by Tara Frazier
It’s not always easy to keep your little ones safe around the house, but these simple baby-proofing tips can help. Better still, each one can be performed using everyday household objects.
- Worried about slamming doors and pinched fingers? Pool noodles make great door stoppers. Cut a 6-inch section from a pool noodle, then slice it lengthwise on one side. Slip it over the upper edge of your door, and you have a quiet door stopper.
- Keep your child from exploring surge protectors. First, cut a hole in the side of a plastic bin with a lid. Then, place the surge protector in the box and thread the wires and cords through the hole. Now seal the box with the lid to keep the surge protector out of reach.
- Rubber bracelets or thick hairbands make great child-proof cabinet locks. Loop one over cabinet knobs to keep the contents out of your baby’s hands.
- Decals or stickers make glass doors more visible. Keep babies from crawling headfirst into a not-so-noticeable door by placing one (or more) on the glass.
- Bathe your child in a laundry basket in the tub. This not only prevents toys from floating away, it also keeps your baby in the same spot in the tub, minimizing head-bumps on the faucet.
- Cover the sharp edges of your hearths with foam pipe insulation. Keep it in place with duct tape to reduce head bumps.
- Tennis balls can soften sharp table corners. Cut small slices in old tennis balls and wedge them onto table corners to prevent bumps and bruises.
What baby-proofing techniques have worked for you in the past? Tell us in the comments below.
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Our son will pull cords out from behind his dresser or the fridge. We stick a pool noodle between the wall and the fridge/dresser and push against the wall. Keep the noodle long so it can’t be grabbed from the top and pulled. As he got bigger, we used adhesive Velcro to attach it and make it even harder to pull out.
We also had problems with him unscrewing or taking apart door stoppers. You can buy door stoppers that hook to the door hinge and place them on the top hinge.
Hope those help… Our boy tested our baby proofing abilities!
The most important baby proofing thing you should do is secure everything to the wall! This includes the tv, the tv stand, the dressers, the hutch, the bookshelf, anything that baby/toddler can have fall on them. Too many kids die this way.
While sitting in shopping cart, strapped in, my 7 month old grandson leaned forward and hit his head on metal bar. Left a bruise but he was okay. But to prevent this from happening again I bought a pool noodle, cut it in half and now I wedge it between him and the front of seat, preventing him from knocking his noggin’. I just keep it in the car and now that he’s teething it’s come in handy as something he can chew on rather than a metal shopping cart handle.