Ask:
What do you think is a necessary baby proofing item? Tips for baby proofing your house???
Answer:
the plugs for the electrical sockets.
I would also think stair/railing guards- though I have a 1 story home.
Answer:
This may not be directly related to baby proofing but please do not have any visine products when you have a small child or baby in the house. It seems harmless but my son was poisoned by this drug. He spent 3 days in the hospital. I try to tell everyone I can about this. I was also really nervous about cords from mini blinds- tie them up at the top or cut them off as short as possible.
Answer:
Doorknob covers!! Electrical socket covers and cupboard locks are ranked pretty high also
Answer:
There are TONS of great gadgets out there for babyproofing. The most important 'tip' I think though, is only look at baby proofing items as a way to 'slow them down', NOT prevent them from getting to things. Keep your cleaners and "under the sink" items UP HIGH, regardless of the locks. Make your bottom cabinets, pots, pans and such, not toxins. I really think this is vital. They can still get to stuff, just not 'as quickly' was my way of looking at latches and such. HTH
Answer:
Outlet covers
Gate at the steps
We have magnetic tot locks on the kitchen cabinets and I love them. They are a sanity saver but not necessarily a must have.
Answer:
I did not have to baby proof w/my oldest, I don't know if I just had more time to pay attention and teach her no or if she was just good, but now my 13 mo dd is BAAAAD!! I've got a lock on my fridge, outlet covers was 1st and just bought the cabinet latches as I let her play w/the pots n pans, but now she is taking the paper towels out and unraveling them and I am afraid a can will break her toe when she empties out the cabinet. With my oldest, I did need a doorknob cover as she just opened the door and went out to play one day, I couldn't believe it!
Answer:
I was always told get down to there level, and crawl around on the floor and anythign that does not seem safe, move it away.. Use plug out let covers, door knobs covers, if you have stairs gates... blinds that dont have the string puller or hang it up high.. cabinet closers.. etc..
Answer:
Even with a one story house we had more than one baby gate. Since we also have pets, sometimes the baby gate did nothing more than help keep the baby separate from the dog when I couldn't be nearby to watch.
When DD got old, latches high up on the major doors became very important. She defeated the door knob covers in a wink. The latches at least slowed her down. If nothing else I could hear her as she would drag a kitchen stool across the floor to unhook the latch.
We gave up using our woodstoves (or fireplaces) until DD got older. If you use a wood stove you MUST have a security gate all around it.
Nightlights help a lot. Stumbling around in the dark when baby starts to cry in the middle of the night is no fun. I ended up putting a small lamp near the medicine cabinet (a high cupboard with a latch) so I didn't have to flip on the bright overhead light when looking for the little one's medicine late at night. ALWAYS check the label, including the dosage, before giving medicine - every single time! Those bottles start looking very much the same at 2 am.
I moved all the cleaning supplies to the top shelf of one of our pantries and put a latch on the door.
Other than that, we didn't do much. I use plug covers only because I like how they look. Something about a bare outlet just looks tacky to me.