentially serious hazards were addressed. Anything else we just let him learn from it.

Ex. When Jr first learned to climb the stairs, I installed the gate. The next thing I did was teach him how to climb down. We still used the gate but he's almost always been capable of safely climbing up and down.

Ex. We never locked any drawers. We only rearranged them so the sharp stuff out out of the way. We let him take stuff out and chuck it as he wished. Then we taught him to put everything he chucked back into the drawer. Took a while but now he can tidy up. Sure he smooshed his little fingers a couple of times but you learn quickly how not to crush your fingers.

Sometimes the best way to teach your kids is to let them fall.
+1 for all of that.

I also found it best to teach them from the get go what they could and couldn't do. If you baby proof everything in your house then go into another house that is not baby proofed, they could go do anything they want. We always told our toddler she couldn't open drawers without asking, be careful with closing doors, don't play with plugs, etc. so that anywhere we were, she would follow the same rules. She's 2.5 years old now and so far so good, not much babyproofing needed, just common sense and knowing what your kid is doing most of the time.
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Jun 23, 2014
1691 posts
1029 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
Pool noodle on top of the door to prevent it from slamming and breaking fingers.
Make sure nothing heavy can be pulled via the power cord or the mat it is sitting on.
Block the stairs (top and bottom).
If you can keep those outlet covers in place... good for you.
Sharp/poisonous items out of reach.
That's it.
Get ready to shout and scare the kid if he/she tries to chew a power cord or pull a plug out.
Deal Guru
Dec 31, 2005
13306 posts
750 upvotes
brownie85 wrote: +1 for all of that.

I also found it best to teach them from the get go what they could and couldn't do. If you baby proof everything in your house then go into another house that is not baby proofed, they could go do anything they want. We always told our toddler she couldn't open drawers without asking, be careful with closing doors, don't play with plugs, etc. so that anywhere we were, she would follow the same rules. She's 2.5 years old now and so far so good, not much babyproofing needed, just common sense and knowing what your kid is doing most of the time.
Our house was locked down. A couple of times at friends houses our infant/toddler was found running around the house holding the chef knife....their kids never went on the counter so they never had it secure. Eventually everyone knew that our son was different.

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