Keeping toddler away from dangers in home

[Sarahh89]

Dear parents,

Our 1y8m is a very active toddler. She is interested in EVERYTHING inside our home. My main concerns are kitchen and bathroom. I try to explain her what she may and what she may not do because she could hurt herself but some things are to much fun for her. She sometimes tries to sneak in the kitchen and try to do things that I said her not to do (like touching the oven or opening the freezer).

Do you use any products to prevent your toddler from entering certain areas (like safety gates) or to notify you when toddler enters the room (like baby monitors)?

 

[pa2k84]

I just have a stair gate across kitchen door, don't use it much anymore only really if in house alone and have to use toilet/shower etc. Only room with anything in which could harm

 

[Parkep]

Yup baby gates, elastics on the cupboards. I have an active toddler too. It does get easier. They start to listen more. But anything that can help keep them safe and is easier for you.

 

[Teri7489]

I've got safety clips on cupboards in the kitchen as my son was almost cut to ribbons pulling and smashing all the dinner plates around himself. I've got a really secure on the cupboard with the bleach and washing up liquid in it. I don't keep anything in the bathroom that he can touch but he does try play with the toilet so I just tell him no and take himy away over and over. He will get the message eventually just like his sister did.

 

[sequeena]

We have a stair gate on our kitchen as that doesn't have a door but the rest of doors have locks at the top so he can't get into a room that I don't want him too. The sink in our downstairs bathroom has a temperature cap on the hot tap so it only gets lukewarm.

 

[Scout]

When she was younger, I put cabinet locks on all the kitchen cabinets and the pantry. I moved cleaning supplies to an upper cabinet just in case she ever figured out the locks. She's almost 4 now and still can't undo the locks. My stove is electric and digital and she can't turn it on. I've been able to get rid of some of the locks, like the panty, now she's older.

I put a cabinet lock on the vanity in the bathroom. I also put a toilet lock on the toilet lid. I got rid of the toilet lock a while back.

I secured bookcases, shelves, tables, chests to the wall. She's a climber! I changed mini blinds out for cordless window coverings. (a friends 3 year old hung himself from a mini blind during nap time, so I've always been worried about those things) And then the usual, like outlet sliding locks. Once she got a bit bigger, around 3, I had to put chain locks on all the doors leading to outside bc she had figured out how to work the locks and the deadbolts.

I probably went a bit overboard with all this stuff as I'm usually with her when we are home bc she follows me everywhere and stays wherever I am.

 

[jessmke]

All we have is a gate at the stairs and a lock on the cabinet under the kitchen sink where we keep some cleaning supplies. We don't care if she plays in the low cupboards in the kitchen because all they contain are Tupperware and pots and pans. We just keep the bathroom doors all closed to keep her out.

 

[MindUtopia]

Honestly, no, we didn't really babyproof much at all and I think that's probably why ours didn't really have an interest in getting in to things for too long. We did have stair gates at top and bottom of the steps just so she didn't fall down them. In the bathroom I kept any cleaners up above eye level on a shelf out of reach, but in the kitchen it's just in the cupboard under the sink. When she was little (under about 2 or so), there was really no reason for her to be in the kitchen unattended. I kept knives and scissors out of reach in a holder on the counter but the stove and cupboard she could easily get to. I just made sure she never had a chance to as there's really no reason for her to be in the kitchen while I was somewhere else. If I needed to do something somewhere else in the house I just brought her with me. After 2 or so, it was easier to explain she shouldn't touch those things because they would make her tummy poorly. She understood and listened. We live in the countryside so we used the same explanation for flowers, berries and mushrooms she might find outside. That just seemed to work. We also explained the oven was hot and would burn her. She did touch the outside of the door a few times (which is warm but not hot enough to burn) and that was enough to convince her!

I think keep things out of reach when possible and use a gate if you feel you need to, but also never too early to actually teach about what's safe and what isn't. You'll probably surprised what they understand.

 

[catty]

Iv never actually babyproofed at all. No stairgates or anyyhing but i do think when my baby gets older i will actually do it this time as i cant have eyes on her every second, was alot easier when my other 2 were smaller as i was always with them. They soon learned not to pull all the stuff out the kitchen but i had a cupboard for them full of plastic cups etc and i let yhem play around in that one.

 

[noon_child]

I bought lots of baby proofing stuff and then never really used it because she was always with me when too young to understand. We have a lock on the chemical cupboard under the sink. We did have a stair gate on the kitchen door but it was only ever used if I was cooking something and she wanted to be hanging off my legs so at risk of burns etc. Most of the rest of the time it was left open as it was such a PITA.

 

[wtbmummy]

We have a large living room/diner so had a gate on our livingroom door. Now ds is 3 and uses the big boy toilet we have moved it to the kitchen. It is mostly left open unless I am cooking/cleaning out there or if i go upstairs to shower etc.. as you just never know.
Ds can open the gates if he really wants too but luckily does not as we told him its for mummys and daddys only.
It will eventually go back on livingroom door once no2 starts crawling. Dh then worrys ds will open the gate for her though, or forget to close it after himself :/ fingers crossed he learns to keep his lil sister safe

 

[jd83]

As far as babyproofing, we used babygates at the top of the stairs to prevent falling down the stairs. I had it set back a bit from the top of the stairs, though, just in case they pushed it hard enough to knock it down it would fall to the ground, and not them and the gate falling down the steps. All outlets had the plug covers. We tied up the cords to all blinds to keep them completely out of reach, same as Scout had mentioned about risk of hanging from the cords. I moved all chemicals/cleaners to upper cabinets out of reach. All knives, and sharp items out of reach. We didn't use cabinet locks, because DS1 figured them out the first day we installed them. Little stinker. I just made sure there wasn't anything in the lower cabinets he could hurt himself with. The drawer locks worked pretty well, and they couldn't figure those out, so we used those probably until around age 3. No fridge or oven locks, we just taught them not to touch those.

 

[PitaKat]

My DD is 13 months but has been walking (and getting into things) since 10 months. We have a baby gate around our wood stove, and safety clips on the kitchen cabinets and drawers that are low enough for her to get into (only because i got tired of putting everything back in it's place several times a day). We also keep the bathroom door shut so she can't get in there. We have a high shelf where cleaners go.

 

[noon_child]

I forgot to add that outlet/socket covers seem like a good idea in the USA but in the UK we have a different system (three pin) which is already designed with a safety feature. Socket covers for the UKs three pin system are actually NOT recommended because they can damage the inbuilt safety mechanism making the socket dangerous for future use. They also bypass the safety mechanism meaning that when trying to remove the covers, or if the covers are improperly fitted you are actually at an increased risk of electrocution.

 

[wtbmummy]

I forgot to add that outlet/socket covers seem like a good idea in the USA but in the UK we have a different system (three pin) which is already designed with a safety feature. Socket covers for the UKs three pin system are actually NOT recommended because they can damage the inbuilt safety mechanism making the socket dangerous for future use. They also bypass the safety mechanism meaning that when trying to remove the covers, or if the covers are improperly fitted you are actually at an increased risk of electrocution.

You can actually buy these new ones now which my husband wants to get which have a key lock on them so they cant be snapped off and make it dangerous. Tbh we never used them as all our sockets are hidden behind furniture etc.. but in dd's room they are exposed. Of course this wont be an issue for a long time yet but the new type is one we are considering

 

[Jesenia]

It is a joy seeing my baby grow up and starts to create milestones of babyhood. Talking, recognizing, and crawling. Along with that are also safety concerns especially when baby starts to become a little explorer in the house. As early as now, I want to be ready. Childproofing the house and as part of that, I am trying to select the good baby safety gates. This baby gate would help me create a safe zone for my baby to play and explore. It is a joy seeing my baby grow up and starts to create milestones of babyhood. Love our Munchkin Baby Gate. It’s style blends perfectly with the bottom of our staircase. I will always recommend them to friends.