Baby-proofing Products

I know that if you are a busy mom that it can be difficult to keep a constant eye on the little ones.. My daughter will be 5 in March and I never had anything baby proofed.. when I was busy doing things after she started moving around she was either in her high chair, swing, walker, she loved to play in her room, or she was sleeping.. I taught her the things that were ok to touch and what wasn't... I have never really had any problems with her getting into things that she isn't suppose to since she had learned early on before the rebelious stage that toddlers go through what she could and couldn't touch and she never gotten into chemicals or anything like that. If she would go for things when she was younger that she wasn't suppose to be into I would pick her up and put her away from it and distract her with things she could play with after explaining that it is a no no thing. It takes some time and patients. Good luck...

Hi Jenn :)

I found the easiest thing to do with Charlie was to simply make all the items in the drawers and shelves he could reach "Charlie" friendly. That way he could entertain himself by going through all my drawers and I didn't have to worry about him getting hurt.

The one item we needed was the stove knob covers (which I see you bought) because he could turn on the stovetop! He did find them pretty interesting and for a few days everytime he came in the kitchen he said "Balls!" and pointed to the stove. But he did lose interest, and never got them open.

Jess

(ps - no new baby yet...)

Sounds like you did a great job! You can never go overboard on baby proofing! As time goes on and she starts to explore more you'll be sure to find other things you'll need. One other thing that might be something to think about are furniture fasteners. They are for bookshelves, dressers, etc... You attach them to the back of the piece of furniture and then to the wall so if your child tries to pull on it, it won't fall on them. I discovered these after my daughter almost spilled her dresser on top of her. NOT something you want to happen!!
Good Luck!

I never really bought any babyproofing stuff. I had the outlet covers but with everything else I just put out of reach anything my child could get at like chemicals, small pieces or breakables. I have just relied on good supervision and have disciplined my child early early on what is appropriate to touch and do and what's not. My daughter is now 5 and my house is not the least bit babyproofed anymore. I totally trust my daughter and have for awhile with getting into things. I may just be lucky with a good natured kid or my teachings, scoldings, and preaching has done me good she's never gotten into my bathroom stuff, or anything. I think you will be just fine! Focus on communication from a early start with no no's and don't touch that early on but explain why they love to know why it's a no no and I've always told my daughter into detail at what will happen and she won't get into stuff. Just this weekend I had a prescription bottle on my kitchen table and I said "You remember to never touch mommy's medicine right?" and she said "Yep it's only for you and can make me sick"

We had to buy an oven latch (he LoVeS to open the oven) and a refrigerator latch (in addition to the items you've purchased). The 'better to be safe than sorry' seems to fit! Oh the joys of toddlerhood!

We purchased Tot Locks from babies r us for our kitchen cabinets. I love them!!!! My son was able to reach into the cabinets with the traditional cabinet locks and pull things out. These locks use a magnet system to get in, and dont crack open far enough for a little arm like traditional locks.

Here is a link to the website if you are interested:

http://www.safety1st.com/product.asp?productID=208

none of the baby saftey products worked on my son. but the only thing he really got into was the can of comet. (it was kinda funny)-he shook the can all over the kitchen and didn't get any on him. try to vaccum comet!!!!

Sounds like you have a lot of things covered! The one thing I would add is the straps you put on dressers to hold them to the wall. There has been two deaths in the last two years in our area from kids climbing on dressers to reach something on top. The dressers fell over on top of the kids. You can buy them at USA Baby and we found them at Baby Depot, I'm sure Babies R Us has them also.

Hi! I don't think you can go overboard on safety products for your baby! Whatever makes you feel she is safe is worth the money! One piece of advice: spring for the more sturdy cabinet latches. We bought some that have a spring in them - do not buy those!! They totally break! We ended up replacing most of those with latches that are more sturdy plastic, with no springs.

My tip to you to save some money and some time! :)

sounds like you're on top of it =) i know my children can be overly persistent, but be aware that the u-shaped cabinet locks didn't work for us (at home or at the dr.'s office) my kids are/were both able to pound hard enough on them to render them useless. the hooks that you can install on the inside of the cabinets/drawers, however, have worked great. just something to watch out for =)