I mentioned to Jenn the other day I needed to get on the ball for babyproofing. Then I realized, I don't babyproof. Sure, I don't have things out which could hurt my children if they got into it (glass, poisons, medicine), but other than that, I don't change anything in my house. I simply teach my children what they can and cannot touch.
The thing I like about not babyproofing is I can take my children to anyone's house or anyplace and I don't have to worry about them getting into things. I've seen some of my friends remove everything in reach of a child and I just think that's begging for future trouble, if not just a huge annoyance for their friends when they come for a visit.
My big issue now is teaching my girls to not have any small items (ie: barbie accessories) in the common area where Karl is allowed to roam free. I've decided to make their room off limits to Karl, allowing the girls to play freely without worry of a choking incident. I'm going to put a gate up in their doorway and that's the only gate I'll have in the house. I do have some locks on cabinets (my bathroom, the kitchen) but that's about it. Karl will just learn what he's allowed to get into and what he's not allowed to touch.
What about you? Do you babyproof?
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We put a gate in the entry way to keep her from falling down the stairs. Once she learned to climb out the dog door, we put a fence across the dining room (and if we ever forget to close it she makes a beeline for the outside). We try to keep the bathroom doors shut. We babyproofed the kitchen cabinets. That's about it.
Yup, I'll baby proof. Already started, so far I've proofed the same items you have, storing chemicals away from where baby can get to them. I'll have no idea what else I'll baby proof at this point. This house is so big and I'm overwhelmed thinking of all the dangers, I'll just take it a day at a time and when I see danger that I can change, I will. I think mostly I just have to keep Dh from hurting him, he's a little clueless ::wink::j/k.
I babyproof to an extent. I put those outlet covers in, but stupid hubby never puts them back in when he uses an outlet, so it is actually MORE of a hazard because the dumbass will put the plastic outlet cover on the floor.
I have recently begun to freak out about little toys, thinking I'll just keep them all up high until Baby #2 is bigger. Then I won't have to worry about the baby getting something he/she shouldn't.
I will quote Nancy to say that not only will I be a mother of two, but I will have to become the "protector" of the baby. Ay-ay-ay....
I pretty much just babyproof the way that you do. One thing I learned with my first is that it doesn't matter how much you "babyproof" there are always dangers that you would have never thought of so you just take care of the big dangers and watch them and teach them what is dangerous.
I do not baby proof other than covers on the light sockets and the cords tucked away. I don't want to have to worry about taking my darlings somewhere and them touching. And for me it works. Since Aidan could crawl we've taken him places no other babies could go and never had a problem. My husband's cousin mentioned that Aidan is the only kid he lets roam around the house because he knows he won't get into things.
With Sam now, I tell Aidan to make sure the little toys are a little harder for Sam to get just because of choking. But so far (knock on wood) we've been lucky.
So no, I do not baby proof.
I don't really babyproof either. There were certain things that were moved due to being very unsafe (i.e big planted pot on tall metal wire stands). I have a gate at the top of my stairs that could probably be taken down soon since the boys can climb and go down stairs safely. The only reason why it's still up is so that I can contain them both on one floor! Other than that, I have caps blocking the electrical plugs.
I agree that I want my boys to learn the word "no". They have learned very well so far that there are certain things that are just off limits to them. And as they are getting older, they are allowed to have access to more and more.
I'm RIGHT at that stage right now. I haven't babyproofed and I REALLY want to teach Ruby what she can and cannot touch - because I totally agree with raising kids that way. I'm just not 100% sure how to go about it. I say "NO" in a stern voice and shake my head with a serious look on my face but she either laughs at me and keeps doing it or cries - which makes me feel like an asshole.
We starting with 'No' with Caiden. I have the outlet covers in & plan on a few cabinet locks & gates at the stairs. That's pretty much it. Our house is pretty clear & I would also rather have her learn what not to touch then just take it away for convenience sake.
I did shorten the cords on her window shade though.
Yup, ditto to your comments on babyproofing. We covered our outlets, put away the medicines and had a gate at the top of our basement stairs. Other than that, everything else stayed the same and I agree it helps to teach kiddos what they can and not get into outside of your own home. I've seen some homes where they had every babyproofing gadget available, seemed extreme to me but it's all parental style.
I handled it exactly how you do. I watched my friends' kids overcome any attempted baby proofing so I decided not to waste my money on those products.
What about gates? You live in a ranch right? So you don't have any stairs other than basement?
My only real "baby proofing" will be gates. We live in a split level, so we have too many stair cases (3 total). Other than that there are some plug covers, but they were mostly all here when we moved in.
We have a gate across our open staircase, outlet plugs, and cabinet locks (to protect the food supply more than anything). But she climbs up and down the stairs only when we go down stairs. She also plugs in our laptops and the vacuum (or tries to anyway). Everything else is pretty much free for the touching (as far as decorative items - we minimized, but didn't clear out entirely). We have no toilet locks, no door knob protectors (that's what deadbolts are for), corner padding, or anything fancy. Just the basics - chemicals, electricity, and long falls.
I haven't babyproofed yet, but am thinking about it. I remember when my brother was a toddler, by the time he had gained any interest in electrical outlets, he had learned how to take the plasic covers out anyway so that was a waste of time.
The only thing I ~really~ worry about is him getting outside. Our backdoor is difficult enough for ~me~ to open but we have a couple of ponds in our backyard so I am afraid if he gets out something bad will happen before I even realize where he's at.
I'm also a little worried that baby proofing the house will also make it Hubby-proof. Those safety latches are complicated.
Hmm. I have a baby gate to gate off the bedroom and bathroom, but that is more for allowing a B-free zone for the poor dogs. I have a few drawer latches/cabinet latches for dangerous areas only. One thing I do have that is odd is bi-fold door locks. My utility area is behind bi-fold doors in the hallway and I don't want her or any other kiddos that might be there to open those doors.
Since we don't have much in the way of breakable knic-knacs or art, we did no other proofing.
I did have a friend's toddler ruin my coffee table's finish with hand sanitizer when B was first born. Ever since I put hand sanitizer out of small-people's reach.
I don't do a lot - we've got a bifold closet door in our family room that I locked because it's where I keep diapers & I got tired of refolding them. We have a couple of gates up because of stairs and for when I want to contain them to the family room, and locks on kitchen cabinets that have chemicals and glass.
We do it exactly the same way you do! We have a baby gate across the bottom of the stairs so the baby can't get up, but besides and some cabinet locks (under the sink, etc) we haven't done anything. The girls have been allowed to move toys to their rooms and the baby isn't allowed in there and we're working on keeping the Barbie shoes out of the "common areas".
And our kids are really similar in age - mine are 5.5, almost 4 and 9.5 months.
I don't really childproof, but I do do whatever makes life easier.
We have childlocks on the kitchen cupboards from when TBB was very young.
Mostly we just use common sense - the cat/dog bowls are kept out of reach, we don't really have any breakables/valuables. If TBB wants to play something with small pieces he has to do so in a bedroom with the door shut so TTG can't touch it.
The laundry door stays shut because the corella is in there and she BITES.
We put on outlet covers and we have one kitchen drawer "locked" with chemicals in it. I did put a couple door handles "locks" on because there are a couple rooms I'd like to keep her from playing in (ie office and bathroom). Of course I don't really worry about her playing in there now and could take them off.
I have to agree too. We gate the top of stairs and do outlets, but that is it. I am not putting the stero or DVD players in crazy places to be out of reach. I will do the same thing with the big boys room...keep the door shut to keep Ty out...well, when he gets mobile. I still have some time. :) My 15 month nephew was over yesterday and the boys were really cute telling him not to touch stuff. Bossy kids! LOL!
I put a padlock on my dinghy so any baby that gets into it can't get out into the river.
We have a babyjail, but we also have a distressing tendancy to run off and chew things in opposite directions. At once. Also, we know about toilet rolls and putting things down the loo. That is FUN.
L+G
I know this is an older post, but I'm catching up and I just had to comment. We don't baby-proof either. We never had any problems with our daughter. It's still yet to be said for "the boys" as they aren't even crawling yet, but other than outlet covers we used with Phoebe, I haven't thought of needing a thing.
I have also been training our daughter not to leave her things lying out in the common house areas and that her room is off limits for the boys. I guess great minds think alike?
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