Childproofing Help - Saint Paul,MN

I just had baby #4 and never once did I baby proof anything. The best for us was to just teach them what they can and cannot do. I found that the more I taught them to respect things around them then the easier it was to go to people's houses and other places that did not have any baby proofing. It does require a lot more attention when you do not baby proof but it has been well worth it in my book.

Now even though I do not baby proof, I do make an effort to keep chemical products up high and I do not ever leave my kids in rooms alone if there is something like a wobbly bookshelf or TV. I did however, teach them right away to go up and down stairs properly, I just never felt comfortable with the baby gates, they seem more flimsy than most things in the house.

Good luck!

The BEST way we found to "childproof" our home was to teach them "NO" or to teach them how to do stairs early. We never used anything for any of our own kids, nor the ones I've babysat over the years--babygates included.

The only 'babyproofing' we did was a babygate at the top of our steps and outlet covers. We would just say 'no' and move the baby away from whatever she was trying to get at. Also, we put some tupperware containers, wooden spoons and measuring cups in a low drawer in the kitchen so they could play safely while I was prepping dinner. But the rule is (and always has been) no one in the kitchen unless they're cooking - keeps the hubby outta there too! lol

If you are there to keep an eye on your baby while he's exploring his home, then it'll be ok. If you have to leave the room for whatever reason, either take him with you or plunk him into a playyard until you come back.

Rental or not you can wall mount the T.V. just fill in the hole before you leave or they can charge you :). Stairs unless you follow behind your little one every second I would put the gate in now...you might be surprised how quickely then can get around! wouldn't worry about the fireplace unless you have it on a lot, wouldn't worry about the bed rollers we've never had issues with those. Best thing with the shelf would be wall mount then and teach the child "no". Ditch the souveneur rack until the baby is older...you can go without for a few months. Wall outlet covers are a must, and the vacuum is your best friend!

We tended to childproof as needed. We never did block the stairs. Our guy just never tried going up or down them without us there. We worked hard at teaching him how to go up and down safely. Good luck.

i just covered outlets and put baby gates on the stairs when she started to climb i also got rubber corner covers for the fire place and latches for the cabnets. personally i think that as a parent you should TELL them no when they start climbing or getting into something that they shouldnt be.

Ha Ha! Life is so much easier when they can't move! I suggest you follow your baby around. Your house will get childproofed in no time! Any main area's that your baby is often at should be well proofed. You can buy metal attachments at the hard ware store to attach your bookshelves to the wall. We've done this with ours. Anything and everything that is at your baby's level will be pulled off the shelf, especiall if you have a boy. Anything valuable or breakable, I would put up until all your children are grown. You can try the "no, no" approach, but the reality is your child is curious and this is how they learn about things.
On the bed rollers, I would get something soft and duct tape it around it.
Have fun!

For the TV, you can purchase one of those plastic play yards and wrap in front of the tv so baby can't get to it. This would also work for the fire place. For the stairs, when baby starts crawling/moving get a gate specifically for stairs. Bed rollers - could you get some foam or something like that and duct tape it around there? Kitchen rack - I would move the small stuff. Anything tall like the bookshelves really need to be anchored to the wall once baby is able to pull up on stuff. They sell "brackets" specifically designed for this purpose. My granny has a friend whose grandchild was killed because a bookshelf fell on her and her M. was prosecuted for her death :( It's ok to confine him to a small space sometimes - a place that it "extra" safe so you can relax and take your eyes off him for a second. And then make the rest of the house resonably safe and also under your supervision.

I did major childproofing for my first baby too in our first house. Then we moved to a 2nd when my 2nd baby was 6 weeks old. I decided to wait and see what she would be into. My first loved the kitchen cabinets, my 2nd never even once got in there. We didn't cover the fireplace and have never had a problem. For a few weeks, we covered the stairs with a chair and then decided to teach her how to go up and down the stairs safefly on her own (with supervision of course). Actually, I did very little childproofing in our second house. Mostly it was to keep our older daughter from exploring cabinets with, say, fine china in them. I actually think good supervision is better than childproofing anyway.

I totally agree with most everything posted. With our first child, we removed anything breakable, put outlet covers on, had baby gates, left doors shut - really confined him - and in some ways, that backfired. He was terrified of closed doors at places like the doctor's office, wanted to be on the other side of the closed door. Weird, I know - but with our next two, we chose to be practical. We crawled around and looked for serious problems. Cords hanging out in the open that, if tugged, could topple a lamp down - meant rearranging the cord - simple and quick fixes for the most part. Furniture that could topple - simple 'L' brackets solve the problem - usually under a dollar - install on the top of bookshelves with one screw into a stud. Simple - and removes the fear. Around sharp edges (bed frame, fireplace brick?, sharp countertop corners, etc - we either wrapped towels or foam - and there are sticky foam-ee corner thing-ee's that we bought for desk corners, etc. Moved heavy breakables to either upper and out of reach places or lower to the floor. I wanted pretties around - and taught the girls that - but didn't want them to crash on their heads. Baby gates - we didn't even do it for the girls. We started by distracting them from the area - and when we couldn't be with them, put them in a playpen or took them with. Occasionally, that meant putting them back in their crib with fun toys ... like if i was in a shower. Really, you want them to feel like this is their home and learn to respect your things - without having heavy things falling on them. Both girls discovered the stairs when they were actively crawling, and we began showing them how to scoot down feet first. It requires a lot of diligent coaching, but once then had the hang of that, they could and would scurry down on their own. Yet they had NO interest in getting caught on a level of the house alone - So once they figured out going down the steps meant coming back up to play, they stopped going there. Probably the most disturbing thing to M. with the girls was their ability to find and destroy paper (books, magazines, newspapers) - in a second. And pens, markers, crayons - all fair game. We kept my son's littlest toys in his room - and that was the one shut door. Good luck !

The only baby proofing we ever did was cabinet locks and stair gates. the best baby proofing is attentive parents. We do have a few rooms in our house that are "baby safe" where they can roam free/play without M. for when I need to cook dinner etc. In the other rooms we watch them and teach them what is not okay to touch. There are only a few things that are off limits to my kids - yes they try to explore there. we give them a stern no and remove them from the temptation, if that's not working a flick on the hand along with the no. It's no coincidence that baby's cause and effect starts kicking in at the same time as crawling. They learn that when I touch that thing I don't like the results. When I touch all these other things, I get lots of praise and positive affirmation. That's right, discipline starts now....