Babyproofing - What You Need To Know

I've always been the kind of person who lives in house that looks lived in. I am always fascinated when I go over to someones house and there is no clutter. I mean what do they do, just sit in an empty room? My idea of clean is to have everything in neat piles. Yeah all this had to change when we had a baby.

The experts have their recommendations and I'll list a few of them but just some observations.

When we first moved into our house my sister-in-law and her family moved in for about a year. They have a one year old. So we promptly put cabinet locks (similar to these) on all the lower cabinets. Besides keeping the kid out of the pots/pans/cleaners it kept the cats from sleeping in the cupboards.

After they moved out we went back to leaving stuff lying around. Well not anymore. I guess the easiest way to baby proof your house is to clean up and not leave any clutter lying around. Done using that pair of scissors/pen/cup/paper? Better put it away or your baby will find it.

Even the smallest piece of lint on the floor becomes something fascinating to a little one and will quickly end up in their mouth.

It is recommended that you use a new crib or if used that you check it to be sure that it is sturdy and hasn't been recalled for any reason. You can sign up for product recall emails at the website for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission here. But you might be thinking hey I want to put the crib by the window so little Johnny can see out the window. Yeah well if you do make sure the cord for the blinds is out of reach. Recall the little boy from above? Yeah one day when they went to get him from his nap he was happily standing in his crib the the cord from the blinds wrapped around him. He wasn't injured but he could have been.

Especially with newborns and young infants never put pillows, soft bedding, electric blankets, heating pads, or stuffed animals in a crib. My wife kept insisting that we put a mirror in our daughters crib so she could learn to recognize herself. Every mirror she tried had a bunch of crap attached to it. Balls to spin, things that made noise, dangling doohickeys. My daughter loved it. She would spin the ball, whack the other items and make a racket that kept my wife up and prevented my daughter from going to sleep. We took out the mirror.

Secure the trash can. Most kids go through a phase of being fascinated with garbage. It's mostly just a nuisance, but it can be dangerous if your child takes things out and finds, for instance, a sharp metal lid. Look for a childproof latch, keep the garbage in a locked cabinet, or put the can outdoors (such as on a porch off the kitchen). We had a garbage can with a lid that locks down. Every time we forget to press down on the lid to lock it, my daughter reminds us by trying to lift it and reach down into the garbage can. She's still to small to be able to do much more than get her hand on the lid but she could probably pull the can down onto her if she tried.

Don't carry a hot drink and your baby at the same time. My daughter likes to touch whatever it is I'm interested in. So be it a cold or hot drink, it's best to make two trips. One with the kid and the other with the beverage.

Appliances. Stoves now come with anti-tip brackets to that when you or a little kid tries to climb up the whole thing won't topple back onto them. You can also get similar things for bookcases and other furniture.

Everything these days had a seat belt on it. The shopping cart, baby chairs, swings. Use them. When a baby is ready to get out of something they will wiggle until they succeed and the seatbelt might be the only thing that keeps them from getting out of the chair and falling to the floor.

Keep wires out of reach. Use a covered power strip to keep your child away from them. Also get some plug covers. They are inexpensive and some types are not adult proof as well as child proof.

Pressure mounted gates can also help you declare areas of your home off limits. Out daughter loves to stand at the gate and shake it, but it hasn't budged yet.

I guess my best advice is to keep an eye on your kid. No matter how much you think you've picked up after yourself you child will find something that you don't want them to get into. When that happens, take the items away and file yet another thing to watch for in the back of your mind.