Baby-proofing 101

We moved into a house that already had baby-proofed cabinets and drawers in the kitchen. However, there was one that was left alone. This drawer, we put all the toys and kitchen items we felt our son could play with while we were busy cooking.

It worked out well for us. Now, that he is almost 3 and really could care less about what's inside the drawer, we use it for other kitchen necessities.

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It is absolutely true, what your friends say about the cabinets and drawers. You have to pick your battles, and you can either spend your entire day saying "no no no" or you can find some thing to say "yes" about and save yourself a lot of grief.

My daughters are allowed into two of my kitchen cabinets. They do look just like all the others, but the girls absolutely know which ones they can go into. This has been the case since they learned how to open doors, which was no later than the age your son is. The "good" cupboards are the ones with the tupperware and the perishable (boxed and canned and dried/bagged) foods. I removed everything glass and put all the cans on the bottom shelf so if they land on a toe it won't require an ER visit. The girls love to go in there and do their daily inventory duties, or whatever they think they are doing. They are also allowed to dig in all the bins and shelves that they can reach in their room, and the toy/book stacker thingy in their closet, and mostly everything they can reach everywhere, with a few key exceptions: the "bad" cupboards and drawers, the brick hearth, a shelving unit in a corner with stuff on it that would be a nightmare if dropped, the "blessing tree" (our year-round Christmas tree), and any wires/plugs. Once in a while they test their boundaries, but a quick reminder that they will be punished if they don't stop is enough.

Either way, it's not like you will ever stop monitoring your son. You can babyproof all week, and he will still find the one thing you couldn't protect him from. In my case, with two one-year-olds, I have to be mindful of what they are doing to each other even if everything around them is "safe." That said, I don't follow them from room to room all day. Basically you develop an ear for trouble. If you can hear them playing happily (or fighting over a toy or other normal activity), all is well, but when things get eerily quiet, you had better go in there because they are up to something.

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I decided that getting into cabinets fell into two categories: dangerous and annoying. For dangerous, I used baby locks that are hard for even adults to open. This included under the sinks and in my laundry room. For annoying, which included pots and pans, food, plastic containers and art supplies, I put hairbands around the two handles. They weren't easily opened, so my kids wandered over to the only one that was. I kept some toys, a few fun kitchen utensils and some empty food boxes inside. They seldom were able to remove the hairbands, but if they did, I'd simply remain boringly calm and replace the band.

We put all 800 of my husband's CDs in another room which was completely off limits to kids. The rooms not for kids were blocked off by doorknob baby locks or gates. We put everything else we cared about onto shelves above the five foot mark.

"Pick your battles" yes, but also, "set limits".

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I loved Tot-Loks when my girls were small. I put them on all cabinets. They can only be opened with their own magnet and are strong enough I could put all my weight against one and it still wouldn't budge.

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I was surprised, also, how my son doesn't even mess with the cabinets other than those that has the "fun stuff" in it (22 months). All of our cabinets except "his" two are locked, and he doesn't even try to get into the others. They are quick learners with good memories!

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Things that are absolutely necessary to babyproof include: knives, glass stuff, cleaning products, the toilet, the medicine cabinet, and the doors leading out of the house. As far as books and nicknacks go...move them if you have to, train the kids not to touch them, same goes for desk drawers and rooms they're not to go in (i.e. the bathroom, your bedroom). It's not absolutely necessary to cover your outlets, if you're really able to watch the kids the whole way through their facination period, but it's not a bad idea. It's not necessary to lock up every single cabinet and drawer in the house, so long as you're teaching them what's ok and not ok ("We don't open the DVD cabinet" etc). Also, if you get frustrated by the baby locks on cabinets and drawers, remove them (except the cabinets with chemicals insidee) and install babygates for your kitchen. Teach the kids that it's absolutely NOT ok to climb over the gates or open them.

Neither of my kids will go in a room their not allowed in unless the door is open, they don't climb gates because they've been taught not to do it, they don't mess with my desk and end table drawers or open the closets in the hallway except the one I allow them in (shoes). Neither open doors to rooms they've been taught not to go in, and both ar eover their facination with outlets. Neither are allowed into the kitchen unsupervised or when I'm cooking and they know it. I think it's about teaching them how to act safely from a young age (mine are 19 months and 3 years old) as well as preventing them from doing something dangerous physically. You never know what they could get into at a friend or relative's house if they're not taught, as well as physically kept from danger.

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