How Do I Childproof This?

Michelle,

You could try a store called Safer Baby in Studio City. It is right on Ventura Blvd... they might have something!

Good Luck,
K.

Hi...I am mother of three with a son that did the same thing. My son unfortunately was scalded by the hot water because the sitter didn't get to him fast enough. We eventually took off the knob at every bath time while he was in the tub and would replace it after his bath.

Good luck!

They sell a contraption that fits over the shower head. It's like a hose. We got this for my daughter and it worked great to rinse her off. Get one of those plastic lawn chairs and set it in the tub in front of the handles. You can sit in the tub with your child and use the contraption to rinse. He still has fun in the tub and you regulate the water temp. by just reaching behind you but he can't get to it. We also had a suction cup chair that she sat in but I don't remember how old she was when she grew out of it, but her legs fit through little sections and she wasn't able to get up. We had plenty of bath toys to distract her too.

I don't know if this will help but "One Step Ahead" is a good website that has tons of safety products. Also, you may try "Googling" child safety/bathtub. Hope that helps....good luck.

Michelle,
I too had issues like this, if he's doing it during bath time then I would turn the water on enough that it trickles, perhaps it;s the flowing water he likes, and then I would cover the knobs with towels or something to keep him distracted. Out of site out of mine, rubber band it on if you have too.

Good luck,
H.

If he likes his bath a lot, say a firm "NO," "Danger," and/or "HOT" and remove him from the tub every time he touches it (cut the bath short). He will soon associate touching that with ending a fun bath. Also, he will start understanding when you use that firm tone, he could get hurt. You can even teach him sign language. Every time he gets an Owie, touch your too index fingers together (that is sign language for being hurt) and say "owie" so he associates the word with the sign. If my 15-month-old sees me put my two fingers together, he backs off of anything that he's involved in now. He learned the sign when he was 1, but I think he would have understood it. You can also make sure the dial is on cold water when you're done putting the water in for his bath. Of course, watch him like a hawk and don't leave him for a second. The only other thing I can think of is to try to change your faucet if he persists. Talk to a plumber about converting the dial to a regular spout.

babies r us sells a cover that attaches with suction cups.

It sounds like an opportunity for an invention. Have you considered that? Create something to child proof it then submit is an an invention. Who knows? When my kids were small, they had this toy Winnie the Pooh thing with figures and it had a water wheel and some other stuff (my kids are now 12 and 13), and that might distract your little one from the faucet. I still like the chance of you inventing something thought. Good luck

I don't know if the size would work - but did you look at the door handle covers? The kind where you have to push in on the sides to be able to turn the knob? They have on the gates at my child's school.

Good luck!

my daughter did the same thing from about 9 to 14 months. Now (16 months) she's moved on tomore interesting things. We could not childproof our knob either so we simply turned down the water temp on the hot water heater to the point that even on pure hot water, she can't burn herself. All it means for us is that we think ahead and not try to shower, give her a bath, run a load of laundry and run the dishwasher at the same time. Since that doesn't need to happen, it's a good and GUARANTEED SAFE solution!!!
Also, reprimanding her about touching the water made bathtime very frustrating for all of us rather than a nice wind-down at the end of the day. She outgrew her obsession and we know our hot water situation is safer for her now anyway...plus we've actually saved on our electric bill from lowering the temp.
Good luck!

I know our tub has a screw on it and thats what we did un-screw it and remove it and put it back on after the kids are out.

When I wanted my babies to stay away from things that could burn them I first taught them be fearful of hot by putting very warm water in a plastic bottle (not hot enough to burn, but warm enough to notice the difference between hot and cold), and then cold water in a bottle. I touched the cold and then in an exaggerated way would say "cooooollld", then I put their hands on the bottle. Then I touched the hot bottle and would pull my hands back quickly and would say hot!!! Oww, burns!! Then I let them touch the warm bottle so they could feel the difference. They learned very quickly that anything I touched that I would call hot with expression, they wouldn't touch. A friend of mine gave this advice to me and it worked with all three of my girls. Maybe you can do this and then call the faucet hot.

They other thing is maybe tie a washcloth over the faucet so that it won't turn on so easily, and so that it disappears. This will also serve as a cushion if the baby falls forward onto the faucet.

Good luck.

How about duct tape?