Baby-Proofing a house!

[Chilli]

Go on then, tell me which is the corrct forum for this?!

So, inspired from another thread where I noticed someone has plastic thingy's in the wall sockets, what else should one consider when a new one arrives?

1. Plastic wall socket thingy's
2. Muzzles for the dogs?!!!

[Genelec]

As they get older and more inquisitive then look out for sharp corners, fireplaces etc.

Think about how stable things are, bookcases and TV's on stands are often surprisingly wobbly. Both can be fastened to wall for security.

Any poisonous plants in the house?

Is your collection of knives and broken glass secure?

[williamp]

from when they're born you have bout 9 months beore they start moving anywhere, so plenty of time. So start with:

-no cigarette smoke in the house. If you smoke, you wont smell it, but if you are a non-smoker, you'll know how far away smoke can travel.

Then start to move things. You'll find things move higher and higher. Our 19 month old is very inwuesitive and wants to touch everything. He can now reach the top of the mantlepiece, so is time for most things to go away or their route blocked.

Oh, dont forget the stair locks.

[Use Psychology]

get a bouncer on the front and back doors and don't allow any in.

[RDM]

I found that the stair gates were great at inconveniencing adults, not so toddlers, they'll
be through them faster than you!

Wall sockets - Lot of controversy on these. 1 - A kid will have them off if they want to, again
faster than you! 2 - 13Amp UK sockets are shielded, without a pin in the Earth the Live+Neutral
are covered. They are pretty safe unless you fit a plug cover and the plastic earth pin is snapped
off by a kid then the Live Neutral are exposed, some say that the fitting of plug covers is therefore
more dangerous than not fitting them.

[benaldo]

We have a 16mth old and she wants to open everything, so we now have child-proof catches on all the lower kitchen cupboards - they are a bit of a PITA but once you have them on for a couple of days, you get used to it. We also have socket covers.

She has now worked out how to open the washer and drier so locks will be needed for that! Also you may want to start using the child lock facility on most washers/ driers as they will press the buttons!

We also have a glass fronted cabinet with all the dvd player, etc in which we have put clear film over in case she smashes it - but of a pain to put on, but don't notice it at all once installed.

Stair gates...... we haven't got one at the bottom of the stairs as we can shut the doors to the hallway and the stairgate would have to be approx 7 steps up due to a window at the bottom of the stairs which pretty much negates the usefulness! We have got one at the top as it means we can lock it and leave her to it when we are upstairs with her, but it is left unlocked most of the time.

When you see some sites, you can go to ridiculous lengths but just do what you feel comfortable with - you can get door stoppers, door hinge covers, jail like play pens, table corner covers, etc, etc.....

I guess each child is different and will be interested in different things.......

[otolith]

Use Psychology said:

get a bouncer on the front and back doors and don't allow any in.

Be sure to lock the cat flap.

[BlackVanDyke]

I wouldn't muzzle dogs, while baby is very little you'd need to be in supervision and never leave them alone with the pups, as they grow up you'll probably find that it's more the dogs needing protection from the little'un, not the other way round - a well brought up dog will be far, far more likely to be hurt BY the kid, than to hurt them.

[Chilli]

BlackVanDyke said:

I wouldn't muzzle dogs, while baby is very little you'd need to be in supervision and never leave them alone with the pups, as they grow up you'll probably find that it's more the dogs needing protection from the little'un, not the other way round - a well brought up dog will be far, far more likely to be hurt BY the kid, than to hurt them.

Yeah, whilst I wasn't 100% serious on that one, we have a Bulldog who is as soft as sh!te, and doesn't have a bad bone in his body. However, his teeth really hurt when he plays. Even when he 'gives' you his paw demading a belly-rub it hurts!
As for ther Pug, hes gonna be huit hard. He is currently the centre of Mrs C's world, but not for much longer! I'd expect him to bury the baby in the sand, and claim he knows nothing about it.

[Tiggsy]

4 kids all alive so far (one minor fork in a wall socket episode...he didnt do it twice (and his hair is still spikey 8 years later)

All we ever did was put stuff out of reach and baby gates to keep them caged in places. Life is dangerous - they will have far bigger hurdles to face then the sharp corner of a coffee table!

[Xerstead]

I remember seeing a couple of things on TV a while ago. If your curtains have pull cords to open/close them, If there is one cord that loops around (in a U,) for open/close it is possible for children to get this caught around their neck with very bad results. If possible cut it in the middle and have two cords rather than a noose.
A small shelf type thing sticking out across the top edge of the cooker, means kids will have to reach over it to get to the hobs/controlls.
LCD tv's don't react very well to thrown toys, a clear sheet of perspex could help.

[antspants]

Tiggsy said:

4 kids all alive so far (one minor fork in a wall socket episode...he didnt do it twice (and his hair is still spikey 8 years later)

All we ever did was put stuff out of reach and baby gates to keep them caged in places. Life is dangerous - they will have far bigger hurdles to face then the sharp corner of a coffee table!

+1
Stair gates and that's about it ime.
All those saying move things higher and other such advice, what's wrong with stopping the child from doing it and telling them not to. Kids pick up what "no" means pretty quickly from what I remember.
Yes there might be the odd accident, but did your parents wrap you in cotton wool from birth?

[otherman]

and move anything delicate to a high shelf. No more low level ornaments for you.

[SSC!]

I only have two locks on cupboards in my kitchen, one for the chemicals and one for the knife drawer. Have all the covers on the sockets and little covers on the corners of tables. I work with children every day and when they were young I used to have a stair gate stopping them from coming into the kitchen anyway, they are now 3 & 2 and they know the dangers in the kitchen. Recommend shortening the length of window cords.

Worst accident I had in my house was a 2yr old running into an edge of a wall which you can't really baby proof.

[williredale]

We did stair gates top and bottom and plug guards on the most accessible. Locks on the cupboard under the sink with cleaning things in and the cutlery drawer but nothing else in the kitchen. That was about it really as we took the approach that it was better to let them explore a bit and find a few things out themselves rather than being denied access to everything. That and a few bkings anyway!

Spend the time moving anything that's precious well out of reach as it will be covered in jammy fingerprints or scratched/broken otherwise.

[Rowan138]

those socket covers are very dangerous. to see what i mean take one, turn it upside down and push it in. hey presto live contacts are exposed! if you look at a plain socket the covers are already there, integrated into the socket according to british standard 1363!!!

[Genelec]

Rowan138 said:

those socket covers are very dangerous. to see what i mean take one, turn it upside down and push it in. hey presto live contacts are exposed! if you look at a plain socket the covers are already there, integrated into the socket according to british standard 1363!!!

But why would you do this?

[Rowan138]

Genelec said:

But why would you do this?

children are naturally inquisitive and at some point it will happen!

[Raverbaby]

Another no for socket covers here, UK sockets already have safety shutters on them.
Have a read here and make your own decision.

http://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

[Genelec]

Raverbaby said:

Another no for socket covers here, UK sockets already have safety shutters on them.
Have a read here and make your own decision.

http://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

This is interesting. I was already aware of the shuttering mechanism and how excellently designed UK sockets are (US ones are damn scary sparkfests.) but wasn't aware of how easy it is for children to get the covers off. I think I'll give our sockets a test. If I fail to post in 24 hours time you'll know I succeeded!

My only concern is at the assertions that it's unlikely for a child to be able to open the shutter mech. They tend to open with anything that'll fit, though the item would usually fall out again. The sequence of a child opening the shutters and putting a finger in would require quite some dexterity and luck but wouldn't be impossible.

I guess for the paranoid one could fit these .