As most first time parents do, I prepared our small apartment to be baby proofed well before our son was even able to get into anything. Something my husband may have wished I waited on since getting into some of our cupboards has proven to be "parent proof" as well. Still, I enjoy having things done early and being well prepared for anything that may come my way. And then our son got big enough and I found out where I went wrong.
First I took the knowledge I had from when my younger siblings were babies. I remembered the push down locks for the cupboard doors and the safety gates that keep little ones from entering rooms. When I started looking around on some websites for baby safety such as http://www.onestepahead.com/ , I found lots of other great ideas ranging from VCR shields (one of my sisters did in fact get her fingers stuck in a VCR once) to stove knob covers. Eventually, I had completed my collection of baby proofing items and felt confident that everything he could get into was protected from his little hands and we'd rest easy knowing he couldn't get into anything dangerous. Boy, was I wrong.
What I didn't realize was that once my son mastered crawling he'd crawl up onto things and gain a few inches to get closer to that book shelf or the toilet. We worked with that, and then found out some more news. Once toddlers master walking they also seem to master climbing. I found out that the couch leads him straight up to the DVD shelves. The table becomes a dance floor. The TV can be turned on anytime he wishes. And nothing is safe on top of the desk. I have to completely re-evaluate our apartment to figure out what my 3 foot toddler could reach not only from the floor, but from on top of each piece of furniture as well.
Unless you plan to keep your children locked up in a padded room with no windows and no doors, be advised that you will have to keep a very close eye on them no matter what baby proofing you have in your home. And even then, I'm sure the curious little monkeys could figure out a way to carve out the padding and do something dangerous with it. Remember the cavemen created fire.... today's toddlers are far more advanced.
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First I took the knowledge I had from when my younger siblings were babies. I remembered the push down locks for the cupboard doors and the safety gates that keep little ones from entering rooms. When I started looking around on some websites for baby safety such as http://www.onestepahead.com/ , I found lots of other great ideas ranging from VCR shields (one of my sisters did in fact get her fingers stuck in a VCR once) to stove knob covers. Eventually, I had completed my collection of baby proofing items and felt confident that everything he could get into was protected from his little hands and we'd rest easy knowing he couldn't get into anything dangerous. Boy, was I wrong.
What I didn't realize was that once my son mastered crawling he'd crawl up onto things and gain a few inches to get closer to that book shelf or the toilet. We worked with that, and then found out some more news. Once toddlers master walking they also seem to master climbing. I found out that the couch leads him straight up to the DVD shelves. The table becomes a dance floor. The TV can be turned on anytime he wishes. And nothing is safe on top of the desk. I have to completely re-evaluate our apartment to figure out what my 3 foot toddler could reach not only from the floor, but from on top of each piece of furniture as well.
Unless you plan to keep your children locked up in a padded room with no windows and no doors, be advised that you will have to keep a very close eye on them no matter what baby proofing you have in your home. And even then, I'm sure the curious little monkeys could figure out a way to carve out the padding and do something dangerous with it. Remember the cavemen created fire.... today's toddlers are far more advanced.
Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com!
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