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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think friends should childproof their house a little when I bring dd to stay?

112 replies

deaconblue · 20/08/2009 21:02

plugs with no covers, exposed wires on a lead and tonnes of tiny tiny toys laying all over the house. Their kids are 5 and 2 so I understand their house doesn't need to be as child proof as I need for my 1.3 yr old but surely the chokeable toys could have been put away? I spent the whole visit retrieving plastic coins and playmobil bits from dd's mouth.

OP posts:
2rebecca · 20/08/2009 21:50

YABU didn't know you got socket covers, never had them when I was a tot nor for my kids. The only time I really had to watch my kids when small was when visiting a friend in the process of building their house (living in part and building/converting rest). She had no kids at the time and they both had enough to do without worrying about my sprogs. I knew they had no kids and the place was a building site so just had to be extra vigilant re wires, ladders etc. You shouldn't take your eyes off toddlers anyway. If it bothers you stay at home. Other people have their own lives to live and things to worry about.

SenoraPostrophe · 20/08/2009 21:53

yabu.

you wait until you have a 5 yr old.

NightShoe · 20/08/2009 21:54

YABU, you are a visitor, if you don't like it don't go.

Thunderduck · 20/08/2009 21:55

YABU.

WhatFreshHellIsThis · 20/08/2009 22:01

Socket covers are ridiculous items anyway - the earth pin on a UK plug opens the other two pin sockets, which remain closed unless something is in the earth socket. So a child would need to poke something into the earth socket AND both the other sockets at once to even come close to doing themselves some damage.

I'd be interested to know if it's EVER happened.

aendr · 20/08/2009 22:05

Socket covers are banned from my house... www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/
but I would have tried to have the small toys confined to one area (e.g. a separate room) and, as the visitor, expected you to watch your child and allow that with slightly older but not yet responsible children it's not really that easy to baby-proof if they're not used to it.

scottishmummy · 20/08/2009 22:05

pre-children i made no aesthetic changes for friends.post children nothing has changed

except i do miss my minimalist tidy life

FlyMeToDunoon · 20/08/2009 22:20

YANBU As the parent of children I am now much more aware of how stressful it can be having to monitor the every move of your DCs in a different house. It's a complete PITA when all you would like to do is relax and chat with your friends.
When I have younger children round small toys are put away, the fireguard is up and we have socket covers anyway.
MIL's bleach under sink, bathroom cleaner out, scissors lying about etc drives me mad.
Host should make an effort!

scottishmummy · 20/08/2009 22:25

enjoy invites and company no one else needs to change or accommodate

i visit friends yep bleach,etc under sink. cleaners down side of toilet.
unlocked cabinets with meds in

that is my look out not theirs
it is their house i am their guest

spicemonster · 20/08/2009 22:32

Thanks so much for posting that link aendr - I have been saying that to people for years but have been viewed as a loon by most of my friends. I had no idea there was evidence to support me on the net!

snickersnack · 20/08/2009 22:37

We spent a very stressful weekend with some friends when ds was 15 months - hazards everywhere you looked, lego, trailing wires, open fires without a fire guard, staircases with no banister. I still shudder when I think about it. But it never occurred to me that they should have done something about it on our behalf - it was our job to keep an eye on him. I would always keep an eye on a child that age regardless of where I am, and it's only now he's 2 that I think he's probably ok being left unsupervised for short times in our own house, because I know where is safe and where isn't.

I was a bit at the hugely overloaded plug socket in the kitchen that started sparking one morning when we all sat down for breakfast but that was a genuine safety risk to everyone. But by and large, if something is safe for the people who usually live in the house, then that's all you can expect.

LightningBolt · 20/08/2009 22:37

Oh socket covers thing interesting.I have no stairgates except at dd door now she is in a proper bed.(She has ld so would be a wanderer otherwise.)Thjis is prob much more dangerous than me covering sockets,then.TBH 9if they are teeny you generallyhave them under observation anyhow,surely?

ZombieZillasBumcheek · 20/08/2009 22:46

Well. this is an odd thread. Because when i suggested that a relative of mine was actually responsible for supervising her own child and i shouldn't have to protect my home and furniture from damage, i was flamed and told i should remove everything from my rooms and lock it up, or else not invite said person.

bitter? Moi? Nope. Just nice to be proven right even if it took a while

ravenAK · 20/08/2009 22:47

I would probably expect them to safeguard their own possessions if a planned stay (eg. my parents are addicted to fragile ornaments at grabbable height, they move them if we're coming!)

But my dc's safety is my problem - the world does not come equipped with stair gates or socket covers.

If a house involves open staircases or fires, it's probably fair to warn guests with small dc, but otherwise I think YABU...

brimfull · 20/08/2009 22:49

yabu

I never used plug covers for my own kids

dollius · 20/08/2009 22:49

Crikey.

I've never used socket covers.

I have bleach under the sink.

And, sometimes, I leave the scissors out.

It's a miracle my boys are still alive.

FGS

YABU

brimfull · 20/08/2009 22:50

I mean socket covers

Leeka · 20/08/2009 22:52

WhatFreshHellIsThis - I was just about to post exactly that about the plug covers. Why does anyone bother to fit them?

applepudding · 20/08/2009 22:57

As your friends already have a 2 year old I'm not sure what extra precautions you would expect them to make for your 1.3 year old that they are not already making for their own DC????

2rebecca · 20/08/2009 23:00

I've always kept bleach etc under sink. When kids tiny had child lock things on lower cupboard doors in kitchen. They got removed when kids got older as they were a pain. My bleach has a childproof lid on it that I struggle to open. I think if you have a toddler you don't let them wander unsupervised round someone else's kitchen. My parents always kept cleaning stuff in lower cupboards without special catches. We just weren't allowed in the kitchen when tiny. Bleach is just 1 of many hazards in a normal kitchen. I thought everyone kept their cleaning stuff under the sink.

toomuchmonthatendofthemoney · 20/08/2009 23:09

i opened this thread thinking it would be about staying with cool trendy childless couple who blithely left large lit spliff/bottles of tequila/paracetemol/razors/porno mags/used condoms etc on their designer glass coffee table.

so i could have a little huff about how "they know nothing and just wait till they sprog out" and bemoan my jealousy at their chic bohemian lifestyle

but no just lego and plug covers. how tedious. YABU, end of. Get those eyes in the back of your head just like the rest of us have to.

TheLadyEvenstar · 20/08/2009 23:13

Ok question because I have not read all of this thread.

But how many of you do actually child proof your houses and what exactly do you do?

I have an 11 yr old who is forever leaving missing bits of lego when he clears up, I also have ds2 who is 23m and I have never not watched him long enough for him to pick one of these up. Even when I am mumsnetting doing housework I still keep one eye on him.

I have bleach, toilet cleaner, floor cleaner, washing gel, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets and polish (along with other stuff) under the sink. My living room /kitchen is open plan, he has only ever been near the oven once and i told him no it is burny and that was it.

SO what exactly is child proofing because there are hazards everywhere....aren't there?

edam · 20/08/2009 23:14

Blimey, I had no idea that plug socket covers were so darn dangerous.

Guess as ds is 6 now it's probably too late to get a refund, though...

TheLadyEvenstar · 20/08/2009 23:18

I did have child locks on the cupboards but urchin ds2 learnt how to open them before he hit 15m...so they were rendered useless then.

Have never used a socket cover, or corner protectors, oh he has got hold of scissors (dp's fault) and he loves the nail clippers he sits there and pretends he is cutting his toenails

TrinityRhino · 20/08/2009 23:19

what a load of shite
get a grip
I have never had a single socket cover, they are laughable

1.3 so 15 months????

just teach him 'out of your motuh'

your child, you watch him

get over it

sheesh
I'm shocked

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