Childproofing the house

[Jaileth]

DH and I have very different ideas about childproofing the house. I was wondering if you could tell me what you did or didn't do to child proof your house?

And what about when you go to visit the grandparents? Do you spend the whole visit saying don't touch? My in-laws have a tonne of statues and figurenes (sp?) - some of which have been passed down for generations - all over the house. And my parents have stuff... well, everywhere! Just wondering if I should be asking them to have a kid-friendly area for bub. I know its early now, but they'll take some convincing!

[carls]

This is one of my biggest concerns! I dread the day that sticky hands or worse - paint or pens are going to come into contact with my cream fabric, or that the wine bottles are pulled out of the wine rack and smashed on the ground

[tickle]

If it is in the road or can be grabbed, move it!!!
There are some things that you can't move that you just have to teach them not to touch. But most people have heaps of stuff at baby level that can't be touched and unless you want to spend all day saying, don't do that, etc etc, I would just move it.
When we go to Grandmas, if he finds something interesting that he shouldn't I just move it. But he is usually so preoccupied with people and toys that there isn't enough time to look at anything else.
I don't let O walk around with sticky hands and he can only play with pens when he is sitting in his chair. There will always be accidents though, just happens with kids I guess.
I would definately get some to those power point plugs, they are great!!!
E

[Foxy]

Hi Shaelia,

I was really worried about approaching my MIL about this, but I was happily surprised one day when we went there and found the glass coffee table plus a few other offenders gone without my having to mention it!

Maybe your parents and in-laws might want to invest in a playpen if they don't want to put things away. As Happy Lady mentions, usually on these type of visits bubs doesn't usually get a moment to themsleves with all the cuddling, playing etc that goes on.

In your own home, try to achieve a balance between safe and totally minimalistic with padded walls....... We have left a few things around that DS can get to that are "ours" but are not going to harm him. I have dedicated the bottom shelf of our book shelf to all his books and a few toys so that he will generally be happy stopping at this level. I also have a small kitchen cupboard with plastic containers, ice cube trays etc and he knows that is "his" cupboard.

Michelle

[whatwasithinking]

We were one of the lucky ones - our DD#1 never seemed interested in touching stuff she shouldn't have. We never childproofed the house.

And it's funny though - we got so used to our child not doing anything that when I babysat for a friend I didn't realise that little boys throw things in the toilet! OOPS.

Don't know if DD#2 will be the same or not - too early to tell.

Sorry I couldn't give any advice.

[Jaileth]

What about cleaning chemicals in cupboards, etc? Or just stuff in cupboards in general. Are they safe? This new place doesn't have a lot of high places to store things.

And any ideas on cables? With all the electronic junk we have, there are metres and metres of them laying around the house, although most of them are coiled away so they'll look neat.

[tickle]

Cables are one of the things that we just tell O not to go near. He is really good and isn't that interested in them.
I would definately move all chemicals. If you can't really move them I would get the cupboard locks. But I always feel better when they are completely out of reach!

[wattle]

My dh is much more casual about safety than I am. I bought ds a playpen that he is happy to sit in when I'm in the shower or outside. I also bought a gate for the kitchen. It saves me worrying whether he's in there or not.

All the chemicals etc are in the cupboard above the oven and the glassware is up high. So now ds can crawl around as much as he likes and it's relatively safe. We had some electrical cables out, but I put a small table in front of them, so he can't get to them. The power point covers are a must.

I figure it doesn't take too much effort (at the crawling stage) to make the house safe and it's definitely worth it!

[rynosmum]

My DS is nearly 18 months old now and we have had a pretty good run. We certainly put ALL of the medicines and chemicals away in baskets on a top shelf - this is just too much of a risk otherwise.

Glasses and plates are still in low cupboards and he knows where they are but doesn't bother with them after we told him not to. If he sees plates or glasses in the living room, he calls me in and popints to them until I move them or he will carry them to me and say 'TA' so I take them away.

He has also learnt pretty well to not touch cables etc. It's all about being firm and consistent about your message. We can go into a friends house, I will get down to his level and point to something and say 'no touching - not for babies' and he will deliberately avoid it. We've always done this and he's picked up on it pretty well.

I feel it's important that bubs know what they can touch and what they can't - if you just hide everything, they will just go straight for new things at friends houses. I also have 2 drawers for him in the kitchen for toys and plastic containers plus a shelf for him in the pantry where I put boxes and plastic jars that he can play with.

When I have a shower or have to run outside I do put him in his high chair though. Nothing is more tempting than nobody watching !

[tickle]

Glasses and plates are still in low cupboards and he knows where they are but doesn't bother with them after we told him not to. If he sees plates or glasses in the living room, he calls me in and popints to them until I move them or he will carry them to me and say 'TA' so I take them away.

That's so funny. My DH has a habit of dropping coins where ever he goes and O is always bringing them up to me saying 'ta'. It is almost obsessive.LOL
A good thing though.