by Ellen Carroll on February 20, 2009

safety, tips

I’m sure I’m not the only mother who gasps audibly at the mind blowing prices for those tiny pieces of plastic that supposedly keep your babies safe.  Child-proofing your home can easily become an overwhelming, almost hysterical time, whether you do it before or after your child is born. The trouble with child-proofing (particularly for first time parents) is that you just don’t know how much is too much, or how little too little.  And to be honest, no one can really tell you where to start and stop; it all depends on your kid.

When my first son was born, my husband and I succumbed to the baby-proofing regimes we read about in every parenting magazine we could get our hands on. 215 dollars later, we just knew we’d missed something. Outlet covers? Check. Toilet lid thing? Check.  Bumper covers for anything with corners? Check. Door knob covers, baby gates, faucet covers, oven latch, refrigerator latch? Check, check, check, check, check.  After double checking all the lists in all the magazines, we were reassured that our baby would be the safest baby out there.  Six months later, we had hundreds of dollars worth of useless baby-proofing tools and (amazingly) an unscathed baby.

Lincoln had no problem completely dismantling the door knob covers, toilet seat thing and every other latch that had cost us  $8-$12 each. He learned to use leverage to take down the gates and enjoyed chewing on the outlet covers. We were desperate to find something, anything, that would keep him out of the bathroom, kitchen and power outlets. Here’s what we came up with:

1. Put a strip of duct tape (we know it’s not pretty, but it works and makes your $6 investment worth while) all the way around the door knob covers once they’re in place.  Your little smartie may know they come apart, but he won’t be able to undo the duct tape for a while, anyway.

2. Don’t mess with corner bumpers, unless your furniture has a truly sharp edge. While you may be saving your baby from a few bumps and bruises here, they’ll just find other ways to get them. Unless you have a really accident prone baby, spend your money on something else, since they’ll just end up chewing on them anyway.

3. Use clear push pins to secure cords from blinds to the top of the windowsill well above reach, even for a crafty baby that may push his high chair over to gain a bit of height.

4. If the doorknob covers are defeated and your kiddo still wants to go into rooms in which he’s not allowed, secure a hook and eye at the top of the door, out of reach. If you rent or don’t want to drill holes, you can use a simple latch with a button (like those for refrigerators) and attach it to the top of the door.

5. Pressurized gates are great, if your child isn’t inclined to climb them or push them over. For those of you that are constantly putting the gates back up, consider a gate that actually screws into place. Most of these are still adjustable and have a latch that allows them to swing open when needed, but are harder to climb and can’t be easily forced out of place.

6. Cabinet latches can be tricky. It took my husband 3 hours to install latches on our cabinets, and 5 minutes for 6-month old Lincoln to figure out how to work them.  If you have knobs, use thick, tight rubber bands (like what you might find on broccoli, for instance) that can be quickly undone by an adult, but require more physical strength than a kid’s got, no matter how determined they may be.  The adjustable latches you can buy at your local retailer work well, but if you need to get to something often and quickly it’s more frustration than its worth.

7. Be wary of the little boy (or girl) who climbs on everything. We learned the hard way that even a kiddie book shelf is just a jungle gym to toddlers. After it was dumped over (accidentally at first, then intentionally) several times, we jumped to drastic measures. While you don’t want to deprive your children of furniture, all of it can pose some sort of hazard to your savvy, mobile child. We suggest screwing bookcases into wall studs and putting non-slip rubber on the bottoms of any furniture that can be pushed or rolled.  It may seem extreme, but you’ll thank yourself for the extra care. A fallen bookcase (even in miniature) can seriously harm your baby and any furniture that can be moved, will be moved.

8. Be smart about storage. If your baby defeats any device you put in place, rethink your strategy. Never take a chance with chemicals. If your kid keeps finding a way in, move it somewhere else (preferably while they’re otherwise occupied).

9. When your kiddo discovers the joy of locking doors, your world can get scary in just a matter of seconds. At home, replace locking doorknobs with unlocking knobs in any room that your child can get into. If you’re using door knob covers, you probably won’t have to worry about this one too much. Lincoln loved locking us out of his bedroom until we simply switched his knob out with a different one. You can also buy simple door knob keys at any home improvement store.

10. Wrap tape around groups of computer cords to avoid potential tangling and strangulation.  If you use a laptop frequently, be sure you wrap up your power cord and tuck it away safely after each use. Never ever ever think you’ll get it in a minute. Your kid will always beat you to it!

The lesson here? Go with your gut. There are thousands of ways to make your home safe for your baby.  If you’re uneasy about something, there’s probably a good reason. Don’t take chances and don’t hope for the best. Your kids are going to defeat your child-proofing at some point, be proactive but be prepared to react quickly and creatively when your efforts are undone!

Have tips of your own? Feel free to leave them in the comments section below!

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