please help me baby proof my tiny rented flat!

[AisieSusie]

I know its a bit of a mundane problem compared to other threads, but its really worrying me!

My DS1 is 5 months and is very almost crawling, and so need to baby proof everything in my flat.
I have a one bedroom tiny rented flat: good size [ish] living room, but crowded with stuff, then separate small bedroom [with cot in it], and a galley kitchen leading to bathroom & outside yard.

The thing is, its tiny so difficult to have no-go areas, or equally to put stuff out of the way... how can I baby proof it? what do I need to make safe? and how can i do it without causing damage to the walls/ fittings etc as is rented?!

Not sure all the things I should be looking at, so suggestions welcome of what's likely to be dangerous?

Here are some of my concerns:

Bookcases - should I attached these to the walls somehow in case of toppling over? if so what's the way that will show up least on the walls?

Extension leads and wires - lots of these as have so many things need plugging in [computer, speakers, tv, lamps, laptop, phone recharger, wireless etc etc. I understand how to make open sockets safe by those plastic caps, but what to do about wires and multiple plugs?

Awkwardly shaped cupboard doors - old ones that dont shut well and don't have latches? how many cupboard doors did you baby proof? which kind are best? have heard about magnetic ones but cant find any?

A low down tv - am i foolish to think i can keep it on a chest of drawers about 60 cm high?

also, how much baby proofing do I really need to do, where's the line between safe & paranoid? and what's the best way of keeping him safe when his dad will be doing alot of looking after when I am at work, and won't be so hawk eyed as me, so has to be pretty foolproof and easy for an essentially lazy man to abide by [so rude i am, but its true].

I am looking around my flat and thinking 'death trap' wherever i look - please help?!

I didn't do baby proofing, I did Baby Friendly.

It made much more sense to me and easier too.

Soooo, No plug socket covers for starters as they are actually more dangerous than open sockets.

Wire's and leads: All our's are in the same place (Apart from laptop which gets unplugged and put away every night) I just tied the leads together with an old hair band and slid them under the tv cabinet.

TV: We went a specially bought an oak sideboard to have the TV and Sky box on as the tv stand was just too low down.

I keep the door to the bathroom and main bedroom closed at all times they are not in use.

I have 2 locks in the kitchen. One of the C shaped clips that holds 2 doors together on the cupboard under the sink which has the bin and chemicals in. And one screw in clip on the cupboard with the cups and glasses in. (This is the only piece of "child safety equipment we have)

Knives are in a knife block pushed right to the back of the kitchen worktop.

Bookcase: Don't have one at the moment but I wouldn't bother securing it to the wall. Just make sure all the kids books are on the lower shelves so your own stuff doesn't get ruined.

That's it really. Ds has free reign of the flat (apart from bathroom and main bed) I spent an awful lot of time teaching him what he could and couldn't touch. Took around 3/4 months but it is well worth it not having to have stairgates, locks, cushioned table covers etc etc. In general there isn't much he isn't allowed to do.

Not really anything to add from me, Susie, as I think 'child friendly' is the way to go too. However, just wondering what it is about plug socket covers that's more dangerous than open sockets?

Here you go StormyWeather

Thanks lifeas2plus1 - you learn something new every day!

totally agree, have never used gates, locks, safety guards or anything else.

really? so how did you look after your little ones? did you find you had to hover alot? how did you teach them not to touch the dangerous things? I worry that with dh taking care of my little one, that things have to be pretty clearcut!

I did not know that about the socket covers.

We did attach bookcases to the wall, as DD was a climber.

I tried table corner covers, she just peeled them off. I took more time putting them on.

Other than that, just kept an eye on her.

It does depend on the child. Some children are not very interested, others try to dismantle everything.

Oh, and we had a baby-gaol for the times where I could not watch her like a hawk. Or when I was ironing.

so how did you look after your little ones?

Just kept an eye on him. With the doors closed to the rooms I didn't want him in it was pretty easy as I knew if he was out of sight then he wouldn't have been causing much trouble/hurting himself as there's was nothing in reach for him to break/hurt himself on.

I hoover the lounge and hallway once a day but I'd do that anyway even if the whole house was full of safety equipment.

Teaching him not to touch dangerous things: Well like I said we made thing baby friendly so there wasn't really any dangerous things for him to touch. But with anything he couldtouch it was just a case of saying "NO" in a stern voice, moving him away and distracting him with a toy/book/snack. He soon learned what he wasn't allowed to play with.

We are at the point now where he is climbing on the sofa and climbing the stairs so we are just teaching him how to get down safetly rather than stopping him from doing it altogether.

If you think your Dp is going to struggle keeping him safe (although I don't see why?) then you need to sit down with him and work out a plan that you can both stick to, to keep him safe.

Hi AisieSusie. DS is 16mo and loves 'exploring' everything at the moment! We live in a small 1 bed flat with lots of cables and clutter etc. What we've found is that if there's an area where there are lots of things he can't touch (e.g. cables, electronic stuff etc) you just have to keep and eye on them and keep telling them not to touch - eventually they know that they're not allowed.

We haven't bought any safety stuff except for a gate for the kitchen door - this is because our cooker is near the doorway and it's easier for us to be able to control when DS can go in and out of the kitchen. We also keep the bathroom door shut and have hairbands on the cupboard under the sink with the chemicals in. We've put as much as we can out of his reach too.

I know it can be difficult when you don't have much space, but actually it's quite do-able to make your place child-friendly without spending too much or going overboard with safety stuff. IMHO I think that small children can be taught about dangerous things, and wrapping them in cotton wool only delays them from finding out what's dangerous and what isn't. DS now knows that he isn't allowed to touch certain things e.g. cooker, electric stuff and he doesn't even try now.

HTH

I'd have to agree with everyone else. Although our flat is a 3 bedroom, it is full of breakable stuff that we just have no where to store. So we have a playpen for when we can't watch our son every second and other than that, I just let him go for it and keep an eye on him.

He's very quickly learning that there are things he can't touch or go near, i.e. the TV stand and its tempting cables (my husband has several games consoles, so the wires are a bit out of control!).

I am not saying he always listens, being 14 months, but he is learning.

The one thing I am adding in the next week or so is magnetic locks in the kitchen. Our front room is open plan so no way to block off the kitchen.

Other than that, I've not really done any baby proofing.