To think it's impossible to 'child-proof' your house

[NorthernRosie]

I have a baby of 6 months and everything keeps telling me that I need to go round and childproof the house - but how on earth can you childproof a whole house?

I have a small house and don't have enough storage and cupboards to put EVERYTHING that could be slightly dangerous on a top shelf.

Do I need to replace our pull down shutter blinds in living room? And what about our expensive floor standing speakers - do I have to replace those? And get our DVD / stereo boxed in? I can't afford all that on maternity leave!!!

What did you do?

We have a 16 month climber. We have stair gates, catches on cupboards. (Especially cleaning cupboard) and we keep the kitchen floor closed. She's a cheeky one and knows what she shouldn't be doing. I'm hoping she'll respond to no soon but we're not there yet.

Yes, do think about the stability of your telly. Old CRTs have been known to kill toddlers - modern flat screens probably wouldn't, brut its still very expensive.

The thing that you don't necessarily think to do until it's too late is to make sure that all bathroom and toilet locks are either the sort you can open from outside, or are bolts high up out of a toddler's reach.

Most of it is common sense in all honesty.

The only kitchen cupboard we have a lock on is the cleaning one. We have a stairgate at the bottom of the stairs but only since dc3 became mobile (she's my 'adventurer'). We have the fixings for a gate at the top that I've always put on if they're upstairs with me because they like running around the landing.

All of them have enjoyed pulling the dvds & books off the shelf at around 10-12 months but it's something they grew out of quite quickly I just moved the heavy story treasuries to the top shelf.

I found the plug blanks completely useless (although I do still have them in) they could all remove them where I struggled I persistently told them 'no' & they did stop.

Oh & I have a high dog gate on the kitchen door too that's way too high for a little one to reach. In the instructions it says not suitable for use with children but I'm assuming they mean that it shouldn't be used on stairs not that it can't be used for children & dog in a doorway.

Those plug blanks are extremely dangerous and have caused numerous house fires. In the UK you can't get electrocuted by sticking a finger in a socket, so those should never need to be used.

Thanks all - TV is in a recess so can't wall mount it but will look at securing it to the unit it's on.

Such good tips!!

Socket covers make your socketsmore dangerous, not safer

www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

UK sockets already have safety features to prevent children sticking things in. There's a little shutter inside to stop them getting to the live elements of the socket but the socket covers potentially hold the shutter open, especially if removed and put back in upside down, making the live element accessible.

I'm a CM and when I had my Ofsted visit one of the things they checked was that I didn't have socket covers.

We don't use socket covers as I've always believed they're more dangerous than the bare socket. We did put up stair gates, make sure all the blinds had the safety features on and remove little tiny toys like Lego from the lounge into DS1's room to prevent DS2 eating it.

We also have a fridge lock and bin lock but they're for the dog, not the DC. And the cupboard under the sink has a safety lock on that was fitted as standard by the chap who did our new kitchen so they can't get access to potentially hazardous substances. Irony is, I have to get DS1 to open it as I can't work it.

We used to have the tv on a stand on the floor so secured it to the wall with safety straps, which were quite useful as he started pulling himself up on the stand just when he wanted to begin walking.

Aside from that we didn't do much. I loved the roller-blind type of stair gates, and still have a couple about the house to stop the dog getting into certain rooms. They've lasted for years, too.

it's not 'belief'. Socket covers DO make UK sockets more dangerous. Remove and throw away.

why these things have not been outlawed is beyond me.

Ah that's really interesting about the socket covers. TBH they onky seem to make our sockets more appealing, so I shall definitely get rid.

Everyday is a school day on MN

A friend of mine had an escapologist, and they took all the door handles off and reattached them upside down so you had to push the handle up instead of down to open the door.

Thank you! I'd never heard that about socket covers either. I've read the link & just been to remove the 2 I still use.

I went for the easy option - a playpen.
When Ds1 grew out of that I was still in the UK - I could shut him out of the kitchen (so did just that) but had to watch him on the stairs as we had no banisters, and therefore also no stairgate (nothing to attach it to). He wasn't ever left alone, unsupervised, when in the middle room, and he was in the playpen in the front room. Stairgate at the top of the stairs though.

With Ds2, we'd moved to Australia by then so socket covers were more relevant (no inbuilt safety feature here); and it was important to me to shut the kitchen off once he was mobile and too big for the playpen, so we got a stairgate for the normal sized doorway (no door) and some old playpen fencing stuff (from a friend) to block off the much bigger aperture. He was in the playpen until he was 18mo, at which point he could climb out. The tv is screwed to the unit it stands on, and is also recessed in so he'd be hard pushed to pull it over. Breakables were all put up on high shelves; and we bought a proper full-surround fire guard for our open fire.
Cupboard locks on the cupboard under the tv so he can't access the wires; and cupboard locks on the bathroom vanity cupboard and top drawer - the lower drawer only contains flannels, so he can play with that.
Laundry door always closed (high round handles, he can't reach them) and then after that, just lots of "NO!" as and when required. He's 3.3 now and has nearly grown out of his habit of pushing buttons and opening doors and drawers whenever he gets the chance - but I'm not taking down the gates into the kitchen just yet (gas oven, too scary!)

It depends on your house and your child. We did a lot more child proofing withDS than with DD because he is very adventurous and wants to climb everywhere. We secured all furniture that could topple over on him, have stair gates to keep DC separate from dogs if unsupervised and out of the kitchen when cooking, have fenced off the woodburner because it is exceptionally hot and put socket guards because we're in the continent. All cleaning products and medicines are locked away as well.

Oh yes, the socket covers....

I bought a 'child proofing' kit in the Woolies sale for 99p, which included these.

Dc1 was a bum shuffler, and as soon as she was put down would head off to them to try to take them out. Once I removed them, she never bothered with the plug sockets.

wouldn't have mattered if she did, she could not have got her fingers in them.

unless she took out the cover, turned it round and reinserted it upside down. That would open the shutters and leave live metal exposed to the touch of an object.

the covers are unspeakably dangerous! Never use them in the UK. They have applications elsewhere in places which don't have our super-safe socket system.

Of course you can child proof a house. I notice a huge difference in houses with small children and those that don't.

For a start you aren't going to make it 100% safe. But a house with a small child would not have glass bottles under a side table in the sitting room. (That's a friends teenagers biology work apparently). You also won't find an open tool box with screws and nails. Or half open tins of paints.

It is just small things like this that should make your life easier. You don't want to be spending every minute saying, no don't touch this, no don't touch that.

So blind cords up, cleaning stuff high up instead of under sinks, stair gates, tidy away tools and ladder and other junks. And put the tether/wall screws on all our dressers, book cases and wardrobes. They all topple if you open multiple drawers.

Of course you can't

That's where the word "no" comes into things :)

You do have to do some stuff. I have tall furniture tethered to wall (bookcases but they contain toys as well).

I have 2 rooms downstairs other than the kitchen so generally everything "dangerous" went into one of the rooms and that room has a stairgate across the doorway. The less dangerous stuff is in the main room the kids use. No stairgate but it has a fire guard and generally the stuff is child friendly.

Cupboard locks on some kitchen cupboards, particularly the cleaning chemicals/screwdrivers one.

Some kids will take a long time to understand danger/the word no. Even if you get your own kids to know their surroundings, if friends bring toddlers, they won't be familiar and it can be stressful.

Lock on the toilet door (so you can lock from outside when not in use).

I can't move my cleaning stuff from under the sink (no other space) but assume a child lock can be put on any unit?

Why do you need to lock the toilet door from the outside?

I said no, it worked for me :))))

So that toddler doesn't take a wander and put hands in toilet/stuff loads of loo paper down/turn taps on and flood/fiddle with loo brush or any cleaning equipment in that room.

A quite toddler is a mischievous one, so after bit I'd go check. For the big stuff like a radiator or an actual huge danger I'd say NO. I don't understand why a small child would be left alone long enough to do huge damage to them selves .

there are child locks you can put on drawers and cupboards and the fridge.

we have cupboards without handles that sorted some issues. tethering large furniture to the wall. you could put a bolt high up on doors of rooms you do not want them to access without supervision and move stuff about.

you do not need to replace blinds but hook up the cord on a hook or two put up high.

speaker I would move or tether to something.

we still do not have glass mirrors. locks and no handles on cupboards. though a ban from the kitchen has more or less worked. they were stair gated in previously.

blue tac worked on drawers when they were really small. (handleless)