# Baby proofing



## TrimTheKing (9 Oct 2009)

Evening all

With my little princess now fully in the swing of crawling around, and seeing how she immediately heads straight for lamp cords/plant pots/cupboard handles etc (not to mention all my expensive boy toys such as amp/xbox etc) I am feeling the need to get some babyproofing sorted.

I am currently googling but wondered if any of you lot had any particularly good sites, suggestions or ideas of the things I should be looking for, which ones work, which ones don't and which are all marketing guff and no substance etc?

Cheers


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## wizer (9 Oct 2009)

Fun isn't it Mark? 

We haven't done much to be honest. Obviously all the plug sockets are protected but we've been lucky that she's not too destructive and responds to a bit of discipline. I wouldn't go over the top with it.


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## jedmc571 (9 Oct 2009)

Oh I love parenthood \/ 

Mr Trimble Sir, 

Mrs Jed is in the employ of a very exclusive baby shop in the Wirrall, she will be in tomorrow, and I will ask her to aquire as much nonsense pertaining to child safety fo you.

You'll be looking at 9 inch nails, harnesses, velcro, perhaps a cage..........ducking for cover from all wives :x 

Ok, plug blanks, cupboard and drawer stops, corner bump stops etc, I'm afraid they always manage to hurt themselves on something, so the Mark 1 Eyeball is the best  

Jed
I do believe discount would be in order for a fellow "Ruffian" :wink:

I'll see what she can do.


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## cambournepete (10 Oct 2009)

We bought none of this stuff for our son (he's nearly 7 now) and it wasn't around when we were young.
As for socket covers - why?
A baby would have to jam something hard in the earth hole and then at the same time stick something else in the live.
You'll have said something long before she gets far doing that.

I really wouldn't bother - if she gets a few knocks she'll soon learn


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## Gower (10 Oct 2009)

Good God. Where have I been? Just noticed that Wizer has past the 10000 post mark. I swear it was only at 9900 odd a few weeks ago. On that basis Tom, you've made more posts in a couple of weeks than I have in 5 years!
Has anyone baked you a cake or summut! Belated congratulations! =D> 
Jim
Sorry to break into your thread Mark


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## StevieB (10 Oct 2009)

Plug protectors are a good idea simply because children WILL stick things in holes, not necessarily when crawling but around 2 years old its top fun! A bigger concern for me was pulling a plug out of a socket and touching the pins while half exposed. For this reason we put covers on a few of our in use but exposed plugs and I put in every faceplate with on off switches on them. Maybe overkill given some of the comments above but personally I didnt want to take the risk. 

Other measures are mostly intuitive, like don't keep the bleach at floor level under the sink, put stair gates up and keep them closed, put cupboard latches on bottom cupboards and leave the hideous china ornaments from distant relatives at child height for inquisitive fingers.

It becomes second nature eventually as you will realise eveytime you go to someones house who doesnt have children!

Steve


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## matt (10 Oct 2009)

These are good latches (but make sure you get an extra magnet).

With regard to plugs and sockets... Make sure you don't have any old style plugs no things, esp if you decide not to use socket covers. By old style I mean the ones that don't have the plastic section on the live and neutral pins, thus allowing fingers to come in to contact with the pins.

Theseare good socket covers. It's not clear from the picture but there's a hole under the dome where you can use the earth pin of the plug to pull the cover out - much less hassle than the ones you have to fight with.

With regard to protection of expensive equipment... A stern word always worked for us.


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## BradNaylor (10 Oct 2009)

Keep it simple.

Fit socket covers.
Keep bleach & other nasties well out of the way.
Put in stairgates top AND bottom. Turn your back for 30 seconds and she'll be up those stairs in a flash!

That covers the dangerous risks. Apart from that accept that there will be little mishaps and accidents.

That's how kids learn.

Cheers
Brad 
(father of four who all somehow survived infanthood intact!)


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## loftyhermes (10 Oct 2009)

We child proofed the house, but they still get back in. :lol: :lol:


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## big soft moose (10 Oct 2009)

BradNaylor":2kh8aauj said:


> Keep it simple.
> 
> Fit socket covers.
> Keep bleach & other nasties well out of the way.
> ...



and put a lock on the workshop door


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## big soft moose (10 Oct 2009)

cambournepete":2svix6ti said:


> A baby would have to jam something hard in the earth hole and then at the same time stick something else in the live.
> You'll have said something long before she gets far doing that.



not so - if she jams somethin g in the live hole the current will run to earth through her to thr ground - she would only need to be in contact with the earh hole if she was otherwise insulated.


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## matt (10 Oct 2009)

big soft moose":3i8clvob said:


> cambournepete":3i8clvob said:
> 
> 
> > A baby would have to jam something hard in the earth hole and then at the same time stick something else in the live.
> ...



I think the point being made was that the neutral and live gates on a socket are not open unless something (usually the earth prong of a plug) has been pushed in to the earth opening.


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## WellsWood (10 Oct 2009)

StevieB":36sbi0sp said:


> A bigger concern for me was pulling a plug out of a socket and touching the pins while half exposed. Steve



I think unless you've got some very old appliances that this is nigh on impossible. The accessable portion live and neutral pins are insulated to prevent exactly this scenario. That said, it didn't stop me blanking off the sockets for the first few years - belt _and_ braces never did any harm.


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## wizer (10 Oct 2009)

I once got a shock from putting my fingers around a plug whilst taking it out of the socket.... I was 14  I landed the other side of the room with nothing but a bruised ego. Maybe this is where my calamity adventure started ??


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## TrimTheKing (10 Oct 2009)

Thanks for all the replies chaps (cheers for the offer Jed, I will wait to hear what Ruffian options are available... ).

I have already got stair gates top and bottom so that's sorted, the only other things I was seriously considering were the socket covers and cupboard door stops/straps.

Regarding the sockets I started to think seriously about how realistic it was for her to get anything in there, but as you've said, for the cost it's worth it to be on the safe side (saying that, just had a quick run round the ground floor alone and would need about 50!!!).

Workshop is already locked with a key that is kept out of reach to ensure the safety of both baby and SWMBO!!!


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## jedmc571 (11 Oct 2009)

Mark, 

I think you just want plug blanks, and cupboard locks, you can get a fridge lock as well ! I laughed at this 6 months ago, but now my 2 year old knows where we keep the "Da Da" ( Chocolate ) she's always trying to get in.

It's a few quids worth, but worth every penny, you never know.

My eldest daughter now 8 was fascinated by my table saw, when the garage door was open she'd sneak in to play with the yellow handles, since then, when I cabled the garage this year, I installed an isolator just below ceiling height so theirs no power !

Like I said, you never know


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## wizer (11 Oct 2009)

I think the cupboard locks would be a good idea because your kitchen is open plan. Ours has a door and a gate, so she can't get in there unattended.


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## big soft moose (11 Oct 2009)

jedmc571":1qx0jycs said:


> My eldest daughter now 8 was fascinated by my table saw, when the garage door was open she'd sneak in to play with the yellow handles, since then, when I cabled the garage this year, I installed an isolator just below ceiling height so theirs no power !



cant help feeling that that behaviour might be better dealt with by a robust talking to - some show and tell on the wood whisperer accidents forum, and if necessary a spanking

isolators are well and good but i visualise a horrible accident occuring the one time you neglect to hit the isolator when nipping out of the 'shop


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## jedmc571 (11 Oct 2009)

BSM, 

I agree totally, and that's what she got, I refer to it as " Education" she know's not to touch :wink: 

She is currently working on handsaw technique, but she's showing signs of being a bit pink & girly!

Jed


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## wizer (11 Oct 2009)

Thirded. A couple of tellings off and she doesn't do it anymore.


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## lurker (12 Oct 2009)

Its good to hear all of you young 'ns have not totally abandoned the idea of boundaries.

When my lads were small, the final sanction was a Bloody good thrashing. (As in "do that again and you will get........").
Very rarely delivered however.

We had a discussion a while short ago (both are now mid twenties) and whilst SWMBO & I can remember delivering neither lad can remember receiving. That gives me some satisfaction that we got the balance right.


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## ste_5150 (12 Oct 2009)

Ours won't even go into the garage unless someone's with her - I just won't take the risk with so many sharp things around, so she's had it drummed in since day one.... Actually I have no garage now (just moved..), but the point remains.  

As for the original question, we thought about all the baby proofing stuff and decided to only go as far as the stuff that it's really worth doing. You can't take the risk with the sockets or the under-sink-cleaning-products cupboard. As for the rest, well, you have to stop somewhere and they'll never learn unless they get a few bumps and scrapes. For that reason we didn't worry about much else, just kept a close eye out.

They can always find something they shouldn't do/touch/bump in to/fall off/eat if you give them 2 seconds, so as long as it's not too high or poisonous, c'est la vie....

One further piece of advice..... speed dial #1 .... 0845 4647

You _will_ use their services in the next few years :wink:


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## TrimTheKing (12 Oct 2009)

lurker":27r6cfgy said:


> Its good to hear all of you young 'ns have not totally abandoned the idea of boundaries.
> 
> When my lads were small, the final sanction was a Bloody good thrashing. (As in "do that again and you will get........").
> Very rarely delivered however.
> ...


Absolutely agree with all of that, and hopefully I will get the balance right too.

I have long been an advocate of a good slap if required (even before I had a kid). Really winds me up when you see all the do gooders saying how it's assault etc. When I was a nipper I would push the boundaries as far as possible, my Ma would tell me to stop (I will only tell you this once then you will get a slap), if I pushed it I got a slap across the pineapple, rarely committed the same crime again (unless I was feeling particularly cheeky :twisted: ).

My Ma had it spot on, a good, fast open handed slap. The noise factor was more of a shock than the actual slap and didn't really hurt. She also had this trick of slapping my hand, she would hold my hand in the palm of hers and give it an almighty crack of a slap, the noise was amazing. In reality it was her hands slapping together and she hardly even touched me, but the noise was enough to illicit a reaction, usually a cheeky :lol: from me, then a run off and


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## jedmc571 (12 Oct 2009)

I used to get the Belt, when I saw that bad boy coming off my Dads trousers, I knew it was going to be a bad day out  

Wouldn't dream of it with my 2 girls, but I have a special voice just for those occasions, and as a former Drill Instructor I know it works :wink: 

Jed The Pacifier :lol:


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## Mrs Oryx (13 Oct 2009)

Plug covers (though Oryx Design and I are rubbish at remembering to put them back in) and a cupboard lock on the sink cupboard are all we have. No, that's not true we have some window restricters in a drawer somewhere. One day we'll fit them - maybe.

Other than that our 1 and 2 year old have some bruises, a healthy respect for gravity and a healthy respect for the naughty step and being told off.

I would like something to stop them opening the oven maybe as long as I could operate it easily. 

We have a five foot high slide in the garden that our youngest had for her first birthday. Some friends are horrified when our children climb up on their own, but they can do it, just teach them the first few times to climb safely.

'Better drowned than duffers if not duffers won't drown'


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## wizer (13 Oct 2009)

One of our daughter's first words was "Hot!" instead of oven. She gives it an exaggerated wide birth.


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## Smudger (13 Oct 2009)

I've just watched a 1-year old doing her damnedest to get her fingers into a 13 amp socket. She nearly did it (and when I reacted it became a game, of course) and with wet fingers I was genuinely worried. The holes may be small, but so are her fingers.

Out to get the socket guards tomorrow...


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## frugal (14 Oct 2009)

All we had were baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs and into the kitchen. We also put up a fence around the pond as it was sunk into the ground. If they ever try to play with the plugs we use The Voice. We taught them to open drawers with the handles and close them with the flat of their hands. We have only ever had two hand trapped in drawer situations and we have never had them examining the contents of the cupboards. Chemicals are always kept up high, but that is a legacy of having dogs when I was a kid when we were worried about the dogs getting into them.

We also taught them that they never went near the oven, they stay out of the kitchen when someone is cooking (unless they are helping make biscuits or something). We have a wood burning stove in the living room and they know not to touch that (even in the summer when it is off). They have learnt that fires are hot as we have an open fire at reenactment events, so they respect it. The pond in the new house is raised up 2' and they know that they are not allowed around that side of the house without a grown up. they can easily open the gate between the two sides of the house, but they know that this will result in not being allowed to play in the garden.

we have always used a simple policy: I am going to count to 3, if you do not do 'x' by the time I get to 3 then I will do 'y'. We always tell them what will happen before we start counting. We count evenly at a constant speed and there is no messing about (no 2 and a halfs for instance). They very quickly learnt that we would always do what we threatened to do.


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## ste_5150 (14 Oct 2009)

You know, this threaad has restored my faith in the existance of parenting skills in the British pulblic  

All too often you're walking through town (or worse, standing at the school gates to pick kiddo up) and you see some shocking examples of 'parenting'. People who just have no control over their kids, or even just don't seem to care where they are!

It's nice to see a group of people who seem to hold the same values and approaches to bringing up a child (if only to make you confident you're not being too strict :wink: :lol: )


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## treeturner123 (14 Oct 2009)

Reading all these comments, I am amazed that I have reached a relatively ripe age without some terrible disaster befalling me! Like Wizer, I once put my finger in a socket and it did give me a real buzz! I was about 4 or 5. I’m more of the opinion of Cambournepete, wrap everyone up in cotton wool and they have no sense of real danger when it comes along as it surely will! 

I never fell down stairs even though when I was small we lived in an Edwardian house with a long, steep staircase. Even very young children have ‘common sense’. I seem to remember seeing as a demonstration, a toddler not crawling out over a drop even when this was covered with glass.


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## TrimTheKing (14 Oct 2009)

treeturner123":2hr62jat said:


> Reading all these comments, I am amazed that I have reached a relatively ripe age without some terrible disaster befalling me! Like Wizer, I once put my finger in a socket and it did give me a real buzz! I was about 4 or 5. I’m more of the opinion of Cambournepete, wrap everyone up in cotton wool and they have no sense of real danger when it comes along as it surely will!
> 
> I never fell down stairs even though when I was small we lived in an Edwardian house with a long, steep staircase. Even very young children have ‘common sense’. I seem to remember seeing as a demonstration, a toddler not crawling out over a drop even when this was covered with glass.


I agree with that to a degree, but I have wooden stairs and the baby crawls around in a babygrow sometimes. It's not about common sense on her part, she has no grip on her feet in a babygrow, all it would take is a loss of friction...


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## ste_5150 (14 Oct 2009)

TrimTheKing":2wcoy4oz said:


> I agree with that to a degree, but I have wooden stairs and the baby crawls around in a babygrow sometimes. It's not about common sense on her part, she has no grip on her feet in a babygrow, all it would take is a loss of friction...



I agree with that point - I'd always put a stair gate up when they're very small. IMHO it's about knowing when to take it down and trust them to know better. And, I suppose, that they're big enough to take the bumps and bruises!! :wink: :lol:


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## frugal (14 Oct 2009)

ste_5150":3qujyxp9 said:


> I agree with that point - I'd always put a stair gate up when they're very small. IMHO it's about knowing when to take it down and trust them to know better. And, I suppose, that they're big enough to take the bumps and bruises!! :wink: :lol:



A few weeks after we took the bed guard off of the bed of our daughter there was a loud thump one night. we ruhed upstairs to find her curled up asleep on the floor next to the bed. She had obviously fallen out of bed and either not woken up, or not woken up enough to realise that she had fallen out of bed and then gone straight back to sleep.

Now she is five and the thumps are normally her kicking a pile of books off of the bed as she squirms around at night (after we turn off her light and go downstairs, she turns it back on again and gets a bunch of books out to read, and we are not going to discourage her from reading).


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## dedee (14 Oct 2009)

It's not just your baby you need to consider. Along with the baby with come mother and baby groups and before long the house will be full of a 12 wee ones crawling all over the house. Although I would consider it the responsibility of the parent to look after a baby in someone else's house you would feel pretty bad if a baby did manage to fall down the stairs.

Enjoy the moment, one at a time is easy.

Andy


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