babyproofing your house
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=39380
Printed Date: 24 August 2025 at 10:41am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: babyproofing your house
Posted By: caliandjack
Subject: babyproofing your house
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 3:11pm
|
What things have you done to baby proof your home?
DD isn't yet crawling she's moving enough to get into things she shouldn't. Apart from putting things out of reach what else do I need to be aware of? ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Replies:
Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 3:32pm
|
These may seem obvious but:
Blind and curtain cords are a real hazard if they can reach them (choking), Glass table tops Drawers/cupboard doors that she can reach and therefore open and close, Fire/heater blocked off Steps/stairs blocked off Heavy objects she may be able to reach and pull off a surface Always putting pots etc on the back rings on the stove Other things are just more of a pain than a hazard such as the DVD player etc. We started using "no" and "mustn't touch" when DS1 started crawling - he learnt quite fast but now as a toddler he is back into all the things like DVD player, TV controls etc! And just when you think you have totally babyproofed all that you can, you can be sure she will find other mischief that you hadn't even thought of! Good luck! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 3:50pm
|
Lol - we have a glass top coffee table its survived 30 years and 5 grand children in a previous life how do I protect it from being smashed? ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 3:56pm
|
wow! It must be sturdy glass. Not sure as we don't have one. You can buy special film that stops it shattering so badly or at least if it does then the shards stick to the coating. When they start cruising furniture then you need to watch she doesn't bang anything too heavy on it. My DS1 loved to bang coasters etc on the table. Thankfully it was wooden and he did more damage to it than it to him! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 4:24pm
|
We have a glass coffee table and have been really lucky that DD hasn't been interested in it at all!
Make sure cupboards with anything dangerous or poisonous have a lock. We had a wee scare today where DD got into a cupboard and found a bottle of Jif cream (luckily only a sip if that and no damage) but still scary! Anyway everything we have that is poisonous or dangerous goes into a cupboard and we put a latch and lock on it but other's living here got slack and someone put the bottle in the kitchen cupboard under the sink! Oops! Anything you value or don't want damaged put up high or out of reach. DP has a collection of Blu Rays in a book shelf type holder and so he's now moved that so she can't get at it. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 4:27pm
|
We've got chemicals and cleaning stuff either locked in the garage or up on high shelves. Washing liquid lives on the kitchen window shelve and jif on the window shelve in the bathroom.
She's only gone near the DVD player once so far first time she heard the word 'NO'. Need to get a small bin for the kitchen atm we use a plastic supermarket bag on the floor even the cat gets into that. Has anyone put safety catches on the cupboards? Which ones did you use? ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: E&L+1
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 4:45pm
|
I put stockings on my pot plants. You cut them into tubes stretch them over the pot then tie loosly around the base of the plant. That way if they get tipped over the dirt remains contained and little fingers can't eat them either.
We use a variety of different catches depending on the cupboard. I like the heart shaped dream baby ones for a double cupboard I mainly use these in the kitchen as I can leave the cupboard unlocked if I'm in and out of it. The laundry and bathroom have the leaver ones that you screw on the inside of the door as I wanted something that couldn't be left unlocked accidently with the cleaning products etc. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Emmi_
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 8:05pm
|
I found explaining (simply) why DD wasnt allowed something she actually cottoned on to what it was very quickly and realises its not for her, like we have the cat and dog food on the floor (all day), we would say, thats the cat/dogs food isnt it Lilla, and now she will pick up a piece and feed the dog/cat!
Weve taken dangerous things away (chemicals) and anything we dont want broken, but other than that have let DD have free rein, so she can explore the cupboards/shelves etc. Wehn they start to be able to open cupboards its like magic! A whole new world opens up, its so cute!! ------------- 
+1 May 09 Angel 
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 8:57pm
|
The cat can open the kitchen cupboards I'm sure DD will work it out. There's nothing on ground level that is dangerous for her to get into. I have my baking stuff (cutters, measuring cups etc) in the bottom drawer I'm considering let her have that for herself. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: DzinerGirl
Date Posted: 23 June 2011 at 10:22pm
We're pretty much the same as Emmi, we only have latches on sink cupboard which has the cleaning products in it. The DVD player and things are all still on the open shelves in the tv unit and he turns his attention to them every now and again but we just repeat the same thing "We don't play with those Noah" when he starts to fiddle. The fireplace has a surround around it now we're using it but during the summer he was allowed to examine it in the hopes by the time we got to winter it would have lost it's appeal - so far so good (always watch him around it though!) I like watching him explore the kitchen cupboards, we've had him empty out a whole shelf and climb in recently - makes for great photos :) |
Emmi_ wrote:Posted By: JadeC
Date Posted: 23 June 2011 at 10:28pm
|
We've gated the whole kitchen off, so any chemicals and stuff are in there, along with the laundry and the cat food. Now we're about to gate the stairs, because he figured out how to climb them today!!
I think you just baby proof as you go. Once she's crawling you'll sort the floor out, then once she's cruising you have to do the whole lot again!!  ------------- http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/" rel="nofollow"> 
|
Posted By: Emmi_
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 3:01am
|
We havnt changed anything from our inital babyproof round. DD gets the stairs (she knows to wait for us before she uses them, and I feel like its important for her to know how to use them confidently and safely, after all you have to let them for for it at some stage right?) she has access to the cat and dog food (she knows its for them, she tries to feed them sometimes!).
I feel like its important for them to know why they cant touch stuff (like the pet food being for the pets, not for DD etc) so they actually understand why not rather than just 'no' (which doesnt get said in our house (or very very rarely!)) but thats just us  -------------
+1 May 09 Angel
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 7:54am
|
She's been into the cats bowls, fortunately our cat is a greedy puss and there aren't any cat biscuits for her to eat not that it would matter, and the water bowl is constantly being emptied by DD - cat will have to find water outside.
The bathroom seems to be a favourite place to explore - there's nothing on the floor to cause any trouble. All chemicals and cleaning stuff is either in the garage or on high shelves. She's been going for power cords some I can stop her getting at others I've told her No. New favourite Mummy word.  ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: NZ-rules
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 9:47am
I can say 'cat food is for puss puss, not for DS' until I'm blue in the face, but DS thinks its a great game to pick each individual biscuit out of the bowl and put them in the water bowl! When I catch him he looks the other way and nudges the bowl with his foot  . I think there are some battles you can't win so we've gated off the kitchen!------------- 
|
Posted By: Emmi_
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 9:56am
|
hahaha thats so cute!! -------------
+1 May 09 Angel
|
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 2:00pm
Jacob too! And then he'll turn the water bowl upside down to dump the contents everywhere, and lick the bottom  Consequently, our cat food is now in a non-reachable place!
I just baby-proofed as I went along. When he was younger and happy in it he had a playpen. Once he got too big for it I took the pieces apart and used them to fence off the bookshelf / catfood / TV / areas with lots of cords. ETA that so far, the kitchen cupboards are fair game, since there's nothing dangerous in them. In saying that, I'm thinking of changing my mind - the toaster, when it's not in use, lives unplugged on a low shelf. I grabbed it and popped something in the other day, only to notice a funny smell... he's posted a peg in there that had proceeded to melt over everything. -------------   
|
Posted By: Nothing
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 2:16pm
Oh no! That would suck. We have open shelves in our kitchen where all the baking stuff is, DD loves to pull everything out so the ktchen is now gated off wheen she is awake. ------------- 
|
Posted By: JadeC
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 5:02pm
|
Yeah, my kitchen is off limits more because I don't want him going through everything than for safety! Plus I don't want him walking up to the oven while it's on. ------------- http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/" rel="nofollow">
|
Posted By: pudgy
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 5:21pm
Make sure you get the plastic plugs for unused electric sockets 
We are the same as Emmi, I have never gated stairs we ztart early teaching them to go backwards and makng sure they can navigate them, that sais our stairs were carpeted and not steep. They had the plastic contaoner cupboard they could play in and knew everything else was off limits. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: londonbaby
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 7:30pm
We are a little bit like some of the others in saying that we haven't done much as we want him to learn whats for babies to play with and what is not...actually since he has started crawling, standing up and cruising we haven't changed anything  if he touches something he's not meant to he gets a firm "No thank-you, that's not for babies" and then if he persists we just move him...has worked really well so far(of course we get the repeat offending and little tanty that sometimes accompanies this)....I did buy some cupboard latches as I do want to lock the cupboard in the kitchen where all our cleaning stuff is but apart from that I don't see us changing anything else (we don't have stairs)...
My reasoning behind this was so that when we were at someone else's house etc we could use the "No thank-you, that's not for babies" and he would be sweet as you can't expect everyone to have baby proof houses :) |
Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 25 June 2011 at 1:59pm
|
I don't overly baby proof except the chemicals under the sink, plugs etc. The reason for this is that we visit non baby proofed places, so I teach them what they can touch & not touch. Is time consuming but they learn fast.
I do always cook on the back elements though, luckly our oven is waist height & the edges are cool to touch. I have three shelves on my book case that they have never touched as I've told them repeatedly it's out of bounds. There is no way of baby proofing those books so it was a case of having to teach them not to touch. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: Whateversville
Date Posted: 25 June 2011 at 2:31pm
|
We have saftey latches on the kitchen cupboards.
Baby gate to keep him out of the kitchen when cooking. sellotape on the tv cabnet (cos he pulled everything else off) Thats pretty much it, he just roams around the place. I tell him time and time again the cat food isn't for him so we now feed them outside cos he didn't believe me. Keep the laundry, toilet and bathroom doors shut at all times, Keep the bedroom doors shut at all times, And he's away laughing. |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 25 June 2011 at 2:39pm
|
I'm getting a bit worried, hearing about all these well-behaved babies. We've told Jacob, firmly and repeatedly, that "NO, the toilet is NOT for babies", always taking him away and distracting him... and it's not like we're inconsistant, because lets face it, I'm never going to let him chew the toilet seat like he'd like to. Yet he continues on his mission to check how it tastes... -------------
|
Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 25 June 2011 at 3:57pm
|
Oh we have the toilet/bathroom door closed all the time. Thankfully we have high handles on our doors :)
------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: pudgy
Date Posted: 25 June 2011 at 6:43pm
Lewie is the same, makes a beeline for the toilet it doesnt matter what I do he cant shake the obession either ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: JadeC
Date Posted: 25 June 2011 at 9:35pm
Nah, I believe our babes are too young! I mean, it's good to start saying No, but I don't think they can understand it yet. ------------- http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/" rel="nofollow">
|