[Closed] Child proofing house, tips

We had a black foam padding on ours, it wasn't very good and left marks when it came off. We have a large fire gaurd now, it's screwed into the fireplace.
Our tv is high enough that they couldn't reach it until they were old enough not to push it. The grandparents drilled and zip tied their old corner unit, it works surprisingly well.
Assuming you're in the UK, those plug things are less safe than the plug sockets. There is a website about it somewhere.

Put him in a giant hamster ball.

Plug covers aren't necessary, pipe lagging every thing they can bump their head on isn't necessary, they'll learn not to touch things quickly if you tell them.

Mrs Gti worried about the Aga and the woodburner but it didn't take Junior long to work out that they were hot.

Don't be too paranoid about it.

We did plug covers, the corners of the coffee table, fire guard across the hearth, secure catch on the cupboard with the cleaning materials, and let them learn from their mistakes from there.

Kids are quite tough and learn from experience. If something hurts or they get a bollocking, they tend not to repeat it. Plus plenty of praise when they do what they are told.

We did put all the plastic tubs and bottles in a low kitchen cupboard, and let them play in there. Couldn't damage themselves or the plastic, and kept them in sight when we were cooking .

Watchfulness is the key and covering off anything they could ingest (the one thing that might have no medical solution) or make major scars with. We had some cupboard and table corner things that went on the more pointy corners and some things that went over door tops to prevent them shutting and pinching fingers. The last item was probably the most valuable.

Upstairs utility cupboard (used to be an airing cupboard but now has hoover and cleaning products in) got a sliding bolt right at the top.

Bathroom door locks (sliding bolt type) are up above grown up eyeline so kids can't lock themselves in.

All medicines and vitamins are above their reach. Similar in the shed and workshop all chemicals were high up as were sharp or pointy tools.

Cupboard catches on most of the kitchen lower cupboards because of breakables and cleaning stuff / dishwasher tabs etc .

Beyond that I would just day that no matter what you do the little darlings will find a way to injure themselves involving furniture. For both ours it was getting up on the sofa then crawling or climbing over the arm and tumbling onto the floor. I caught the pair of them just in time more times than I can remember but it hasn't prevented a couple of loud thuds over the years.

Don't stress it.

We put locks on the cupboard which has the cleaning fluids, a stair gate on the....stairs, and that's about it.

The major one for us was the TV. We used to have it sitting on a normal TV stand, which our little one took great pleasure in whacking. We probably could have just got her out of the habit, but I decided to wall mount the TV and be done with it. The thought of a broken child and / or TV was too much!

Vigilance is the main thing when they are properly little. There is no way you can stop the bumps, but you can take away little things that are likely to go in mouths etc...

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"Childproofing" was a perfect excuse to get rid of my old hi-fi seperates and put a full Sonos system through the house. Racks of CDs and speakers on speaker stands were prime toppling material and I couldn't possibly put them elsewhere 😉

Other than that, a couple of sharp corners were covered, but certainly not pipe lagging everything. Cupboards with cleaning fluid have latches on them. He understands the stove gets hot and won't go anywhere near it.

I'm a bad parent. We didn't do anything like that, all cupboards accessible etc, they're 7 and 9 now and not dead. Doing ok so far.

Got plug things

Best thing you can do with those is take them all out and throw them in the bin.

At best they're no safer; at worst they present a dangerous hazard in themselves, as some can be used to bypass the security inherent in the socket design.

We put child proof latches on some of the cupboards (dog food, breakfast cereals, detergent). Child gate on the top/bottom of the stairs.

We got a fire great shield thingy for the stove. He knows not to go near the fire when it's hot but a trip could have him tumble on/near it.

We've just went for stair gates (top and bottom) and chucked a couple of beanbags in front of the fireplace.

Then we gave up, there's no such thing as child proof. The little sod is only 10 months old and pulled a load of stuff down from the bookcase and stood on the pile to reach the contraband higher up!

This -
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This -
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Or give them the opportunity to start learning risk assessment at a young age.

Never did me any harm.

Contraception.

we had stair gates, that was all. 9, 13 and 21 now...

Yep stair gates and move obvious stuff that could hurt them, they'll learn the rest.

Or make them wear a sumo suit all the time..........

Drac - Moderator

Plug covers aren't necessary, pipe lagging every thing they can bump their head on isn't necessary, they'll learn not to touch things quickly if you tell them.

This, but if there's something valuable to you which could be damaged by jam covered fingers, it's worth getting onto your hands and knees and crawling around the thinking "if I were new to the world, what would I want to touch?"

The only thing I childproofed was the pipework into the radiators as it's searing hot, shiny and right at crawling level. Oh and the chemical cupboard as washing tabs look like chew toys from when they're teething.

You can probably take the stair gates down now Iainc.

if I were new to the world, what would I want to touch?"

Babies get to touch those very earlier on.

Here's the site (I'm sure there are many others) about the problems with plug covers.

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

The child locks on our cupboards are more for the dog than anything else.

The boy and dog teamed up and emptied the cereal cupboard one morning the cheeky devils.

Was one of the phew times I think our dog was truly full. Just took two soreen loaves, half a box of wheatabix and half a bag of porridge oats.

Argos sell amazing magnetic locks...magnetic locks stick inside cupboard to be locked and can only be opened from outside by another magnetic key (which you store out of child's reach)..we have them in kitchen where chemicals stored...genius invention and cheap...and other than this we only had stairgates...teaching what's right is better than removing all potential problems (IMO)..

Drac - Moderator
You can probably take the stair gates down now Iainc.

Except for a stair gate and making sure no horrible chemicals were within reach we did nothing other than shout scarily at ours when they were about to do something dangerous. A couple of weeks of this and they soon learnt what they could and couldn't touch. The girl was much better than the boy...

The child locks on our cupboards are more for the dog than anything else

My old Labrador and current border terrier could open them regardless.

Precautions we took:
- plug covers on easily accessible sockets (yes I'm aware of the argument)
- stair gate (we have steep wooden stairs)
- TV screwed to the base
- freestanding units attached to the wall (topple risk
- child locks on the kitchen cupboards that contain the good stuff (bleach, poison, detergents, laundry stuff, medicine, glassware).

I highly recommend the BabyDan child locks by the way. They attach on the inside of the cupboards, so they are invisible from the outside and need a magnetic key to open them. Very easy to fit and can withstand a good toddler rage.

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005COWSPE (get a spare key though!)

http://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk

Cupboard locks on the chemicals
Stairgate
Move stuff you don't want broken
Make sure ikea bookshelves are screwed to the wall
Def don't bother with plug covers as thats what RCDs are for

Make sure you have high stools that they can climb onto, makes the heart go a touch faster .....

Stair gates and also a perspex screen to go over the TV when the kids reached projectile throwing age.

That's about it though.

Definitely worth getting wall-hanging stairgates rather than the expandable ones as they don't have the annoying bar at the bottom which is basically a trip hazard at 3am.

Other than cupboard locks and securing tall stuff to the wall that was pretty much it.

Make sure ikea bookshelves are screwed to the wall

I went health & safety mad and screwed all the bookcases to the wall (even the non-ikea ones). They are sooooo tempting to climb

Keep CD player slots out of reach or covered(especially those in the car), they are just the right size for posting coins into 😛

safety gate at the top of the stairs, child prof locks on the insides of the kitchen unit doors and thats about it. most of the sockets are hidden behind furniture. tv is now wall mounted after the 2 eldest ones broke the previous 2 tv's. the only thing we really worry obout is the little one getting at my commuter bike that lives in the kitchen, he always likes to wiggle the front wheel but the wife dreads the day he sticks his finger in the drivetrain or the disc rotors. the bike it stuffed behind the dining table so he cant get to it but she still thinks he will

Be aware of the dangers of button cell batteries - most important if you ever change one - get rid of the old one by putting in bin without putting it down somewhere..

http://www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice/product/button-cell-batteries/

^^^^^^^
This. Horribly dangerous.

And also Grapes. You choke on one of them and you are a gonner. Need to be halved first. Not strictly child proofing but worth bearing in mind.

We had stair gates and that was it.

Everything else they get told not to, or they do it and learn by their mistakes

Thanks for the tips, I understand the let them learn thing, but our fireplace is solid granite with some evil looking edges and points so I'll be covering it up. He can bump his head on softer stuff.... TV stand is open so the DVD player with its flashy lights is at crawling eye height. Short of buying a new stand with doors not sure how to stop him going over there.

I will read up about the plug protectors

We did child lock on under sink cupboard , fire guard in front of the obligatory wood burner and stairgates . and plug covers . Don't let them near cassette tapes if you are old enough to own them ,it is amazing how much the loss of an old mix tape hurts.

Apart from a gate on her bedroom due to not having a door, nothing. Now two and a half with no major incidents. House has a woodburner, stuff under the sink and a 42" TV with an av receiver with lots of buttons and lights.

TV stand is open so the DVD player with its flashy lights is at crawling eye height. Short of buying a new stand with doors not sure how to stop him going over there.

Keep the DVD player switched off at the wall then so he can't open the drawer - otherwise you'll be picking pennies or jammy toast out of it!

If you've got a big TV then secure it to the stand so it can't topple over when junior decides that Tinky Winky needs a cuddle.

We too the "teach and learn" rather than "cotton wool wrap everything" route. We had gritstone hearth and wood burner, steps etc etc.

Even from an early age they learn 'no' and to risk assess - more benefit vs pain....

I found that we did more chasing around initially, it is not a quiet life, but it is fine.

Bumps and bruises are normal life for any child - it is only us adults that it seems alien or wrong.

We too the "teach and learn" rather than "cotton wool wrap everything" route.

I'm all for that matt - and I do practise it a fair bit, as my kids' knees will attest to - but some things come with a pretty good chance of death or very serious injury and need [i]a bit[/i] of caution.

(And other would do the kids absolutely no harm but will cost you money - which is nearly as bad 😉 )

I emailed the socket cover link to my wife who is a social worker. She assesses parents for fostering and one of the many checks / requirements is that all sockets in the foster parents house must have socket covers. She has forwarded it to her superiors

We had a marble hearth too when ours were babies and toddlers, they survived. No harder than a couple concrete slab outside.

Adoption or fostering is the best way

One of the biggest hazards seemed to be fingers in doors so We've removed quite a few doors (3 little ones), lock on av / TV unit, speaker grills are zip tied on. IKEA do some rubber stick on corner bumpers which went on the underside of the kitchen table and corners of coffee table.