# "I don't babyproof my house . . ."



## sarahope (Feb 5, 2009)

So last night my friend says "I don't baby-proof my house, I house-proof my babies."

Then she showed me the cleaners in the (unlocked) cabinet under her kitchen sink, and mentioned how she doesn't bother to cover her outlets or take any such precautions. Her next line "I've never had any problem."

She has four kids, ages 6 mos - 5 yrs. Apparently she feels she teaches them sufficiently how to stay away from danger, but I'm thinking HOW? How can she be sure? And as I'm watching her kids run eagerly through the house, and watching her 6mo-old starting to hitch up on her knees, preparing to crawl, and realizing you can never have your eyes/hands on all those kids all the time, I just got to wondering . . .

What would you say to her?


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## Evergreen (Nov 6, 2002)

Probably nothing. She has four kids and is pretty committed to not baby proofing. I don't think anything you say will change her mind. I am not the most avid baby-proofing mom but I do the cabinet lock thing.


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## demottm (Nov 15, 2006)

"Well good for you!" that's what I'd say. I have a few friends of this mindset, and they all have happy healthy children. Now, I don't trust myself enough to live that way, but that's me.


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## Marlet (Sep 9, 2004)

I don't babyproof.







We do have a baby gate up near one stairwell since we moved but only because it's the first time we've needed it.

I wouldn't waste your time trying to say anything to her honestly. It's likely to come across as you critiquing her parenting as opposed to be concerned about general safety.


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## MeepyCat (Oct 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sarahope* 
What would you say to her?

"Why don't we get together at my house from now on?"

I agree - she hasn't had a problem yet. Some kids are naturally more inquisitive, adventurous and dextrous than others. Some are more spirited and more likely to test limits.

Although, I can promise you from experience that little baby fingers do not fit in electrical outlets. A variety of household utensils will fit fine though.


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## Pinkbruise (Jul 8, 2005)

I didn't put the tweezers in the outlet until I was 6 or 7 years old... lucky me, the power was out!

We're expecting #2 in September, and we have DS who will almost be 4 then . . . Do I need to take away all of the tiny things DS has that a crawler might put in their mouths?


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## sarahope (Feb 5, 2009)

hmm, thanks guys. I really value your comments. I didn't say anything at the time, because I didn't want to be critical, and also because I wasn't really sure if it was in fact an issue. I mean, her kids are in fact healthy and alive and well







But it's easy to be scared and paranoid after hearing about household accidents. I haven't yet learned where one draws the line, kwim?


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## simcon (Jul 31, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sarahope* 
So last night my friend says "I don't baby-proof my house, I house-proof my babies."

Then she showed me the cleaners in the (unlocked) cabinet under her kitchen sink, and mentioned how she doesn't bother to cover her outlets or take any such precautions. Her next line "I've never had any problem."

She has four kids, ages 6 mos - 5 yrs. Apparently she feels she teaches them sufficiently how to stay away from danger, but I'm thinking HOW? How can she be sure? And as I'm watching her kids run eagerly through the house, and watching her 6mo-old starting to hitch up on her knees, preparing to crawl, and realizing you can never have your eyes/hands on all those kids all the time, my thought was instantly Yah, you haven't had a problem YET!!

What would you say to her?

I think this is a legitimate perspective, and that it can be more safety-conscious than thorough baby-proofing in the long run. Family friends who have this perspective point to the case of their niece, who grew up in a baby-proofed house and managed to stick a paper clip in an outlet in an airport at the age of 3 or 4 because she hadn't encountered an un-babyproofed outlet at home, so there wasn't as much ongoing dialogue on the topic.

We are somewhere in the middle--I never babyproofed for my now-6-year-old, but may well have to for this baby. I think the necessity to babyproof is also quite contextual and child- (and family-) specific (now 6-year-old was either immediately supervised or babyworn all the time.)


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## sugareemoma (Jan 20, 2009)

I don't baby proof my house either. I live with roomates who are impossible to look after so I just keep the room I live in baby/toddler proof and either wear my dd in the rest of the house or use the one babygate I have to keep her in the kitchen or bathroom while I am in there. When she wants to walk around while I'm just hanging out I put her wrap on her waist like a toddler leash so she doesn't stray more than a couple feet away. If I lived alone I would babyproof so she could roam more but I still think I'd be vigilant and keep an eye on her or keep her in the same room as I.


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## Astrogirl (Oct 23, 2007)

Nothing.

I don't baby proof either, never did. I have no lock on my cabinet below my sink (where the cleaners are). I can't see any reason why I should have one, since I'm not exactly into having my babies roam the house unattended to anyways. They have gone to the cupboard, I stood there while they pulled everything out of it, I watched as they looked at each bottle. I told them what it was for, and and it all illustrated why they shouldn't be interested in it. They saw how boring and unmysterious it was, and they moved on.

Maybe its how my house is laid out, I don't know. I can see everything they are up to. I don't really have any intentions on letting babies that young roam a kitchen alone anyways.


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## choli (Jun 20, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sarahope* 

What would you say to her?

I'd say "I Agree". House-proofed kids are a lot safer at grandparents house, and at other houses that are not babyproofed. I don't think it's fair to expect other people to babyproof their houses when my family comes to visit.

I WOULD lock up toxic cleaning materials, though. Wouldn't take a chance on leaving Draino about.


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## 4Blessings (Feb 27, 2008)

I probably wouldn't say anything but I'd keep a really good eye on my children or choose to have playdates at my house.

Our neighbor has a 19 mo. old and they refuse to baby proof. They let him fall down the stairs "a couple of times" because "that's how babies learn"







I'm glad they made it clear to me that that's how they roll







I'd never leave my kids there to play without me.

Lots of people think that accidents won't happen to them or their children. I think it's really naive to at least not reduce the risk.


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## Sailor (Jun 13, 2006)

I don't know if this is changing now - or if if it's just my weird family - but in Poland I don't know anyone who baby proofs their house. My aunt has 3 kids, at one point all under 5, and she didn't baby proof either. She did the same as your friend - house proofing her kids, versus the other way around. Which comes in handy, as we have a fairly large family, and the kids go from one aunt's house to another's when they need babysitting.

Mainly, in Poland, for a long time, there was NOTHING with which to baby proof your house. It wasn't until 1994 that the new constitution came into being, and things started looking up.

And, now, though stuff is available, people aren't used to it and just don't need it.


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## Norasmomma (Feb 26, 2008)

I'm not the biggest baby-proofer either, we have some cabinet locks and outlet covers, but do we have _everything_ up and out of the way, ummm no. We are currently expecting our 2nd and DD will be 3 at the time, can I get every single thing of hers up with the baby, probably not. We do have gates, one to the laundry room because that's where the dogs eat and DD used to love the water and dog food, now it's just easier to keep her out of the mess back there. We have gates that block the stairs, we didn't go out and buy a bunch of fancy gates, DH made them out of plywood, put a lock on them and ta-da gates. We now have a lock on our screen door though, DD just escaped the other AM while DH and were asleep, she went to pick flowers-scary. Now we have a lock that she can't reach or figure out. My china cabinet isn't locked we've taught DD to stay out of it.

DH built shelves for all our cleaners and such when I was pg with DD because it was just easier for us to have them high up. I'm glad too because DD is a very curious little girl and who knows what she'd get into.


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## neverdoingitagain (Mar 30, 2005)

Some kids do just fine without babyproofing. My 1st dd was one of these kids. My 2nd? Oh hell no. Eval Knieval is her knickname for a reason. The few times I forgot to lock the cabinet under the sink(it has a few chemicals underneath like comet and windex) she practically ran to grab whatever was underneath and run off with it. I've caught her playing in the toilet, trying to jump off beds, she's pulled knives out of the dishwasher and walked away with them. She's a scary little girl







: So we house-proof because she's pretty cute and we want her to stick around








Hmm, speaking of which, I need to move some stuff.


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## Whistler (Jan 30, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *choli* 
I WOULD lock up toxic cleaning materials, though. Wouldn't take a chance on leaving Draino about.

This.

To some extent I agree with teaching kids to be safe rather than padding all the corners. But I can't see leaving something lethal down at baby-level either. To me that's just asking for trouble. Something like the dish soap, fine. They get curious one day and taste... all that happens is the runs. But Poison Control gets calls all the time about kids who drink stuff that will kill them, so obviously the idea that "it won't happen with my kids" doesn't hold true.


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## SandraS (Jan 18, 2007)

I didn't babyproof my house. I have four kids, all have lived, none have swallowed windex or stuck a finger in an outlet.

I believe in redirection. Everywhere I go isn't "babyproofed", no sense in doing it here.

So I wouldn't have said anything. It's okay.


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

The only babyproofing we did was a lock on the one cabinet where the cleaning supplies are located. That is it, nothing else.

It wasn't intentional, we plodded along and one day realized that we never got around to it.

Part of the reason is life style, DS wouldn't be alone in areas where he could get into trouble due to the layout of our house and our habits.

Another part is his personality. To date he hasn't caused that sort of mischief.

Also, he is an only child so there is generally two adults monitoring him. I can imagine baby proofing needs increase with the number of children as well as their personalities.


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

You know, some kids test limits more than others. My dd was a cautious child. I baby proofed but she still hasn't figured out how to undo things like bottle caps to take swig of something or stick anything in an outlet (which some are covered, some aren't.) I really didn't HAVE to baby proof, I just did. My ds on the other hand has no problem opening bottle caps and as already tried to drink 409 I was using. He's really quick about it. And he has tried to stick thing in the outlets, but thankfully we stopped him. If I had been busy, he would have.


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## betsyj (Jan 8, 2009)

What I do is baby "organize." I want Jack to be able to go into all my cupboards and shelves and explore his environment so I just make sure there are only pots, pans, lids, tupperware etc. The entire downstairs is his to look at, touch, move, take, eat, grab, and bite. But I don't go all crazy with corner guards and outlet covers and gates and playpens.

I have one gate that blocks off the basement because that is where I keep all dangerous household chemicals.


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## Daisie125 (Oct 26, 2005)

I baby proof like mad, I could be like the babyproofing superhero. Kitchen is off limits, bathroom was too until we had a PLed kiddo. Even WITH the gate for the kitchen, all cabinets are locked just in case. Stairs are blocked. ETC. I want them to be able to roam the house without me hovering to make sure they aren't getting into anything. They have free access to the living room, dining room and bedrooms, there is literally NOTHING they can get into. (Not to say that I don't watch my kids, but I also am not paranoid if I have to answer the door and take my eyes off of them)

That said, we "house-proof" the kids when we go visiting and they rarely mess with anything at other people's houses either once they learned.

I don't think either method is wrong. But I will admit that when I have playdates at my house parents are a lot more relaxed letting their kids play because we are childproofed.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

I would never leave toxic cleaners like bleach or drano in baby's reach, but then I don't usually have things like that in my house anyway. Anything that's so dangerous it could injure a baby who drinks it, is toxic enough to give me headaches if I smell small residues of it.

I do agree with the concept of "house proofing" kids, but I always did that alongside babyproofing, not in place of it. Why not talk about the dangers of putting forks in the outlet *in addition to* having a plastic outlet cover?

IME, "house proofing the child" works great for toddlers and preschoolers, but it's not reliable for newly crawling babies. I'm just trying to visualize how I could have possibly kept the 17mo from toddling into trouble while nursing the newborn if I didn't have a babyproofed house. It was quite doable when I only had one crawler/toddler and 2 big kids though.


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## tayndrewsmama (May 25, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SandraS* 
I didn't babyproof my house. I have four kids, all have lived, none have swallowed windex or stuck a finger in an outlet.

I believe in redirection. Everywhere I go isn't "babyproofed", no sense in doing it here.

So I wouldn't have said anything. It's okay.









ITA.


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## blizzard_babe (Feb 14, 2007)

I'm curious how one goes about "house proofing" little kids. My kid is interested in anything we won't let him have. Period. If it's been taken away, or he's been taken away from it, it is exciting and interesting and a must-have. Now, some stuff you can let kids play with and exhaust curiosity of if you supervise, but other stuff isn't something a kid should be even touching, even with supervision, because by their very nature they are dangerous... like knives or sharp scissors. I mean, yeah, teaching kids what's safe and not is all well and good, but I just can't imagine not doing SOME amount of babyproofing, even if that meant "not leaving the sharp scissors in the knitting basket on the floor."

Now, not putting on cabinet locks, etc., I kind of understand.


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## sprouthead (Jul 14, 2007)

i think this is another facet of parenting where you have to do what's best for your child and your family. I'm somewhat babyproofed- but more for my own piece of mind. Like i have locks on the cabinets but that's just because I don't want to constantly clean up DS's messes from taking everything out. DS sees babyproofing as a challenge. I learned a while ago that I'm better off to just teach him how to use things safely than to try to get him to not touch certain things.


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## SandraS (Jan 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *blizzard_babe* 
"not leaving the sharp scissors in the knitting basket on the floor."


Mine were never there to begin with. And I don't have curio cabinets full of faberge eggs either. I have stereo equipment, televisions, computers, cords, and other normal stuff - that they will come across in other people's homes - that they simply learned to stay away from - or as we call it, play properly with. Like we have an old VCR next to the DVD player - they can bang buttons all day long on that.

What I do have are lots of rooms to explore, stairs that aren't gated so baby can go upstairs (or downstairs!), and lots of stuff to touch and learn from. I don't have a box of razorblades sitting in the corner, with or without children in the house... lol! I guess my home has never NOT been "kid-friendly", but by learning redirection here, they easily adapt to my mother's Good Housekeeping Expensive Crap Everywhere home without any difficulty!


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## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

OP, have you read The Continuum Concept?


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## katiesk (Nov 6, 2007)

i do alot of redirecting and not much baby proofing. i don't really have a dangerous house though...no toxic cleaners, etc.


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## blizzard_babe (Feb 14, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sprouthead* 
i think this is another facet of parenting where you have to do what's best for your child and your family. I'm somewhat babyproofed- but more for my own piece of mind. Like i have locks on the cabinets but that's just because I don't want to constantly clean up DS's messes from taking everything out. DS sees babyproofing as a challenge. I learned a while ago that I'm better off to just teach him how to use things safely than to try to get him to not touch certain things.

This is how we are, and how DS is. Certain things get locked up/put away, some things we work on using properly.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SandraS* 
Mine were never there to begin with. And I don't have curio cabinets full of faberge eggs either. I have stereo equipment, televisions, computers, cords, and other normal stuff - that they will come across in other people's homes - that they simply learned to stay away from - or as we call it, play properly with. Like we have an old VCR next to the DVD player - they can bang buttons all day long on that.

What I do have are lots of rooms to explore, stairs that aren't gated so baby can go upstairs (or downstairs!), and lots of stuff to touch and learn from. I don't have a box of razorblades sitting in the corner, with or without children in the house... lol! I guess my home has never NOT been "kid-friendly", but by learning redirection here, they easily adapt to my mother's Good Housekeeping Expensive Crap Everywhere home without any difficulty!









See, and that's kind of how we are, with a few exceptions. For example, electronics are up out of reach. DS is 13 months and "playing appropriately" is not yet in his lexicon, and I don't have the money to replace this kind of stuff should he lean on it wrong and snap something, for example. We have some old remotes and defunct cell phones for his button pushing pleasure. We also have ZERO luck with redirection, thus far. If he wants it, he wants it, and the noisiest, most interesting object dangled in front of him is not going to tear him away. Take him into another room, he turns around and goes back to exactly where he was. I guess it's just a personality thing, but I just couldn't deal with the constant screaming whenever I had to pull him away from the DVD player or computer cords. Maybe when he's older, I don't know. I just try and picture it now and it involves non-stop chasing, attempted-and-failed redirection, and crying. Like I said, probably a personality thing.


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## Whistler (Jan 30, 2009)

One reason I have for keeping the house somewhat kid-proofed is that when you have kids, they have friends. And I have friends. Who have kids. It seems we have kids of every age come through our house in any given week and the stuff that our kids never think to get into are magnets for other kids, or their baby brothers and sisters. I finally started putting the birdcage and stand up in the bedroom when I knew people are coming over because kids can't seem to keep their fingers out of the cage and keep from knocking the stand over.


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## Cyllya (Jun 10, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *blizzard_babe* 
I'm curious how one goes about "house proofing" little kids.

My mom says she never baby-proofed the house when I was a kid. She says she just scolded me when I was about to touch something I shouldn't. I would cop an attitude, imitate her scolding, and pretend like I was going to touch the item, but I didn't actually touch it.

I survived, but that seems like an unnecessary conflict between parent and child.


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## katiesk (Nov 6, 2007)

Quote:

but other stuff isn't something a kid should be even touching, even with supervision, because by their very nature they are dangerous... like knives or sharp scissors.
but we don't have scissors and knives laying about all over the house! thats not because we picked up all of the knives off of the floor while "baby proofing" they just happen to live up above the counter. the scissors are on a shelf in a jar with pens and pencils, etc. there are some things that are in baby's reach - like alot of my books are on shelves within her reach, but i don't really mind if she pulls them all down once in a while. i don't mind if she gets into the drawers in the kitchen because there is not anything dangerous in there.


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## Mama2Rio (Oct 25, 2008)

i grew up in a non-baby proof house. i was the oldest of 5. all of the cabinets were always unlocked, none of the outlets were ever covered, and we all survived.

however, i do baby proof my home. i have outlet covers and i keep poison locked up or up high. while i keep an eye on my child constantly, i just don't want to tell her 'no' every 5 minutes.


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## blizzard_babe (Feb 14, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *katiesk* 
but we don't have scissors and knives laying about all over the house! thats not because we picked up all of the knives off of the floor while "baby proofing" they just happen to live up above the counter. the scissors are on a shelf in a jar with pens and pencils, etc. there are some things that are in baby's reach - like alot of my books are on shelves within her reach, but i don't really mind if she pulls them all down once in a while. i don't mind if she gets into the drawers in the kitchen because there is not anything dangerous in there.

Yeah, we had all our books and DVDs down on baby-level, which was great for keeping him entertained, but not so great for the books and DVDs. DS is nothing if not... enthusiastic when it comes to his playing. Several bent covers and a ruined Star Wars: A New Hope DVDs later, we moved them up a level. We keep several drawers full of "kid-friendly" stuff in the kitchen (wooden spoons and other large utensiles, pots and pans, etc) within reach, but the rest of it is either up or locked. Because of the way our house is (or was, we're in the process of moving) set up, there's no way to block off the kitchen because it's open to the living area... but it's out of view of a good portion of the rest of the living room/kitchen area. So unless we want to spend our time just wandering around, following his toddler whims wherever they may lead, never actually accomplishing any tasks other than supervising his use of objects, some stuff just needs to be up and out of the way.

And, for the record, I don't keep knives or razor blades lying around my house, never have







. However, if I hadn't changed ANYTHING when baby was born, there'd be a pair of scissors in a knitting basket on the floor. Instead, they are in a basket up a level, because (a) I don't want him unraveling my yarn, (b) I don't want him to start screaming when I have to take it away from him, and (c) the scissors are dangerous, IMO, even when supervised. Not a HUGE "babyproofing" task, but a change we've made, and therefore "babyproofing." We locked up one kitchen cabinet, not because it contains dangerous chemicals (we really don't use them), but because our house was old and icky and the space under the kitchen sink was just kind of not a place I wanted a baby exploring. Other cabinets were open and filled with more baby-friendly stuff.

Call me lazy, maybe, or disconnected, or wahtever, but sometimes I don't WANT to be following him around, supervising his exploration. Sometimes, yes. But if I (or my husband, who is our daytime stay-at-home parent) want/need to be doing something else, it's helpful to not have to drop it and make sure something is being played with appropriately. If I know, for example, that everything in the kitchen cabinets is baby-friendly, I can read a book, or do my lesson plans, or cook, and keep a vague eye on him.

I guess I'm just a middle-of-the-road kind of person. Little of both extremes seems to be my modus operandi when it comes to most things.


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## Whistler (Jan 30, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *katiesk* 
but we don't have scissors and knives laying about all over the house! thats not because we picked up all of the knives off of the floor while "baby proofing" they just happen to live up above the counter. the scissors are on a shelf in a jar with pens and pencils, etc. there are some things that are in baby's reach - like alot of my books are on shelves within her reach, but i don't really mind if she pulls them all down once in a while. i don't mind if she gets into the drawers in the kitchen because there is not anything dangerous in there.

What is the difference between this and babyproofing? I left drawers with towels and spoons unlocked too. But the cupboard with the fragile stemware has a lock on it.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *blizzard_babe* 
Now, some stuff you can let kids play with and exhaust curiosity of if you supervise, but other stuff isn't something a kid should be even touching, even with supervision, because by their very nature they are dangerous... like knives or sharp scissors. I mean, yeah, teaching kids what's safe and not is all well and good, but I just can't imagine not doing SOME amount of babyproofing, even if that meant "not leaving the sharp scissors in the knitting basket on the floor."

Knives and scissors have handles. Even toddlers can learn how to use these items, with DIRECT adult supervision. I recently helped a 2yo toast a marshmallow in an open fire- we both held the stick plus I had one arm around him so he couldn't dart towards the flames. I've done similar things with knives- often my hand over the child's when first teaching a child how to use a sharp knife.

And as for your "no sharp scissors in the knitting basket on the floor" example- that's not babyproofing. That's common sense, or general household safety. Part of learning to use scissors safely is learning NOT to leave them where they might get stepped or sat on. That's the kind of safety rule that stays in place even when there aren't any children in the house. I don't need to worry about my 13yo choking on a penny somebody left on the floor. I do need to worry about her cutting her foot if she steps on something sharp.


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## 2xy (Nov 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Astrogirl* 
Maybe its how my house is laid out, I don't know. I can see everything they are up to. I don't really have any intentions on letting babies that young roam a kitchen alone anyways.

When my kids were little, it was the same with us. We were living in a large house where the living room, dining room, playroom and kitchen all sort of flowed together in a continuum, and the bathrooms and bedrooms were at the end of a hallway. I just gated off the hallway and kept an eye on my kids. I never locked my cabinets; if something was particularly toxic, I would keep it in the laundry room on a shelf, or in the garage.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Whistler* 
To some extent I agree with teaching kids to be safe rather than padding all the corners. But I can't see leaving something lethal down at baby-level either.

I used outlet covers and padded an old coffee table that we once had. That was pretty much the extent of our baby-proofing the living area. My son still split his forehead on that table when he was 18 months old. Tripped and fell into it.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Daisie125* 
I want them to be able to roam the house without me hovering to make sure they aren't getting into anything. They have free access to the living room, dining room and bedrooms, there is literally NOTHING they can get into.

We had a walk-through gate in our hallway, so my older boy could access his bedroom and the bathroom while the baby stayed with us in the other part of the house.

While in his room, he decided he needed to reach something on top of a tall, lightweight chest of drawers. Since there was nothing to climb on, he thought it would be wise to pull out the bottom drawer and step into it, using it as a stool. The chest fell over on him. Luckily, he was nearly 4.5 and big for his age, the chest wasn't too heavy, and he was able to hold it up and yell until we got there.

They can always get into _something_.


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## SandraS (Jan 18, 2007)

But see, it's not constant "no's" here, I don't have to hover over the crawlers/early walkers in every room... it seems that some believe if one doesn't babyproof, it's constant following baby around and redirecting. It's not. Just by our very nature, we don't have much that a baby can't get into. They can go on another floor of the house and I don't have to chase after them.

I don't know the ages of your kids, maybe too because I've had kids in and out of the house for nearly 20 years, it's become a place they can roam too. I don't know.

We let them color on the walls in the playroom too. Kid friendly!

Maybe my house is just, by it's very design, more "babyproofed" than the average home. It's nothing we did, really. But my children still behaved well when visiting Grandma With Ugly Crystal On The Reachable Shelves.


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

I agree with whoever said it's all in how your house it laid out. We do mild childproofing. Some of it is required by the agency I do daycare through and some of it is just for my sanity. (It doesn't hurt anything for DS to pull all the Tupperware out... but it drives me crazy!)

We live in a mini-home, so it's no possible to lock DS out of the kitchen... it's a major part of the house! I do keep bedroom and the bathroom doors closed all day, but that's mostly a sanity thing. My biggest challenges come from climbing (kitchen chairs, the change table...) and since it's not possible to get rid of those things I just have to be very aware of them.

I actually found things a lot easier when DS was just crawling and all we had to worry about were the electrical outlets!

My Dad is all about the scolding and no baby proofing, so they do that when we visit. DS doesn't mind much, and they move it if he doesn't listen.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

how do you guys not baby proof? like for your own sanity? DS's idea of a good time is opening every cabinet with in reach, pulling everything out of it and dragging it around the house, collecting anything electronic and dumping it in the toilet. we baby proofed out of sheer frustration.

every single time a cabinet or a drawer is not locked he is there with in seconds pulling everything out of it. he now knows that the nob on the dishwasher turns and the little lever makes it open. i had to put a kiddie lock on it so that he didn't try and open it every time the mood struck. i can't run the dishwasher unless he is asleep b/c he turns the nob in circles... thus making the washing completely pointless.

i am very into redirection and i do leave him a couple of drawers and cabinets he can open... he has no interest in these.







he's a determined little thing though. i always try and redirect him and even if i succeed for a few minutes i swear it is only because he wants to lull me into a false sense of security







as soon as i blink he is running back to whatever he was doing.

now with the locks he just sort of ignores the cabinets and drawers. i don't know what i would have done otherwise. the only thing he wanted to do was pull out everything in the cabinets, drawers, and dishwasher. i also keep the chairs on top of the table b/c if they are down he tries to climb on the chair to the table and take a flying leap to the counter. and we moved everything that could be dangerous or breakable up and out of reach.... otherwise i would spend all day taking it away from him.


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## Pirate Nicole (Oct 20, 2008)

We don't baby proof either. We own locks for our under-sink cabinet, but never remember to actually lock it. The only thing I really try to keep an eye on is the baby and my stairs. They're very steep and there's a wall about 2ft away from the bottom step. She could really get hurt falling down them, so I try not to let her climb them. But, just today she made it all the way to the top before I heard her. All in all though, I just like to let them explore. My middle one is the one who gets into things, but he knows the things that are absolutely off-limits, and those few things, he doesn't really push me on.


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## DevaMajka (Jul 4, 2005)

I am in the middle with baby proofing. Anything that would be a big deal if dc DID get into it is put up high or otherwise babyproofed. That would be any cleaners, knives and scissors etc, and anything valuable that could break, etc.
Everything else, we redirect and teach how to handle items properly. If a particular item becomes a big deal (like wanting to pull out all the cd's all the time), that's dealt with as necessary.


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## lavender_mama (May 11, 2009)

We don't babyproof, and if a friend of mine criticized me for not babyproofing it would hurt my feelings.

It'd be different if she didn't babyproof AND you noticed she wasn't watching her children or that they had injuries or something. But every family does things differently. It'd be the same if you called her out on not breastfeeding or something similar. My son is 7 years old and the only two major accidents he had were at his preschool! Just let her be.


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## mamakaikai (Apr 17, 2009)

I'd be cautious about saying anything to her. Making any assumptions that she is unfit as a parent, or even let her think for a split second that you may be suggesting it could ruin your friendship. Parenting is very personal. Unless she is letting her infant play with sharps, I'd let it be and be thankful for all the times someone did not critique you for parenting in a way they don't approve of.

The only baby proofing we've done around here is making sure the door that lead to stairs are closed, knives out of reach and sockets covered...that's really it. I would be offended if someone challenged me about the safety of my child.


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## Parker'smommy (Sep 12, 2002)

I didn't babyproof either. I blocked off the stairs at our old house, but that's it. Oh, and I think dh put a latch thingie on the under the sink cabinet at that house too. But I don't have a thing babyproofed at this house and dd was just under 2 when we moved here.







: Not all kids like to get into stuff. My kids didn't. I also never left them alone in the house when they were little.







:


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## Ellien C (Aug 19, 2004)

I didn't babyproof. I wish I'd heard the term house-proofing the kids!

Cleaning chemicals are still where they were before kids. It never occurred to to try and eat them. She wanted to skirt and use them like I did. We talked about not eating them and washing hands after handling them. She handled ant poison at 5. I taught her to use knives safely when she was very young and helped her to choose one to fit her hand. This is a big thing for me. I'm small, with small hands, and I like the right-sized tool for the job. So she would see me choosing the smaller knife, not the big chef knife and talking about why it was the right one and then I gave her the sharp pairing knife and let her cut.

She fell down the 3 stair landing a few times, but we taught her to turn around backwards to go down the stairs. She handled stairs just fine well before she walked - under 1 year. In the toddler years she kept the habit of going down the stairs backwards on hands and knees - all kinds of stairs. It was truly never a worry of mine. Used to freak some other people out, though.


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## Fuamami (Mar 16, 2005)

Another non-baby-proofer. I do have a lock on my pot cupboard because I get so tired of my kids playing cymbals.


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## VeezieTG (Nov 10, 2006)

the extent of our baby proofing is one baby gate at the bottom of the stairs for when we're downstairs, one at the top for when we're upstairs, and one lock on the pantry door. these 3 things are more for annoyance sake than safety tho. the kids are both proficient at using the stairs with the rail, but i just don't want them running up and down all day cos then i have to run up and down all day. the pantry lock is because ds2 likes campbell's soup bowling. which my mil actually taught him. as far as cleaning products... unless drinking vinegar or eating baking soda constitutes as dangerous chemicals.... lol. we don't use chemicals in our house, so there's not a huge risk of unsafety. but i have explained to the boys you don't play in them either.

i think you need to be on your kids. even with 4. (we're about to have #3.) i think, imho, baby-proofing gives you a false sense of security and can force your instictual guards down. (when i say "you" i mean people, not anyone in particular.) like baby leashes. or like anything that is supposed to keep your baby safer than your watchful eye!! if you saw her letting her kids stick forks in the outlets, then i'd say, "hey, you need to keep your kids a little safer." other than that, probably not an issue for her. as a pp said, a kid who has only ever seen plugged up outlets will go into a classroom or airport or another person's house and will instantly be drawn to the hole and what can be put in it. or to other people's pretty blue liquid in the cabinet. etc.

our baby-proofing is, "son, we don't play with this... not when we can play with THIS." and it works pretty good. for us.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

i think baby proofing is an unfortunate term that gives a false sense of security. i consider "baby proofing" to be more like "buying yourself an extra 30 seconds until baby thwarts your lock"


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## sarahope (Feb 5, 2009)

OP here,

thanks everyone for your great comments and discussion!! You've given me a lot to think about. My LO is only 8 months and just on the verge of being mobile so I'm definitely taking notes and I am seeing from your comments that it kind of needs to be adapted to what a child's personality/tendencies are.

Someone asked if I've read the Continuum Concept - I haven't but having now googled it I can see that I want to! I'll get my hands on a copy soon. Thanks for the recommendation.

Just to clarify, I didn't say anything to my friend at the time, but mentally wondered about her approach. I think she's a great parent. She often parents differently than me, and that can be enlightening and constructive for me as I observe her. I'm glad I chose to ask you MDC mamas about it rather than vocalize any reservations I had. I can see now that I had nothing to worry about. Thanks again for all your advice.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

My house is baby proofed in that I tidy more often, have outlet covers (to keep her from *licking* them), and stuff she can break gets put up out of reach.







: It's not like she understands when I tell her to play with this other thing or to be gentle with what she's playing with.

As she gets more understanding, I'll let more stuff be out and about and continue to talk to her about safety. But until she stops going straight for the cat food bowl for a snack'n'scatter, the baby gate goes up when she's playing in the living room. And until she stops eating paper, our decks of cards go on the shelf out of her reach.

For me, it's all about keeping my stress down while not saying "no" all the time. Lots of stuff that won't hurt her *will* cause me more work and trouble.

(As for CC, it's a lovely idea, but the things Liedoff saw don't hold even for all traditional societies: http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detcross.html So since Lina has already nearly crawled off the bed twice (I caught her leg as she literally went over the edge) I'm not going to assume she'll avoid sharp knives.)


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

: i agree with sapphire 100%


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## JollyGG (Oct 1, 2008)

I gotta say - my son found outlet covers absolutely fascinating. If the outlet had no cover he had no interest whatsoever in it. With the covers he was busy trying to remove the covers, replace the covers, stick other things in the outlet, whatever. He ignored the outlet if it had no cover.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

ds unplugs and then replugs everything... it drives me nuts. esp. when its the vacuum


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## claddaghmom (May 30, 2008)

nak

i don't trust myself enough. dd will obey me if i tell her not to touch something, but if i slip up, if i'm not 100% perfect, if i'm not there for her to obey...then what?

thus, i'm babyproofing the cleaner cabinet and keeping the bathroom door closed.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JollyGG* 
I gotta say - my son found outlet covers absolutely fascinating. If the outlet had no cover he had no interest whatsoever in it. With the covers he was busy trying to remove the covers, replace the covers, stick other things in the outlet, whatever. He ignored the outlet if it had no cover.









I had the opposite experience. Lina stopped caring about outlets as soon as I put in the covers.

Which just goes to show what we all already knew--babies are different.







:


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## Daisie125 (Oct 26, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *2xy* 
When my kids were little, it was the same with us. We were living in a large house where the living room, dining room, playroom and kitchen all sort of flowed together in a continuum, and the bathrooms and bedrooms were at the end of a hallway. I just gated off the hallway and kept an eye on my kids. I never locked my cabinets; if something was particularly toxic, I would keep it in the laundry room on a shelf, or in the garage.

I used outlet covers and padded an old coffee table that we once had. That was pretty much the extent of our baby-proofing the living area. My son still split his forehead on that table when he was 18 months old. Tripped and fell into it.

We had a walk-through gate in our hallway, so my older boy could access his bedroom and the bathroom while the baby stayed with us in the other part of the house.

While in his room, he decided he needed to reach something on top of a tall, lightweight chest of drawers. Since there was nothing to climb on, he thought it would be wise to pull out the bottom drawer and step into it, using it as a stool. The chest fell over on him. Luckily, he was nearly 4.5 and big for his age, the chest wasn't too heavy, and he was able to hold it up and yell until we got there.

They can always get into _something_.

Yes, I'm aware there is always something. But I make sure those somethings are minimal in my home where at all possible.


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## Whistler (Jan 30, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Parker'smommy* 
Not all kids like to get into stuff. My kids didn't. I also never left them alone in the house when they were little.







:

For the record, I don't think ANY baby-proofer does it so their kids can "be left alone". Just like the non-baby-proofers don't have knives laying around on the floor.

My kids are always close with me and I never left them unattended when they were into-everything stage.

I think PP was right when she said that some kids get into things more than others. Mine did. They were endlessly curious and always poking into everything and getting things out of every drawer and investigating every cupboard and pouring the contents of what they found on the floor and puut it in their mouths. It wasn't that they were naughty, just curious.

Rather than follow them around redirecting and scolding I chose to make the house (it was tiny) a safe place for them and then to let them explore as they wanted. It wasn't that I neglected them or left them alone, I just knew that if I didn't happen to be watching for two seconds they wouldn't discover something lethal like 110 volts combined with car keys or some Drano.


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

We moved when ds turn 1 from an apartment to a house. I like to think of our house as "kid friendly" as opposed to "baby proof"
Yes we have outlet covers
and these that cover plugs (I love them) because ds was unplugging everything!
we have our tv in a cabinet that has a latch (mostly so ds doesn't want to "watch" as he says ALL DAY, out of sight out of mind kinda deal)
we don't have toxic chemicals in the house only some things in the basement, and that door has latches that ds can't reach
no cabinets have latches on them in the kitchen, but there is also nothing really breakable, we don't have "fancy" things like crystal or china
We do have those door knob covers on the inside of the bedroom so if ds wakes from a nap or in the evening and doesn't cry he can't leave the room and roam the house that the only on that is really "proofing" anything

most of the stuff is just organizing the house in a way that is safe and effective for having little people around.


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## nudhistbudhist (Jan 13, 2009)

The only babyproofing we did was the outlet covers/electrical cords, because that is something a baby doesn't understand. We don't use any "chemicals" so that not a worry. You could safely drink my shampoo and conditioner too. Its 99% aloe, with a bit of oil. We don't have baby gates on our stairs, because we explore heights together and have faith in the natural survival instincts that animals are born with. Baby monkeys don't fall off cliffs just because they are there. We like the Continuum Concept philosophies. We also let ds explore small objects, with supervision. He is allowed to put small rocks in his mouth, etc, because once he's done it a few times, he loses interest in it, its already been explored. If i constantly take it away from him, he becomes focused on exploring small things with his mouth. Etc etc.

Supervision and learning is a million times more effective thant the best "babyproofing."


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## claddaghmom (May 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tbone_kneegrabber* 
We moved when ds turn 1 from an apartment to a house. I like to think of our house as "kid friendly" as opposed to "baby proof"
Yes we have outlet covers
and these that cover plugs (I love them) because ds was unplugging everything!
we have our tv in a cabinet that has a latch (mostly so ds doesn't want to "watch" as he says ALL DAY, out of sight out of mind kinda deal)
we don't have toxic chemicals in the house only some things in the basement, and that door has latches that ds can't reach
no cabinets have latches on them in the kitchen, but there is also nothing really breakable, we don't have "fancy" things like crystal or china
We do have those door knob covers on the inside of the bedroom so if ds wakes from a nap or in the evening and doesn't cry he can't leave the room and roam the house that the only on that is really "proofing" anything

most of the stuff is just organizing the house in a way that is safe and effective for having little people around.

omgsh why did i not think to google for those things. what a lifesaver. it's not even an issue of babyproofing, but just stopping her from doing the most annoying thing ever lol

thanks







:







:







:


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## OkiMom (Nov 21, 2007)

I don't baby proof my house and I have pretty inquisitive children. Thats one of the reasons I don't baby proof, my oldest has the mindset if its locked/inassesible she HAS to be able to get in it. After she tired to climb over the babygate and ended up hurting herself I started to teach her how to safely handle things instead of keeping away from them.
For one, I don't have poisonous cleaner. If I get anything that could get them sick (like lime away or bleach) its rarely and for a specific reason. I buy it and use it the same day. Everything else is natural cleaner that they wouldn't get sick if they get into. It is kept under the sink and my two year old will get into it and hand me the bottle of whatever I need.
To me educating her on what to and not to do is long term safer than preventing her getting into everything. No matter how safe my house is other people (especially ones without children) don't have their house babyproof and I can't expect anyone to babyproof just because Im coming over with children.


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## Smalls181 (May 12, 2006)

When I picture a person who doesn't baby proof, I picture my neighbors who sit on the couch while their 10 month old bangs on an old glass cabinet door, yelling at him till he cries and crawls away. Same goes for light sockets, electrical cords, stairs....

We didn't pad every corner. We didn't lock every drawer. But I wanted her to be free to explore her environment safely.


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## 2xy (Nov 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Daisie125* 
Yes, I'm aware there is always something. But I make sure those somethings are minimal in my home where at all possible.

Sorry, but I was replying to this....

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Daisie125* 
They have free access to the living room, dining room and bedrooms, there is literally NOTHING they can get into.

Either there is literally nothing, or there is always something. It can't be both.

As for the rest of the thread, it seems like there are different ideas of what baby-proofing is. I think of baby-proofing as something done to keep children safe. It seems like some think of baby-proofing as something done to keep material objects safe from children. I don't collect things or have pretty knick-knacks everywhere, so it never occurred to me to think of it that way.


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## EdnaMarie (Sep 9, 2006)

I can't help but think of the story in "Adventures in Gentle Discipline" in which the mother says that she was the best mom ever, she never babyproofed, she baby proofed her kid, she had advice on how to do that for everyone, and then she had her second, a girl. And it all went POOF. (There was a picture, and you could just see the twinkle in that little girl's eyes, it was funny- like she was planning how to dump the $15 bottle of walnut oil, stored on top of the refrigerator, down the toilet, as soon as the photographer left her alone for a tenth of a second.)

Maybe her kids don't need babyproofing. Lucky her! On the other hand, I seriously doubt that those kids will be the ones to discover the lowest point on the ocean floor, or new species in the Amazon.

At least, that's what I tell myself to make myself feel better about wheat flour all over my kitchen floor.









(Re: no poison in the house... No vinegar? No multi-vitamins? No alcohol? No essential oils? No hammer (my toddler has already mastered breaking things with a real hammer, don't ask how, I never said I was a great baby-proofer)? Really? Gah, how utterly inconvenient. That sounds like baby-proofing to me, but a really inconvenient form of baby-proofing. I'm glad it works for you, though.)


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## Astrogirl (Oct 23, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
how do you guys not baby proof? like for your own sanity? DS's idea of a good time is opening every cabinet with in reach, pulling everything out of it and dragging it around the house, collecting anything electronic and dumping it in the toilet. we baby proofed out of sheer frustration.


Maybe i have no sanity to save?









My babies LOVED opening cupboards and pulling stuff out. They still do. I don't mind a bit. Around the age of 12-18 months, i also taught them how to put things back IN to cupboards. And no, they are 2 and 4 now and still aren't buying the fun of that.









So i let them dive into cupboards, they've gone into every one in the kitchen, looked at stuff, smelled, (tried to) pour, etc. Now that they are 2 and 4, I think the thrill is completely gone. They know where everything is, and mostly what it does.

I babysat for many many years and even as a 12 yr old babysitter, I was known to a group of parents in my town for having the ability to completely head off tantrums and also to get kids to sleep. Back then, that i am aware of, at least in my town, we didn't even have cupboard locks or outlet covers. Childproof caps were JUST starting to come out back then. I think i have a good ability to let kids be curious and then let them know what we shouldn't be fooling around with. My kids are actually VERY aware that outlets are dangerous to the point where I think they actually might be scared of them. They will NOT go near them. I think its because everytime I use one, I tell them "now Mama has to be very careful, because this thing can make BIG Owwa." When it comes to what little chemicals under the sink (which all do have childproof caps, but thats besides the point), as soon as I have heard that door open, my ears and eyes are alert - I watch to see what they are looking for and what they try to take out. They ask me what it is, and I tell them and say it burns the skin and can make Owwa. I tell them, we use it to clean X, and then I might even open it and have them smell it so they can see its really nothing for them. Then i ask them if they want to see a spray that KIDS can use, and I make them a spray bottle of water and say "this is the KIDS cleaner - do you want to use it to clean your chalk board?"

Now, I know this works. I know by the way my kids now talk about that cupboard. They think its boring, and not for them.

As for the other cupboards, pots and pans, etc - yeah they have ripped through those. I think its fun to see what their imaginations come up with for each thing that they find. My daughter found a sealing ring for my jars and calls it her "Sleep Ring" and claims when she can't sleep, she will put it on her wrist and it should make her tired.

The benefit to that of course, is when I ask them "do you guys know where the egg cups are?" and they point to the right cupboard.


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

We have all the sockets covered for ds, because he is very interested in sockets







. We have still had lots of opportunities to explain that sockets are dangerous.

But we do not babyproof cabinets or drawers. We keep some cleaning products under cabinets, but mostly vinegar and water







. There are some other things, but they are pretty mild (shampoo, H2O2, Dr. Bronners...). Anything potentially very dangerous is kept on a high shelf in the laundry room. Whenever ds (2) goes under the sink (and he does), he bypasses anything with a label and grabs his own water-spray bottle.

"Sharps" (knives, scissors) are kept in a drawer within ds's reach. He knows that they are in there (he knows what is in every drawer), and he doesn't open it. He knows that he must not touch "sharps" because they can "cutchoo" (cut you).

So the talking/teaching works for us with sharps and chemicals, but not with electrical sockets. I have to be *so vigilant* about replacing the outlet covers after using and outlet, because he will immediately try to plug something in (usually the thing I just unplugged--vacuum mostly).


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## candipooh (Jun 22, 2004)

My MIL is like that too. We lived with her for a few months (longest few months of my life,lol) I had a newborn, a just turned 2 year old and a 4 year old. MIL had a million 'dollar store' ceramics all over her dang house.
I had to bite my cheek to not laugh when one of my kids broke one of her knickknacks. I wanted to say "What did I tell you" but I didn't say a thing.

eta: I also had friends that followed Ezzo that felt like this. I guess it is a common Ezzo teaching.


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## Raene (Jul 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Pinkbruise* 

We're expecting #2 in September, and we have DS who will almost be 4 then . . . Do I need to take away all of the tiny things DS has that a crawler might put in their mouths?

Depends on your take on things...
My friend has a 6 yr old and a 1 yr old and her 1 yr old was playing with some very tiny plastic beads on the floor left there from the older child. My daughter, who is preparing for her own sibling, said to my friend: "She shouldn't play with those, she could choke." to which my friend responded "Yeah, she doesn't choke on them, she just swallows them whole."

Umm...yikes...


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## flower01 (Aug 1, 2007)

Interesting thread...I think you have to find a balance between safety and living in fear. I lived with my mom and she refused to babyproof at all, instead insisting that yelling "no" and slapping hands was a better method. That was pretty much hell for me. My MIL is the complete opposite...she freaks out about everything and everytime she hears a news story about a kid getting hurt she calls to make sure we heard it and do what's necessary to protect our daughter. DH and I defiitely take a middle ground approach. Things that are obviously dangerous we put away. We don't lock cabinets, but chemicals are up high as well as anything we don't want broken. I would rather not have to call poison control when the prevention method is so simple. We never really used the outlet covers because a short period of redirection worked - on the other hand, there was a time when she found the outlet covers at our church. She was so curious that she kept taking them out and putting them back in. That was frustrating! But, I want my home to feel like a safe place for my kids - i don't want to have to say "No, danger" all day long. But, I also want her to learn about things that she will encounter other places.

Of course, I think I would prbably have my house set up different if I wasn't home all day with DD. I certainly wouldn't feel like a babysitter or nanny would be as diligent as I am.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Astrogirl my son and your kids would get along great!







i have ADD i can't have him pull everything out of all my cupboards all the time or i would give up and my house would be a pigsty. i do leave him his own cupboards to play in.. the pots and pans are unlocked and the tupper ware. but i don't know how you guys do it!! the other day he was in the bathroom and in less then five minutes he had broken the child proof lock and pulled everything out from under the sink. the Q tips are all over the bathroom floor (still) and he ran around the house with the plunger! i shoved everything but the Q tips back under the sink... we keep the Bathroom door closed unless we are in there. but if i left all my cupboards open everything we own would be all over the house.

i so wish i could leave him to it b/c he would love it... but he only gets to cupboards so that mommy stays sane







i am working on teaching him to put things back though... he thinks its so much fun he dumps everything on floor to do it again! imagine my surprise when he decided that he was done before he put them away for the last time ..







apparently he considers the floor their proper home!


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## winter singer (Feb 12, 2009)

My dd's doctor told us that, although parents tend to worry about their kids getting things like meningitis, 80% of the infants he treats have actually had some kind of accident to do with household stuff.

That made me think. So I went out and got some corners for our coffee table and stuck them on, and within 3 minutes, DD had figured out how to prize them off.









Generally I'm taking the line of letting her explore as she wants but keeping a close eye out and warning her about dangerous things. I've shown her many times how to get off the bed safely, for example. Not sure how much it's sunk in as yet though. I won't leave her alone in the bedroom until I'm more confident about her survival skills (I'm a huge fan of the Continuum Concept but think that industrialised-society babies grow up in a vastly different world from hunter-gatherer ones. The hazards our babies face are oftentimes things they have no instinct to avoid).


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

I don't really baby proof anymore either - we do have outlet covers though. Other than that, since we've moved, we haven't added childproof locks to the new cabinets or anything. We do have a guardian angel window guard on one window that stays open a lot, since it's at floor level and a child could easily fall right out.

As for the toxic cleaners, maybe your friend doesn't have any. I don't. Under my sink right now I have vinegar, baking soda, some dish soap, Bac-Out and a bar of Ivory soap. There are no cleaning supplies in the bathrooms or closets, so there's nothing they could really get into there, either. And all other things like peroxide, alcohol and sunscreen are stored up high in our hall closet. (I should baby proof the hall closet anyway - the kids are _constantly_ in the BandAids.)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sunnmama* 
We have all the sockets covered for ds, because he is very interested in sockets







. We have still had lots of opportunities to explain that sockets are dangerous....I have to be *so vigilant* about replacing the outlet covers after using and outlet, because he will immediately try to plug something in (usually the thing I just unplugged--vacuum mostly).

I gave up on this with my now 3 year old DS. He learned how to pull out every cover (even the fancy ones that cover what's plugged in at the time) by 20 months. He also knew how to open "childproof" medicine bottles. Anyway - I gave up trying to keep him from the outlets so I instead taught him how to plug things in safely. Now the "magic" of it is gone, but any time the vacuum comes out he asks if he can plug it in, so that's his job.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??


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## mysticmomma (Feb 8, 2005)

this sounds like the pearls... house-proofing a baby.


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## SandraS (Jan 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??

If the baby isn't mobile, they sit in a bouncy or something in the bathroom. If the baby's mobile, they get to roam around. Easy. I have glass shower doors to see them when they're in the room. My master bath does not have a door (it's down a long hallway), but I wouldn't lock them in anyways. They're able to crawl out of the bathroom and explore whatever's in their reach.


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## teale (Feb 20, 2009)

We don't baby proof a lot either. We have a baby gate to block the stairs off, and the cupboards were locked up but other then that, no proofing here.

I'd just smile and nod, maybe ask how she does it?


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??

I usually shower when the kids are with Dad in the morning before he leaves for work, when the kids are taking naps, or when the kids are in bed for the night.

If I have to take a shower when they are awake I tell the big kids to play in their bedroom (right beside the bathroom), and the baby sits in the bathroom in a bouncer and waits for me.


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## celestialdreamer (Nov 18, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EdnaMarie* 
Maybe her kids don't need babyproofing. Lucky her! On the other hand, I seriously doubt that those kids will be the ones to discover the lowest point on the ocean floor, or new species in the Amazon.


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## VisionaryMom (Feb 20, 2007)

We're another non baby-proofing family. What cleaners we use (we prefer baking soda and vinegar) are up high, but that's more because of the kitchen layout. We have used baby gates for short times as needed, but that's about it. I know that my kiddos could navigate stairs by themselves long before other children their age I've met, and those kids usually have houses where the stairs have gates all the time. I think it's just what they're expected/allowed to do.


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## rhubarbarin (May 2, 2008)

Most people I know now don't 'baby-proof'.. meaning childproof locks, baby gates, outlet covers, electrical cords away, covering corners on furniture, all sharp objects and chemicals securely away, etc.

Accidents happen, of course, but I don't know anyone with a kid that's been severely injured/killed by household accidents that would be cause by not 'proofing'..

Personally I am lazy and would rather be able to turn my (future) kids loose and not have to supervise everything. Currently I have two cats and two dogs in a two-room apartment.. it's pretty well 'proofed' for anything at this point! At least infants can't leap to the top of the refrigerator (and the bookshelves.. and on top of the curtains..)!


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??

I do kid-friendly the apartment, but Lina usually showers or bathes with me. I've had 3 showers alone since she was born all with dh there to watch her.








On a different note, she crawled right over to the kitty food again today--and DIDN'T try to eat any.







: So







: that a couple more times exploring their bowls and I'll be able to stop blocking that room off when I let her roam around.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
the other day he was in the bathroom and in less then five minutes he had broken the child proof lock and pulled everything out from under the sink. the Q tips are all over the bathroom floor (still) and he ran around the house with the plunger! i shoved everything but the Q tips back under the sink... we keep the Bathroom door closed unless we are in there. but if i left all my cupboards open everything we own would be all over the house.









When he was 3, a friend's son took to redistributing items around their cupboards and drawers. It was like item A from drawer 1 into drawer 2, Item B into cupboard 3, Item C into drawer 4. They didn't realize he was doing it for like 6 months until they watched him do it.


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

Never did any baby proofing, either. No gates at the top of steps, no outlet covers, no cupboard locks. Ds wasn't an oral kid, didn't suck things, didn't like being in a room without someone. I just helped him explore whatever he wanted to explore. Wasn't a problem with just one kid with his temperament (inquisitive yet reasonably cautious). I'd either shower when dh was home or I'd take a bath with ds.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SandraS* 
Everywhere I go isn't "babyproofed", no sense in doing it here.

I don't get that. Why make the place you spend most of your time more difficult just because other places won't be the same? That sounds a
bit like choosing not to co-sleep because your child won't be able to sleep with you in college.


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## SandraS (Jan 18, 2007)

Makes perfect sense to me, and it's worked for all four of my children. Again, my home isn't loaded with knives and crystal, so by default it's pretty safe. I don't have to hover over my crawlers 24 hours a day. But by them knowing what I mean when I redirect them, they know it when I'm at grandma's too.

Works for us. Has always worked for us.


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## misswerewolf (May 7, 2008)

My parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents never baby-proofed their homes. It's just not done in the culture. Instead, the kids are taught to respect the home and taught the difference between disturbing the home and enjoying the home. (Of course, common sense prevailed and things like knives were kept out of reach.) All their kids grew up alive and well.

Anyway, we don't baby-proof. We let our common sense dictate, which means putting away the knives and forks, and saying "no, no, no!" when baby goes to the outlets, and not letting her in the kitchen unless we're holding her, and other things like that. Then again, we don't let her out of our sight if she's crawling around, so safety is really a non-issue.


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??

Johnny jump up in the bathroom door


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SandraS* 
Makes perfect sense to me, and it's worked for all four of my children. Again, my home isn't loaded with knives and crystal, so by default it's pretty safe. I don't have to hover over my crawlers 24 hours a day. But by them knowing what I mean when I redirect them, they know it when I'm at grandma's too.

Works for us. Has always worked for us.









wasn't debating that it worked for you, I was genuinely curious about the details of it working for you. Sounds like you have a lot less work to do with redirecting than I was envisioning. Thank you for explaining!


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## misswerewolf (May 7, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??

Easily, I would say. I just jump in the shower and wash, wash, wash! Sometimes baby comes in with me. Sometimes not. She usually gets distracted by the shower curtain or the bath sponges and spends time chit-chatting with the ceiling or something.


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## 2xy (Nov 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??

Most of the time I showered before they woke up or after they went to sleep.


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## Astrogirl (Oct 23, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
how do all you non-babyproofers take a shower??

When they were babies, they usually came in the bathroom with me and play there. They still do, to some degree.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mysticmomma* 
this sounds like the pearls... house-proofing a baby.

Hey now, that's not a nice thing to say. I never used the term "houseproof a baby" because I don't think such a thing *really* exists to that strong of a definition - but I imagine the Mamas who did use that term aren't slapping their babies every time they go near an outlet.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rhubarbarin* 
Personally I am lazy and would rather be able to turn my (future) kids loose and not have to supervise everything. Currently I have two cats and two dogs in a two-room apartment.. it's pretty well 'proofed' for anything at this point! At least infants can't leap to the top of the refrigerator (and the bookshelves.. and on top of the curtains..)!

I guess i really don't feel that my kids are under tight rein or that I'm "supervising" per se. I'm simply in the same room as them. I can still do the dishes, cook, clean, etc. They are at the age now where I'm not worried about outlets. The only things my kids can get in trouble with are 1) sharp pointy things like knifes 2) medications 3) chemicals. We barely have 2 & 3 in this house, and they are all in the same room, which the kids never go to unless I'm there. Like i said, maybe its the open concept of our home - i can see and hear anything from anywhere in this house.

Here's an analogy: Does everyone remember the argument against cosleeping due to cosleeping and SIDS statistic? And how our (i.e. typical MDCer) can blow that argument out of the water by saying those cosleeping stats include the "drunk uncle on a couch" scenario for cosleeping? Thats how I feel about a lot of these "unchildproofed homes cause deaths" stats. I grew up knowing about A LOT of childhood accidents from unchildproofed homes, but then, I also grew up knowing a lot of childhoods that involved their mom sitting on the porch having a beer with the neighbours while the kids and their friends were running through the house and only being checked in on every 20 mins or do.


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## pixiekisses (Oct 14, 2008)

We don't go crazy with it, but we do somethings. We cover outlets, basically just because I'd rather cover them and not worry than having to say "no" or redirect all the time. We lock up meds, and dangerous/toxic cleaners, I'm not willing to take the risk.
And we have security-thingys on the windows because the kids will actually die if they fall out.
Works nicely for all of us.


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## SandraS (Jan 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *astrogirl* 
here's an analogy: Does everyone remember the argument against cosleeping due to cosleeping and sids statistic? And how our (i.e. Typical mdcer) can blow that argument out of the water by saying those cosleeping stats include the "drunk uncle on a couch" scenario for cosleeping? Thats how i feel about a lot of these "unchildproofed homes cause deaths" stats. I grew up knowing about a lot of childhood accidents from unchildproofed homes, but then, i also grew up knowing a lot of childhoods that involved their mom sitting on the porch having a beer with the neighbours while the kids and their friends were running through the house and only being checked in on every 20 mins or do.

yes!!!


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Eep! I hope no one's getting the feeling that anyone thinks they aren't watching their kids! Or that there's any belief that anyone in this thread is using Pearl-esque methods to get certain effects.

I think we probably all provide about the same amount of supervision (well, relative to age, I bet I supervise more than a mom of a 4 year old







), it's just what we need to do in order to only supervise that much that's the difference. Likewise, we probably all say "no" and redirect about the same amount, but we have different ways of arranging our homes to achieve that result for our own kids.


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## churndash (Mar 25, 2009)

I was not much of a babyproofer. I found most of the devices annoying and more trouble than they were worth.

I'll never forget visiting my brother and waking up early in the morning, needing a glass of water and being totally unable to figure out how to open the cabinets! I didn't want to wake my brother or sil, so I ended up drinking out of the faucet! (Turns out that the cabinets had some sort of magnet lock and you had to put another magnet on top of the door to open it).

Anyway, maybe my kids were just profundly uncurious or I was lucky or whatever. The worst thing my oldest did was dump out a box of cereal. It did not bother me if she took all my Tupperware or pots out of the cabinet and as a SAHM of one, it was pretty easy to keep an eye on her all the time.

When my second was born my oldest was five and in school, so again, I didn't have a lot of distractions while spending time with the baby.

As for showering - I did that in the morning before they woke up. And I did cleaning and other messy jobs while they napped or while their father was there to watch them.

My youngest is a little more of a "troublemaker". The other two never used their crayons for anything but paper, but my youngest drew all over our books and furniture, stuff like that. She is obsessed with cleaning supplies, but because she wants to use them not because she wants to eat them.

I still haven't locked anything up though. Messy things like glue or Moon Sand get put out of reach when they are not being used; that's about it.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

I'm not much of a "baby-proofer" either. We don't use a gate for the stairs, have any cabinet locks, or covers for the outlets. My kids can scale a gate in 2 seconds, figure out cabinet locks of any kind, and pull the covers off outlets easily... so, none of the above would help much anyway.









They do get into everything, so it's not that I have super mellow kids. But common sense like knives up on the counter so the 2 yo (the only one who wouldn't quite yet understand their danger) can't get to them easily. Alcohol is out of reach. There are not toxic cleaners inside my home, so it's not a concern, we don't have medications besides advil/tylenol which are up high and of course have hard to open lids.

I know I'm repeating many others but I just haven't had a need to baby/child proof to any extreme -- just the normal stuff. Oh, our security system happens to be programmed that a chime dings anytime a door or window is opened, so that is nice to be more aware when one of the kids is trying to get out. But really, we live in a pretty rural area and the (non busy) dirt road is a long ways down the driveway. I think it just depends on the set-up of your home, your children's personalities, what kind of dangers lurk inside, and your overall comfort level.


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## Snuzzmom (Feb 6, 2008)

We did babyproof cabinets and drawers because there is a limited amount of places that we can put things. Oh, and door knob covers for the bathroom for the same reason.

For stuff like the buttons on our TV/ XBox/ stereo, whenever DS would toddle over and start to mess with it, we'd just say, "Not for Ivan" and give him something that was. We spent about three months saying this constantly-- nothing harsh or punitive, just the statement and the rediction-- and he stopped touching it. Never had a problem since. We use "not for Ivan" judiciously, so when we say it, he tends to listen. It's saved us a lot of babyproofing in other areas.

Having said that, we only let him play unsupervised in certain areas of our house (like his room), so we'd see him if he were to suddenly become interested in taking the stereo apart, or something.


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## MoonStarFalling (Nov 4, 2004)

I don't believe in super baby proofing with all the corner guards and everything. I do think that some kids just need more baby proofing than others. DS was opening medicine bottles, unlocking the front door, climbing into the refrigerator, turning on the stove and dragging out the knives as soon as he learned how to walk. We eventually broke down and started locking things up after the one millionth time re directing him. When people say "house proofing a child" a seriously wonder what else I could have done to house proof my ds. I really don't think it was possible.


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## pauletoy (Aug 26, 2007)

We are not "babyproof" either. With 4 kids of different ages, it's kind of hard. We don't use toxic cleaners, the cleaners we do have and medication are kept in a high cupboard. We are super vigilant about other things.


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## Pod4One (Nov 28, 2005)

I had no idea how much there was to baby-proofing until I worked in the hardware department of Hechinger's! OMG! They have pads, locks, and covers in every shape and form - and for everything! Lock the VCR, tie the TV to the wall, lock the fridge, lock the toilet, cover the outlets not it use, cover the outlets that ARE in use, on and on it goes.

I would say I selectively baby-proof things. The main living area has a nice baby gate there and we keep that keep very baby friendly. As for the rest of the house, we have some outlet covers in places where the kid *might* be able to get to without us noticing (behind the dining room table, behind the dog's crate) and those are the outlets we don't use anyway. We also have a gate at the top of the steps and bottom - although the bottom one doesn't do a whole lot for the kid (he climbs under it) - it does keep the dog down stairs









I don't know anyone made it out of infancy. Put a kid in a room with 1000 appropriate toys and they will find the ONE thing they shouldn't play with! A screwdriver, a nail, a battery, a fork... you name it!

Every family has to risk assess their space and decide what needs to be protected and to what extent.


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## Serenyd (Jan 6, 2008)

I think babyproofing gives a false sense of security. We use babygates and a couple cabinet locks to keep him out of things but that's about it. We have a few outlet covers. Probably should pick up some more, but most of the uncovered ones are in use. I did have a conversation w/ my ds1 about sticking things in outlet ... pretty much that if you put anything in there besides a plug, fire will shoot out and consume you. I think I made my point... However, it's harder to explain it to a 17 mo old.


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## SandraS (Jan 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Pod4One* 
I had no idea how much there was to baby-proofing until I worked in the hardware department of Hechinger's! OMG! They have pads, locks, and covers in every shape and form - and for everything! Lock the VCR, tie the TV to the wall, lock the fridge, lock the toilet, cover the outlets not it use, cover the outlets that ARE in use, on and on it goes.


There's something along the lines of 10,000 different "safety" devices for a child for sale in BRU right now. It's a multi billion dollar business.

And you're made to feel like a "bad mom" if you don't own a vast majority of them. And then it perpetuates into "well, we must NEED them because they're for sale". Really, the companies are brilliant. Supply and demand.

But 10,000 different safety devices today? How did ANY of us make it to be old enough to have our own children???


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

Before I opened a daycare I didn't baby proof either...except to lock up medicines and put cleaners in a high cabinet. I just taught my kids to leave things alone. I had lots of knickknacks and breakables out too







BUT when I'm taking care of other people's children more caution is needed, so my house is now babyproof. I'm considering giving up doing daycare before this baby is born because I'm not sure I want to raise her in an environment to feels artificial to me.


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## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

I don't babyproof that much, but I do what that child needs. My older 2 just weren't really troublemakers as a baby (I use that term in a joking way!) They really just didn't get into much. My third, on the other hand, is into everything, and needs more babyproofing (I should get around to that since she's crawling, pulling up and cruising now). I have outlet covers but some are missing now and I have the cabinets where there are hazardous stuff locked.


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## sept15lija (Jun 21, 2008)

I don't go crazy on babyproofing, but I did put some things away and rearranged other things so he couldn't get access to potentially dangerous objects or things I do not want broken. I do have cabinet locks under my sink (yucky compost and garbage are magnets to him!) and a lock on my stove and dishwasher, and I do have babygates but most of the time they're open anyways, he's been going up and down the stairs by himself for months now.

My DS is a major adventurer/explorer, he'll get into anything and everything and bring things to you you've forgotten you ever owned. I don't want to be following him around and redirecting him every five minutes, I want him to feel this is his space too to do in as he wishes, so I've made it as kid-friendly as possible. He does know what "no" means so if we go somewhere else he'll listen mostly when I tell him to stay away from something, but at home I want everyone to be relaxed and mom and dad not to have to worry about what he might be getting into. Works great for us!


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## sewcool (Jan 25, 2009)

i think it really depends on the person maybe she follows her kids every move like Ive seen some parent do. whatever the case no matter what you say she wont change you just have to hope shes paying attention all the time.
i however have outlet covers, locked my sink cabinet, and did have a gate or 2 in my children's young years. i don't think its worth the chance.


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## FoxintheSnow (May 11, 2004)

When I just had one kid, I didn't babyproof much because I was always with ds. With dd (who is very adventurous) I've done gates on the stairs, outlet covers and cabinet locks. I also teach her what's dangerous, but I figure it only takes once for a baby to get seriously hurt so it's not worth the risk.


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