How do you make your home safe? Paedetrician's Warning

[missslc]

Our son is just starting to walk and pull at things so we are trying to child proof our one level home.

Now we have already done the obvious like make cupboards safe, move harmful liquid stuff but we are now looking at our flat screen tv in the corner and wondering how to prevent him getting near it.

What do people do? I am guessing just gate off the whole area with special gates?

The reason we are suddenly so concerned is we have just got back from hospital- baby has had bronchiolitis and 3 paedetricians all made a point of asking how secure how home was( theye were lovely and really trying to alert us to the risks). One of the things they said was that they see children on the ward with 'utterly horrifying' injuries from heavy things ( eg tv) falling onto them. So we are very motivated to find a solution before our son is fully walking.We cannot bracket the tv on the wall as we are in an earthquake area and the wall is not strong enough.

When you look on line there is so much but we want to know what people have used and has worked?

Thanks

Didn't do anything really.

We have open plan lounge kitchen diner so we have a gate going across the kitchen but that's more so I can drink a cup of tea and cook dinner in peace.

Never had an accident here.

My friend had every possible piece of safety equipment possible and she's been to a&e at least 4 times for each of her 2 kids in the last 6 months alone.

We moved sofa in front of record player, but really more to protect record player than dcs. Stairgate in living room so we could use that as giant playpen. Dd knocked 2 1/1 teeth out on that stairgate

Otherwise very little. We did visit a&e frequently but only for accidents that safety equipment wouldn't have helped with anyway- like falling and bashing head on wall.

Thanks- loads of useful suggestions. We are going to box up all the books he is pulling off the bookshelf and just garage them. He will not even go in a cot never mind a play pen. I tend to stay with him most of the time but sometimes( open plan) if he is playing happily will nip into the kitchen and prep up bits of dinner. I need to stop this or somehow make the sitting room like a giant playpen, which may not be possible!! He is into everything. Last night he worked out how to get off the bed, by pushing his feet off and lowering himself( I was hovering). It is like living with a member of cirque du soleil suddenly.

Well I have never baby proofed anything in my life and my two DCs are still here to tell the tale. I have my flatscreen on the wall now but never would have found it a problem before when it was on a stand (it was attached to the stand with something).

I'm sure a local tv shop can suggest something.

We used wide velcro strips to hold our TV from being pulled over...
About 2 inches wide, from DIY store. Glue one half onto TV, other part onto back/underside of table, join together... hey presto. If the overlap is several inches long it would take a lot to undo it by pulling in the direction along its length, and it can be black/not too noticeable.
HTH

Welcome to toddlerhood!

My toddler goes into a playpen. He cries, but that's too bad for him. I need him safe when I'm in the loo/cooking dinner/taking 5 minutes to breath. And he only cries for about 3 minutes and then some playpen only toy catches his attention and he's happy.

So I will never understand 'he won't go in a cot never mind a playpen.'

What stops him?

AIBU to think babyproofing is just an excuse to be able to leave your child alone?

Octavia I think it is more of a case of babyproofing so you can keep your baby safe while you do things like um have a crap,answer the phone or prepare dinner.

Old style tv's are not safer, DH (pediatrician) was involved in an investigation after a child died having pulled one over. My DH is nor generally terribly safety conscious but that shook him up and we got a new flat screen after that.

Wow. I never did any baby proofing. And I used to leave her on her own in another room if she was happy for me to do so. Never an accident.

I don't think I'll start now. Too much stress

Agree with NormalityBites!

I remember toddler proofing: we had some sticky up bits on a fireplace that could have taken someone's eye out so I cut into two yellow tennis balls and placed them over. Not the most attractive solution, but cheap and effective.

We fixed some door handles to open up instead of down so baby couldn't get through until she was a bit older.

I put child locks on a few cupboards but deliberately left others so the stuff (eg saucepans) could be pulled out.

Watch out for Christmas trees that can be pulled over or decorations that can be broken/eaten. It is quite effective to put the tree in the playpen. Obviously not when the toddler is in there .

Also watch out for resourceful toddlers climbing on the toilet then reaching things on a high shelf (like I did as a LO- with resultant stomach pumping in A and E, my mother was distraught).

Garden ponds need covering with very strong mesh or filling in.

Be very careful if skipping ropes are taken near swings, slides or climbing frames (risk of strangulation- and I know someone who this happened to ).

I remember the constant effort to be one step ahead with my two. Not easy.

Remember- more accidents happen in the home than anywhere else. Your house should be safe for everyone not just your toddler. It is so easy to be complacent and to take risks at home. Please take precautions and have first aid supplies in, fire detectors installed and fire extinguishers handy (in the kitchen or near open fires).

we recently purchased on line a strap for a flat screen tv that fixs the tv to stand, it was sold as a device to protect your tv from falling in an earthquake - so hopefully child -proof

Can't really talk, as DD1 drank bleach, DS electrocuted himself by putting a staple in an outlet (in the US), and rode his little plastic car down the same flight of ten outside stairs twice in one weekend, DD2 let herself out the front door and ran off to the local park unbeknownst to me at age 3, DD3 was a climber of bookcases who was utterly fascinated by the TV, and DD4 fell down the stairs twice in the same day while a crawler/walker, resulting in a trip to the emergency room and questions from the doctors such as, 'Who was looking after the baby?' and, 'Where were the gates?'

We keep our TV on the floor, that way it can't fall off anything. It just sits in an alcove, the fireplace etc. It's a CRT.

If you have it on a wooden table perhaps it could go towards the back of the table.

Kids tend to be obsessed with one thing at a time, get bored with it after a week and move on. You get a feeling for when the dangerous phase has passed, say with sockets, or the loo or whatever.

Stop worrying so much, it's unlikely anything dreadful will happen to your child, maybe a minor knock or two - it's inevitable.

I wouldn't go bonkers with childproofing. I found it easier to childproof one room totally (DS's bedroom) so I had a place I could leave him for more than a few seconds (to have a shower, go to the toilet, hang the washing out).

In the other rooms i did the minimum (cupboard lock on under-sink cupboard for instance, gate on stairs). For everything else I just keep my eyes and ears open - mainly for worrying silences that means some trouble is underway!

I find lots "No!" the most effective form of babyproofing. Also tossing them in their cot if you need to do something when they will be alone works a treat.

They don't always like it very much but they get over it.

I just had a playpen and taught them no

else how can you go to other peoples houses?

I never childproofed and my DD1 is 8, the only accidents we had were hot tea (my Fault) and a fall down the stairs again my fault for leaving gate open. With everything else i just taught no and moved her away from whatever it was she was doing. Childrens minds are like sponges they learn very quickly. I found this helped when we went to others houses as she knew what she could and couldnt do.

DD2 is 5 months and i wont be doing too much childproofing other then stairgates and a lock for the cupboard under the sink. If i need to so something that requires me to leave her i will put her in cot to play.

Old style tv is much worse. MIL broke her leg when one fell on her, thank god it was her leg and not a toddlers head.

Best advice is to teach them no and to expect to have the odd accident. My young cousins (both toddlers) have the most baby proofed house of anyone I have ever met yet both have been in A&E countless times for bumps and bangs. And neither can be trusted in other peoples houses as its like an aladdins cave of things they cant touch in their own house.

I would say, those door things at the top of doors to stop them closing.

Also I would say, teach your child how to go up and down stairs as early as possible, even before they can walk. It doesn't mean you don't need stairgates but it's an important extra precaution.

And the sockets. A baby who is only rolling can get fingers in a socket. You can't have too many socket covers.