To ask what you did when infant started crawling?

[nelliebellie]

DS has just started army crawling at 7 months, very slowly at the moment but I know it will escalate quickly!

We spend most of the day downstairs which is hard wood floor. We have a big playmat in the lounge but he often gets off it now and I'm worried the hard wood will hurt him??

And more importantly the baby proof aspect. Debating whether to get a big play pen type thing where he is fenced in if I have to pop out of the room quickly, or if I should get a travel crib and set it up downstairs?

Don't want to be constantly worried about him crawling over to sockets and pulling things off shelves etc But also want him to learn what is and isn't ok (not sure what ages this even clicks though?!) His nursery is carpeted and more baby proofed but it's very small.

What did you do?

Following, as we have the exact same issue! (Or will do once DD gets moving). We’ve got a huge rug from ikea (fairly cheap, so it doesn’t matter if it gets sicked on etc) in one of our downstairs rooms and I’m planning to let her have a supervised roam around on that. Is that an option for you at all?

Baby proof the living room.
They are crafty and will be zooming before you know it. Put things up high. they are curious about everything

The floor won't hurt him or we'd all be f*cked!

Baby proof the entire house.

it’s the only way to save your sanity. The idea that you can contain the baby to a few square feet or truly watch every single second for the next several years is not possible. Nor can you actually trust a small child not to do something just because you have taught them not to do it. Toddlers are fast and they are creative. Babies are actually surprisingly fast as well. Mine was a slow crawler, but she would roll where she wanted to go in a flash.

Don't want to be constantly worried about him crawling over to sockets and pulling things off shelves etc But also want him to learn what is and isn't ok (not sure what ages this even clicks though?!

Good luck with that. Baby proof all sockets and just remove anything on low shelves etc.
Playpens can be good but watch out for budding climbers building up toys or in my case his twin sister, etc to make their escape.

Baby proof all the rooms, put in stair gates and baby gate to kitchen. They can crawl on hard floors just fine. You’ll have to up your cleaning schedule as well.

We let our babies be free range babies. It’s upsetting on them and tiring to be constantly chasing them and trying to keep them to one set play area. So we took the approach of making everything safe.

• socket plug ins and covers


• foam bumpers on corners/edges


• all shelves secured to wall (anti-tip), nothing in reach that could hurt them.


• baby gate across electronics cabinet


• no wires- all encased in wire housing


• child locks on kitchen cabinet doors- except cabinet with plastic food storage stuff as something for them to discover and play with


• rubbish bin in utility room off kitchen and door to that kept closed

The floor is fine. In my case I would recommend pick an area, corner it off (plastic baby gates) and baby proof - get down on the ground - all furniture (attach to wall), socket cover, cables out of reach, remove anything with small detachable pieces. Pop up a travel cot and then you can relax if you need to pop to the loo etc.

I baby proofed all cupboards and corners. Removed everything that was low down so he couldn't grab stuff. We don't have shelves or cupboards up high so I ended up just putting stuff away and forgetting where it was😏I didn't use socket covers cause I saw a Facebook post go viral where an electrician said it's actually not the right thing to do. We've got carpet in the lounge but he was always fine on the wooden floors in the kitchen etc.

If you’re in the UK then don’t do the sockets, those covers are more dangerous than using nothing since they can be removed by a determined child and effectively give them a tool to activate the plug with. Baby can crawl on a wooden floor. But definitely make sure any furniture, floor lamps, even the TV if it’s not on wall, is anchored to wall so it can’t tip. Anything dangerous in the kitchen (knives, cleaning products etc) I keep in wall cabinets out of reach. I didn’t do much else because I’d always pop them in a travel cot when I go to the loo and the rest of the time they’re supervised.

As per PPs, you need to baby proof everything & fast. Sharp corners, sockets & move anything breakable or easily damaged out of reach

Mine never really crawled, she attempted it a few times & then just got up & walked, within 2 days she was running up & downstairs. They are all different, but best to be prepared for worst case scenario like ours

I've read in UK you don't need to do sockets, but what is it's a power strip that's plugged into a socket?

(As in do you need to protect the sockets on the power strip)?

The dangerous socket covers were type 13A that are not really covers but inserts. We used the box type socket covers which are safe:
socketcovers.co.uk/product/socket-safe-uk-electrical-key-lockable-twin-plug-socket-protector-covers/

It better to not have a power strip anywhere the baby can get to it, but if you have no choice they do sell lockable power strip box covers as well.

With a power strip I’d be more worried about a long cord so would try to have it somewhere inaccessible like behind a sofa or other large item of furniture. The principal with socket covers would remain the same- not necessary and potentially very dangerous in the case of the insert style so I wouldn’t use them anywhere.

We have wooden floors. We didn't do anything about the floor. No socket covers as UK sockets are safe. We made sure all small objects, medicine and anything with a button battery in was out of reach. The stairs weren't accessible. The blind cords were tied up (cordless blinds in her room). All tall or heavy furniture (like chests of drawers - Google Meghan's Hope) and the TV was secured to the wall. We don't put anything dangerous in open bins round the house. We taught her to get off the sofa or down steps backwards. We tell her "no" when she plays with wires or the internet router.

I have toddler twins and wood floors. I did buy a play pen but honestly once they are on the move it's too small and they get frustrated. I have a stair gate and the socket covers but that's it - twins have free range to open plan living / dining / kitchen. A couple of blankets on the floor is fine

I would just baby safe the room. Playpens or travel cots seem so tiny and limit movement. Mine was walking by 9months so would have hated being contained in a small space

Baby proofing sockets isn't recommended anymore.

You can get knee grippers and socks with grippy bits for hard floors - if they'll keep them on!

Good advice above. Sometimes, safety extras can be unsafe. I bought corner protectors, but they are actually a bit of a choking hazard.

I have one place upstairs (cot) and downstairs (playpen) where I can put dd and she would be safe / contained in an emergency.

I never baby-proofed anything. Kids never went near any of these things until they were walking, and then they understood the word 'no' when it came to plugs/kitchen doors etc. I don't have any shelving that could topple on them though. I think one banged their head on corner of island once (but they were about 3) and they couldn't open doors, so no need for baby gate, just shut the door to the hallway. I think it's a parental insecurity racket made to make you part with your hard earned cash.

I removed all dangers possible and let him have free rein of the floor. For a couple of weeks he kept investigating forbidden areas, but after a couple of weeks of removing him from them he learned that he can't play there. Now he doesn't go anywhere near them.

We have laminate floors instead of carpet, and he's fine crawling over it. I did consider a playpen, but I don't want him to be trapped in a small area when he likes following me around the house and standing up in various places.

Look up on YouTube why socket covers are dangerous - there's a very informative video

Put cushions over low, sharp edges (hearth, in front of TV unit). Installed a baby gate on the kitchen door.
Moved fancy ornaments out the way, ditto plants!

Thanks everyone for replies!

@CoffeeChocolateGin our hearth is only a few cm high, is that still worth protecting??

Am I being daft, do people hide their remotes with AA batteries in or is it assumed once they could figure out how to unlatch the back they would know enough not to swallow them??

Feeling suddenly very overwhelmed and anxious by the everyday dangers!

It was more that I was worried they would crack their head on the edge of it.
But listen, it will be fine 🙂 Just use common sense. You'll quickly notice what they go for/aren't bothered by. And adjust the environment as you go along.

I put the remotes up on the mantelpiece because yes the batteries but mainly because I don’t want the TV going on-off over and over and over again.

I’ve left the hearth, they’re not remotely interested but probably would if I attempted to make it into a fun pillow fort.

You'll quickly notice what they go for/aren't bothered by. And adjust the environment as you go along. - This is absolutely spot on!