Child Proofing: 101
Hooray! Your baby is crawling and learning to walk, such a big milestone! ♥
“Wait….No….Timmy don’t touch that!”
“Put…That…Down!”
“You’re going to fall!”
“How did you get up there?”
Does this sound familiar? Maybe not yet if you’re a new parent, but just wait, it will. And soon, as a parent your new favorite word will be “No”; which, coincidentally will be your toddlers favorite word once they start talking….hmm interesting.
Once your baby learns they have the ability to be mobile, they will take advantage of it. So, let’s get ready to baby proof your home with some easy tips.
Outlet Covers
Little one’s have the curse of curiosity; they will put their fingers exactly where they don’t belong, and sometimes suffer the consequences of the curiosity affliction. Be sure to cover your outlets with outlet covers; the covers can be found almost everywhere and are relatively cheap.
Doors/Windows
Before you know it, your little one will be able to reach the door handle and be outside before you can say “GET-YOUR-BUTT-BACK-IN-HERE!”. Installing magnetic alarms for doors and windows (which can be found at the dollar store) are an easy fix; either you’ll hear the little Houdini escaping or the alarm will scare them off before they get the chance to. There are also over the door handle locks that either cover the handle completely or if you have a lever handle there are locks that stop the lever from extending up/down; preventing the door from opening.
For sliding doors, there are specific locks called window wedges, that adhere to the glass that forms a wedge when the door is locked and lays flat when the door is open. Or there are sliding door guards; a horizontal bar that locks into place.
Window Locks
Similar to the sliding door wedge, there is a window wedge you can place it anywhere on the window; it just depends on how much you want to allow the window to open.
Cabinet/Drawer Locks
Cabinet and drawer locks are another easy fix (although if your child is anything like my child was-he kept pulling and pulling until the lock broke). You can find all different kinds of lock for cabinets and draws: magnets, latches and flex locks; find one that suits your needs, or ones that you think are toddler resistant.
Blinds
Be sure to keep the cords to blinds away from where little hands can reach them; you can put them up onto a hook, cut them to length, swap out the blinds that have cords to ones that don’t or use curtains instead.
Hiding Cords
Babies will put anything in their mouths, sometime it feels all you are doing is keeping them from getting hurt. Make sure you have all your cords tucked away or hidden using a cord hider/organizer or any of the other plethora of cable management items that can be found online.
Anchoring furniture (chests, dressers, bookshelves, etc)
With your little one being mobile, learning to climb is inevitable; this can cause issues with furniture toppling over and harming your baby. Use furniture anchors to anchor your furniture to the wall; this will prevent heavier items from falling over, which is great. However, this will not prevent your toddler from pushing the limits of those anchors; remember to watch your little one carefully.
Baby gates
Wrangle your little one using baby gates! This keeps them confined to a safe space in the home while allowing you the freedom to attend to tasks and giving your little one a space to explore without the fear of them getting into (too much) trouble. There are all different kinds of gates available to meet your needs.
Wow, that was a lot (and there’s plenty more baby proofing ideas/tips out there)! Who knew babies could get into so much trouble?