Should or Shouldn't You Completely Move Everything Out of Reach

No, I don't think you should move everything from her reach. You would just be enabling the problem if you do move everything from her reach all of the time. There are obvious exceptions to the rule such as a hot drink or small things she could place in her mouth, but 9 month olds are a lot brighter than one might think. She is already able to comprehend the word "NO" and it is imperative that she knows who is in control early on. Unfortunately, those in our families sometimes forget that they are OUR children, not THEIRS and we all have our own ideas of parenting. Just imagine her being 7 years old and going into someones house and grabbing everything in sight because she was never taught that it isn't polite to rummage through someone else's belongings. Stand your ground sister!

We have twins. 2 1/2 yrs old now. We have done nothing more than put outlet covers in and cabinet locks on only the chemical storage cabinet. Everything else we teach them "no, that's mommy's toy" or "no, that's daddy's toy". When they try to take something of yours you say "No, that's daddy's toy... here's YOUR toy" and then you go get them or hand them their toys. Our kids are fine, and they have, I think, respect for someone else's things when you tell them it is not theirs. And, like you said, the world is not child-proof and they need to understand that when mommy says no, mommy means no, plain and simple whether you are at home, at Nana's or at Walmart. That said, my children have never broken anything but one salad plate. I keep an eagle eye on them for their safety, not for the cause of my "things". If something were to get broken, it would not be a big deal because it's all just "stuff".

Keep it out of reach! Especially if it is small or breakable! I was shocked to find my child was not born with my love and respect for books, I am an older mom too and baby proofing is a must. Especially get rid of all the chemicals in your home, just let them go, plain white vinegar in a spray bottle kills all the germs and better! And your child can drink it! The vinegar works on everything, let it sit on that mess on the stove, then wipe it away, spray it in the air to relieve even the stinkiest husband leavings in the bathroom (works for kid smells too!) Vinegar and water on the floors with a swiffer cloth (or an old sock pulled over the swiffer) and it's safe for wood, tile, linoleum...

Hope it helps.

A.

I do not believe in removing things so that a child can not get to them. I did not remove things when my 3 children were little. When taking my children to other homes they never did bother anything. They knew that "things" were out on tables and such and it was "normal" to them to see that. My step son and his wife did remove things when they had their children and it made things awful when they went to a different house. The children had to "touch" everything and being so little some things did break. The children just did not understand why there were things on the tables and such. Once my grandson told my father in law that he needed to take everything off the table so he could lay on the table. It was just not "normal" to them to have things sitting on tables and such. I would not remove anything...but I would put more preciouse things up higher so there won't be an accident.
K.

Hi P.,
My husband and I have 2 children (7 year old girl and soon to be 2-year old son). We believe in leaving everything where it is and teaching them not to touch it and if they touched it they got popped on the hand. When our daughter was a baby, she learned soon that she would get popped, but our son, we'll he will try you. But either way all items stay on our tables, counters, etc. This is a learning process for all involved. I don't feel the need to rearrange things to accommodate them. They need to learn to listen and if not, then suffer the consequences.

I don't think you should. I put on child locks for the cabinets with meds or cleaning supplies. I put most glass out of reach and things that are obviously dangerous. But it's impossible to put EVERYTHING out of reach, and even if you break your back trying to accomplish that, sooner or later that baby has to figure out the world has things in it that can't be touched!
Something that helps visiting other houses is bringing things she is allowed to touch. I see babies who are allowed to touch everything, and truely those kids break things and have no boundaries. It's almost the same problem for kids who have everything put away that they can't touch, they don't learn boundaries.

Most of all, do you what you think is right, its your baby and people will always have opinions that don't line up with yours.

You are exactly right. Not everyone will "childproof" their entire house! You do need to lock up or move anything dangerous (like cleaners etc), extrememly valuable or sentimental. Otherwise, she needs to learn that not everthing is meant for her, and that some things are "pretties" and should be looked at, not touched. It may mean there are some messes to clean, and things like magazines get torn, or occasionally something gets broken. That's why you remove anything valuable, fragile, and dangerous. It means diligence on your part, but it's very worth it in the long run!

Our son is now 2 years old and we never moved everything out of his reach. We kept things that would be dangerous (chemicals, candles, sharp objects) out of reach but taught him not to touch certain things. He learned not to touch pretty, decorative things and even with only having seen our fireplace lit twice will always point toward it and say "hot" when he is near it and always tells our two cats to stay away that it's hot.

We felt it was much better to teach him what kind of things he shouldn't mess with in our own home instead of trying to teach it all when we go to someone's house that isn't set up for children. To this day he has never hurt himself on anything and when we are visiting and tell him to leave something alone he listens and does as he is asked.

in my opinion i think you should teach your child that there are somethings that aren't hers and she can not touch when you go to other people's homes you can not expect them to redecorate just b/c you are there... your daughter will understand that she can not touch certain things after you teach her this... you can teach her now or you will have to teach her when she gets older... now will probably be easier on her and i think that it instills better values starting so young

Your daughter is in a stage of development where she learns by exploring her environment with her 5 senses (check out Piaget's ages and stages of development). I mean, you can try to teach her by telling her what's appropriate and what isn't... but really the only way for her to learn about things is to explore them with her senses (this is why babies are always putting things in their mouth). Which means it's a really good idea to remove those items that are going to be dangerous for her and provide her only with things that are okay for her to touch, look at, taste, etc. And then when you go to someone's house that isn't baby proofed... you just watch VERY closely. When she's a little older, then it might be a little more effective to start teaching her to distunguish between what is and isn't okay to get into. But even then, you can't expect the lessons to be learned overnight and it will still be a good idea to have dangerous items (breakables, choke hazards, chemicals, etc) moved out of reach.

Hi P.!
Wow! I have enjoyed reading the responses to your question! It seems that everyone is split about 50/50 on this one. We removed almost everything out of our living room except the couches & entertainment center. What's left is a wooden chest for toys and bigger toys that cannot fit in the chest. While this is not how I would prefer it to be, I have found that this is what works best for us. I am a SAHM with a 18mo old and a 3 1/2 year old and we are here most of the time. The living room is the playroom because we have a small house. I completely childproofed that room and only put outlet covers and cabinet locks in the other rooms in the house. I got tired of things being broken and saying no all the time. I put a child gate up blocking them in the living room when I want us all to stay in one room together and pull the gate up when I go in other rooms so they are not stuck in the living room all day. I do gate them in when I want to run to the bathroom or get a shower. My inlaws do not like that I gate them in, but it works for us and no one is being psychologically or physically hurt by it. My 3 1/2 year old can get out of the gate whenever she wants anyway. I hope this helps! I think leaving things out works better for those who have kids who are in daycare all day. It doesn't work for me because we are here so much that I would be literally saying NO all the time!
My kids don't really bother stuff at other people's houses.
L.

I'm a firm believer in teaching children, even at the age of your daughter, that "NO" means ""NO, not, "Well, maybe this time". It breeds confusion. My parents and in-laws childproofed everything and my brother went to the nth degree to prevent anything being damaged. I used to think, wouldn't it be easier to teach them to not mess with the VCR, figurine, desk drawer, stack of paper, whatnot than to put all these barriers in their life? Yes, it's a lot more work to be the teacher and so much simpler to rely on door locks, cabinet locks, refrigerator locks, stove locks, baby gates, and a dozen or more devices I've seen used.

I completely childproofed one room and left everything else the same. (I did plug up every outlet in the house though) That way if I needed to go to the bathroom or something she could be in the living room blocked off and in no danger til I got back. Everything else I just taught her what she could and couldn't have. SHe seemed fine with it and I think it made it easier for when she went to an unchildproofed home. Family can be great at giving helpful hints, sometimes they are a little too helpful though.

I'm like you I think you should teach your child what he/she can touch, I don't think you should move anything, they need to learn.

I think it all depends on your child's personality. My son is they type who preferred our things to toys, so we really had to remove everything and protect all doors/outlets for his safety. Now that he is getting older (2) and can understand better, I'm starting to bring out my non-breakable things that he can explore without hearing "NO!" all the time and without hurting himself. It only takes 1 mistake for them to cut themselves or hurt themselves badly.

Everyone certainly has an oppinion on this! My answer is different than most. Many people who don't believe in child proofing say things like "just keep an eye on them", "be vigilant", etc... I prefered to give myself and my children more freedom. I didn't want to spend my days saying "NO" and I didn't want to have to follow my toddlers room to room to make sure they weren't touching. Anything within thier reach was generally touchable. They were free to explore thier environment.

I didn't worry that my kids would never learn "no". There are still many household rules kids must learn. (No playing in the toilet, no sticking toys in the VCR, no pulling the cats tail, no throwing food, etc.. believe me there will be plenty of chances to say "NO") I believe the fewer times the child hears "no" the more importance it will have. The fewer times you have to discipline your child the more importance the discipline will have. I chose to save my "NO" for more important issues.

When you visit another house, the adults are generally more attentive and more adults are present. It was never an issue for me to supervise my daughters more closely at a friends house than I would at home. Obviously by age 2 1/2 or 3 children are able to understand the importance of being more careful around grandma's knick-knacks, or whatever.

I believe in teaching them what is right and what is wrong. I haven't child proofed my house and I have two kids. I told them danger to things that would hurt them and told them it would make them very sick. From then on, I have never had a problem. They both would tell me when mopping or whatever that "that stuff is danger" I would then explain to them that it is for cleaning and only for big people's hands. I then told them again it would make kids sick and have to go to the hospital. Saying it over and over again instilled it into them.

I agree that children have to be taught...............but things that were precious to me, I put away and taught my children with stuff that could be replaced if it was broken.

Good Morning P.. You are absolutely correct. We had bookshelves that had various nick nacks on them. The really important ones we put where they couldn't be reached but we didn't put everything up. in addition, we put something on the shelves that the child could play with....that way if he went for something he wasn't supposed to have we could say "no, no, that's not yours, play with "whatever" because it is yours" then when we'd go places that weren't childproof, i'd take things for them to play with and use the same wording there..."that's not your's, play with whatever because it's yours"....it worked for a number of various situations over the years. teaches that if it's not your's you don't need to have it.....as they got older, we taught them to ask for things they wanted that weren't theirs.....hope that's some help....R.

I am a mom of three. 14ysold, 9yrs old and a 3 yr old. My mom told me when my first one was born that you just teach them not to touch certain things, because when you visit others homes. They will know what to do. We haven't put up anything in our home except the coffee table (during the start of walking) and the medicine/cleaners. All of my kids have learned and it's so much easier than running behind them at our firends house. Good luck.

My advice is to take away all things that are removable temporarily. That still leaves the t.v.,stereo equiptment,etc.
The problem is that a child at that age does not comprehend the word "no". They know that particular action makes you unhappy and may even know there will be a consequence but 2 seconds later their brain goes back to "explore mode" and they can't help it.
The electronics in the living room will give you plenty of time to say no 1000 times a day. They just cant help it, they want to explore everything. As far as other houses, the method recommended is to physically remove them from whatever they are touching that they are not supposed to. Bring "busy activities" with you if possible. And just remember this is a temporary phase. When they reach 3-4, they understand "no" alot more. I hope this helps! (the rule book that i follow is doctors explanations of childrens brain development which taught me that my child is not a) doing anything unusual and b)how THEY think at that particular age).
After you say NO 1000, parents think they are being deviant but thats not the case in small children.

I have 3 kids(all adults now) and 3 elem school age grandchildren. I never moved anything for any of them. Children are people, too and need to learn acceptable behavior. Of course, use your common sense. If you have antiques or expensive things you don't want broken, move them to a safer location. And this applies to adults, too.

teach her what no means. if it could hurt her, or get pulled down on her, change it. But if you move EVERYTHING, how will she ever learn?

P.
You are right that not all friends or family are going to have their homes child proofed, but in your own home it is a little different your child should not have to hear we don't touch that or this. They should be able to play and not hear No No.
all the time. After all it is there house as well.
When our children were little our house was child proofed and so was my parents, but not my in-laws my father-in-law thought that child should know better when they when to others homes.
So my mother-in-law would take them threw the house showing them all the things that they could not touch and told them why, and then she showed them the things that they could touch or play with. If they wanted to look at something that they could not touch they would get her and she would show it to them and let them hold it with her. In our case this worked very well and even if we went to someones house that was not child proofed they did not touch without asking.
hope this might help.

When my grandchildren were little we didn't move anything. I would take them to whatever they wanted and let them see it and touch it and explain that it should not be touched. Every time they would go for something I would pick them up and hold the item and let them touch and see it. After a few times the were no longer interested. I think putting things up out of her way would send the message that she was in charge.

Hi P.. My daughter is almost 1 1/2 years now, and she has always been VERY active...started walking way too early! Ha. We have childproofed some. Obviously things that can hurt her, like cleaners are put up in high cabinets that she can't reach. We keep bathroom doors and our Master bedroom doors closed...I like to have one area that's just my husband and I's!! Ha. We also have a gate into our kitchen so she can't go in there unless I let her in while I'm in there. That's all though. We've kept picture frames and stuff down, she has just been taught what are toys and what aren't. I have moved some things out of her reach just for my own convenience so I'm not disciplining non-stop but most of the things stay down. We have friends that let their child play with everything...dvds, books, frames, etc. Watching him helped us decide what was off limits and what she could play with....especially after he stuck a dvd in their vcr!! Yikes. We still have to tell her no occasionally, but for the most part she would rather just play with her toys and not get in trouble!

P.,
I have an 8 almost 9 month old son and he too is getting into everything these days. We haven't moved everything yet, but anything that is breakable or has small parts that can come off or things that are irreplaceable we have moved out of his reach for now. I think as he gets older and starts to understand, "no" and "don't touch," we may start to put some things back a piece at a time and have him learn that way. Like you said, not everyone is going to have a babyproofed house, so they have to learn sometime.

I a mother of 2 beautiful but curious children. I never "childproofed" my home. Because great-grandma also believes that there is just things babies shouldn't touch and if you teach them that from the beginning it shouldn't be a problem. You may want to re situate the important things in your home to a higher level. But for the most part just keep an eye on the little ones. My daughter will touch and look to me for approval. She is 19mts.
And yes not everyone is going to have their homes childproofed. So you want to be able to speak and you child not touch! Hope it helps!!

I am Mother of five children, four step-children, 20 grand children and 10 greats. I am 69 and in my opinion, leave things intact except glass objects ect that the child might get hurt on. teach the no no's with things that cannot hurt them. then gradually replace with other things. Yes they need to know bounderies, and remember to give a yes object for a no-no!They will test thier limits, but they will soon begin to want approval instead of rejection. Good luck, hope this works for you.

I did not move everything. Only the things that were really valueable or really dangerous. It made it easier to go places that were not so child proof she learned that she couldnt have everything in her reach. When I said "ta ta"95% of the time she would just walk away.

I never did the child-proofing thing either. Once she got to the crawling stage, I just watched her and when she got near something she wasn't supposed to, I moved her away from it and told her no. By the time she started walking, she pretty much knew what was and wasn't ok for her to touch. I don't use toxic chemicals for cleaning - I use white vinegar to clean almost everything. I wasn't really worried about her getting into it. It's not exactly a tempting smell, and even if she did drink it, it wasn't going to harm her. I don't use products containing chlorine. I treat ant hills with ground cinnamon. I unclog drains with baking soda and vinegar. So there weren't really any poisons for her to get into.
Did a few things get broken anyway? Sure - but not many. But things also get broken when you have pets as well. I figured that if I could teach a dog what was and was not ok to put in his mouth, and teach a cat to stay off the countertops, surely I could teach a child.

Hi P.! This is an interesting question which I'm sure will have many different answers. My little boy is almost 4 years old now and when he was little we chose not to move anything. I didn't think it was fair to him for me to empty my house and then we take him somewhere and he break something and have to get in trouble because I didn't teach him right from wrong. In the beginning, if he started to touch something I would get up and help him touch it "gently" or "with one finger". After his first birthday, I was pretty much able to say "gently" or only one finger and he could do it by himself. We never had anything break and he never got hurt by anything he touched. I hope this helps and enjoy your baby girl, they grow up so quickly!

hi P.. i am also a new mom of a 11 month old daughter who is now walking. we didnt completly baby proof our house and now we are changing our minds. i found that 9 to 11 month olds dont quite understand boundries yet. it is a pain to move everthing but its a bigger pain to constantly be saying no so soon.

Hi P.,
As a Mom at 38 3/4 of a beautiful baby girl (who is almost 2)too :-D, I can tell you that you need to put away stuff you don't want Broken RIGHT NOW :-P. My daughter started crawling at 9 mos and then stuff started to be permantly altered ;-).
I read on some baby website it's a good idea to get down and crawl around and see what your child sees-sounds good to me.
Also, please make sure any furniture she could pull over on herself is removed from/secured in the area she mostly inhabits-bookcases, Tables that she might try and climb on the base, also LONG Tablecloths, etc...

My daughter was part monkey from the get-go, she could climb onto and off of the couch AND on the dishwasher door when it is open almost as soon as she could crawl( much to Mommy's HORROR). If your daughter is the same, you may just have to watch her and pull her down if she gets somewhere she doesn't need to be.
OH, my husband had one of those folding foam couches (he slept on it in college) we got it out so she could have her "own" little couch that was MUCH closer to the floor to climb up on and down again with less potential trauma.
My Best advice is just to watch her and love her, know that her babyhood is Magical and that she won't be this way for long. I miss the days when I could just snuggle my baby as long as I wanted, now I say "give Mamma a Hug/Kiss" she shakes her head "no" and says "down please", sigh; it didn't last Long enough for me :-).
Oh-one last thing-start seriously baby-proofing your house NOW, outlet plugs, cabinet door locks (don't forget the bathroom) and baby gates.
Good Luck and Be Safe!
C.

I have a 3 yr old son and an 18 month old son and I do not move everything!!! I agree with you that not everyone else will have things put away and they need to learn not to bother things. My mother did't put everything away and while I don't do everything my mother did I do agree with that. I do childproof my cabinets that have cleaning supplies, etc but that is about it.
A.

P.,
I am a 51 year old mother and grandmother of 4 grown children and 8 grandchildren (ages 1 year to 10 years) ALL are the love of my life. I NEVER moved anything away from any of them. I did, however, put child safety locks on cabinets with chemicals etc...that could cause harm or death. From the time they were all able to crawl I taught them what they could not touch. It took a few smacks on the hand or bottom but they quickly learned what to leave alone. If you have something that is absolutely irreplaceable, then, by all means remove it "just in case".
When going to someone elses house continue this lesson. It won't take long for them to learn what is allowed and what isn't. By just removing something they are not really learning. This will serve you and them well and prevent "accidents". Besides, it's not fair for the person(s) you are visiting to accomidate your child by rearranging their home.
D.

I would not put everything up. I am a mother of 3 I never put everything up. If it something real special and can not be replaced than put it up. They have to learn the word not and dont touch. Not everywhere you go will be baby proof. You dont want them to go and touch everything.
This has worked for me. I also have a home daycare, and I do not put everything up. Just what is real precoiius and cnanot be replaed

If you love it or its very expensive, MOVE IT. but everything else I wouldnt worry about. The way I did it ( and will continue to do it because my two youngest are 3 and 4 and arent happy unless they're breaking something! lol) is I put everything of value, whether it be monetary or sentamental, out of reach and the things i didn't care to get broken I left out. I even went as far as getting little ceramic things from the dollar store to put on the coffee table. Then I just kept teaching them that they don't touch things that aren't theirs. If they broke i just swept it up and threw it away. Eventually they learn and they will stop touching. Good luck Hope this helps!

I wouldn't move a thing. I doesn't matter how old thet are they will learn not to touch if they are told at a young enough age . Good Luck

I do not think they you should move everthing. Chemicals and cleaners should be locked in a cabinet but other than that I agree that you should teach your child what can and cannot be played with. If it is going to harm her then it should but if it is something she just shouldn't have then I would just teach her she can't play with it. Good luck!!

When I had my daughter everyone told me I should begin child-proofing my home. I stated at that time I will do no such thing and I didn't. When my daughter was old enough to know better she was repremanded when she did things that were unacceptable. It is my strong belief that love, acceptance and nuturing should be balanced with discipline. Children will only do what you allow them to do. Like you said other people will not child proof their homes. When people come to my home with their children I expect them to know that they cannot destroy my home. I have seen children in department stores running a muck and all I can feel is embarrasment for the parent. Teach your beautiful daughter right from wrong, she is not too young to understand.

I agree with you that teaching is more important. One thing to always, always, remember.....they are all just things so don't do a disservice to your daughter by making those things more imporatant than showing her in a healthy way to respect boundries and be safe. If it's dangerous to her health or physical well being...remove it. If it's pretty or expensive she just has to learn boundries. I've never baby proofed anything and some precious items have been ruined or broken...but nothing has ever been more precious than a nice, well adjusted baby girl. My daughter used to constantly come in the kitchen and when the oven was on there was a light so she would pull up to the window to see, and it was hot so I kept saying "no no it's hot"....I finally had to be the one to figure out she didn't know what hot was so I set the oven to a nice 'hot to the touch temp' and let her discover "hot" for herself. She knew hot after that....without irreparable harm to her little hands. Of course you can't do that with going out into the road for example but you get my drift. Too many parents take away 'experience' from their children in the guise of protection. I learned not to jump off the shed by getting hurt....not by someone telling me it would hurt. It's the same concepts with helping a child learn directions and boundries. And I was never one of those 'no no' people , no-no becomes too commonplace and loses it's impact. And did you know the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain drops the negative up to about the age of 5? ie: Don't touch that....and they look at you and reach out and touch it? Their little brains here 'touch that' they don't know "don't" and 'do not touch' is heard the same way. You have to change YOUR vocabulary. Stop, Move, Stay, sounds like dog training (but dogs don't hear negatives either.) So help her with boundries and guidance not removing life from around her. But I would always encourage childproofing cupboards and such. That's just good sense.
B.

My mother ran a home day care when I was growing up. She used the same method with the kids she cared for that she did with all of us. We have all used the same method and it works.

Mom didn't believe in putting things away but teaching "don't touch". However, she had things that would have broken her heart if they were broken by accident as we learned. So, she went to flea markets, thrift stores, etc and bought bright colored unbreakable things to temporarily redecorate. She had a supply of "attractive to kids" kind of things that she put out when teaching us or new day care kids not to touch them. Once we "got it", she put the cheap stuff back in the closet and redecorated with the good stuff.

This is what i did i hope that it will help you. I moved anything i really did not want to get broken or that would hirt my kids. but in my opoin they have to learn not to touch things. if you movbe everything they will not know what to and you will always be telling them NO when you to your freinds and family's house that have not moved everything. and always remember that when you are a first time mom everyone in your family may act like you have no idea what you are doing and they know what you should do. say thanks to the advice they give you and then do what you feel is right for your daughter, you, and your family. that is what i have to do with my family.
A.

I am glad to see we aren't the only ones who did not child proof our home. We felt we needed to teach the no touching rule as well. We put a few outlet plugs in the sockets in areas where our boys would have been playing and chemicals went in high cabinets but other than that we did not child proof. I love the idea of practicing with thrift store breakables - I may try that this time around.

I am a mom of three young children, and my opinion is to make things as safe as possible at your home. That is the one place that she or he should feel completely comfortable. Other houses you don't have control over, but you can always ask if you can move something so your child doesn't break it. When I visit family I alway make a quick run though of the room that we will be in and make it child proof. My mother in law has thanked me many times for doing so, because she has forgotten how busy little kids can be. When to discipline is up to you, but I wait until they are a year. To me they seem to understand better.

I started out taking the approach of removing as little as possible when my son first became mobile. It worked pretty well for awhile but now he is 13 1/2 months old and I have changed my tune a little more. He is a proficient walker and his movements are so quick that often times I can't hardly keep up with him. Not only that but I felt like all I was doing was saying "No touch". So just last week I made another sweep of our house removing some of the items previously left, such as the air purifier, etc.

I think that it is important to teach them what is okay to play with and that having things around provides great teaching opportunities (especially for when you go to other people's houses that aren't child-proofed). That said, don't make this whole process harder on yourself. I was doing that in many ways. There are still plenty of "no-no's" in my house but now they are the more important ones and because there are fewer of them I feel more in control and less harried. Go with what will make your home happier and more peaceful.

I think that some things should be within a child's reach, yet still be off limits. That being said, if you have precious items that will cause you great sadness if they are damaged by mishandling, then put those out of reach. However, you do not want to feel the need to continue to say "no" or to actually have to say "no" every several minutes so you may choose to move many items out of reach. I have also found that explaining why something is not a toy is not understood by a 9-month old, but a toy or play item close at hand that you can let them hold will help satisfy their curiousity. Children are curious, so diverting their attention to something else can work well when at another person's home (or even in you own home). Eventually they will learn, grow older, and then you can use reason… sometimes.