Baby proofing - where to start?

[Uncomfortable1]

Baby is 7 months and trying to crawl, so we need to baby proof the house sooner rather than later. What do we need to do, other than move anything breakable or chewable out of reach and put corner guards on furniture, and put up stair gates?

I've read different the about covering plug sockets?

Is there anything we can do to radiators as we have a very prominent one in the living room and it would be difficult to block off from the baby.

We just moved breakables higher, stair-gates and most importantly a playpen.

We installed two gates: one at the bottom of the stairs and one for the kitchen. He doesn't need upstairs as that's only our bedroom, en-suite and home office.

Downstairs he has free reign except for the kitchen. I like to be able to shut that when needed and he's only in to eat with us or (now he's a toddler) to help with baking etc. He's well supervised in the kitchen and never left alone so we didn't bother with locks on cupboards etc.

Sometimes we like to shut certain rooms off to keep him contained to certain areas so they all have slide locks installed high up.

Other than that we just don't have anything precious out, but we're pretty minimal with our stuff anyway. We've no tv he can break, it's a pull down projector.

Cupboard and drawer locks for the kitchen.

Don't splash out on a fancy play pen! DD screamed hysterically whenever she went in it and we had to get rid of it. Total waste of £40!

Stair gates

We had the opposite - DT’s were put in the playpen literally from birth and still used it as toddlers (when the dog wanted a break!).

If you are in the UK do not cover plug sockets. It makes them LESS safe.

Get down to floor level and you’ll find it easier to spot potential hazards.

Do not use plug covers if you’re in the UK. They make plugs more dangerous.

You can buy radiator covers which aren’t quite so ugly these days but you’d need to ensure it was fixed to the wall. I never bothered personally as my son wasn’t interested in them.

i haven’t done loads of baby proofing. Just a mixture of trying to teach him no and keeps the really valuable/breakable stuff out of reach.

the only other thing I find useful is door stops.. little foam C shapes that sit on top of the door so they can’t be fully shut. Saves his fingers for getting jammed.

@MrsTerryPratchett that's an opinion, there's nothing conclusive on that. We use plug covers in our house, we were able to buy them from a shop no problem and there isn't even a risk warning on the packet like there are on other kid things e.g buggies and car seats. It's fine imo.

It's not an opinion, it's fact. In the UK using a cover forces the socket to be open and live and more dangerous than it being uncovered. Terrible idea.

We didn't baby proof anything really other than moving some stuff onto higher shelves. That was mainly because I found it easier just to keep an eye on things rather than go to a mot of effort of trying to pre-empt hazards.

But the not using plug covers was a conscious decision to keep the sockets safer.

This would be my advice . I was a childminder for 10 years .

you have to at some point teach them no . but at 7 months won’t get it yet..Don’t worry about the radiator right now it’s off .

look at stair gates depending where they are in the house . They tend to start just following you round at this point

This and socket covers however I have since learnt that they are apparently not recommended and removed

Another vote for door stops - mine was (and still is) always trying to shut the doors and we have narrowly avoided some trapped fingers!

This is not opinion…this is fact …,,, more fool you putting your children at risk…idiotic

@DappledThings that's only a risk if my child were able to manage to get a paperclip, unfold it and fit it in and around the plug cover and the risk of that is zero. Plenty of evidence out there to suggest they are fine to use and if they were that bad they'd be illegal or at least have a warning on the packet like with a whole bunch of other stuff.

Cot bumpers don't come with a warning either. They're still extremely dangerous.

We do baby gate on the kitchen and bottom of the stairs, and then the child's bedroom eventually when we start thinking they may learn to climb out of their cotbed.

We did corner protectors with DC1 but we tried a few different brands and they were all rubbish. She used to take them off and mess about with them so we didn't even bother trying with DC2.

We have a lock thingy on one draw in my bedroom where we keep medicines, it's like a plastic thingy that means you can't open the drawer properly without pushing it down to unlock it.

We also have magnetic locks on all of the bottom kitchen cupboards.

Other than that, no fragile/valuables anywhere in reach. Travel cot or playpen in a room downstairs where I could put them for a few minutes if I needed to go and do something or hastily cook dinner.

I did stair gates up and down stairs. In the kitchen moved plates etc up out of reach and food packets, pans etc down low. They used to have far more fun emptying out cupboards and stacking tins than they did with toys. Also had to put a large luggage strap around the dresser for one child as he kept going for it. The other had no interest. Didn't bother with radiator covers, as a mobile child will move out the way if they touch something hot.

Following for ideas. Didn't know about plug covers!

And why do you think they are banned by both the DoE and the NHS for use in all education and health premises? But you jog on and do you🙄

I didn't do anything apart from move breakables higher up and make sure I didn't put my cup of tea down within reach.

Nothing happened. I guess my DD wasn't that curious about anything 🤣

I went to visit a friend and she'd bubble wrapped everything! The coffee table, the fireplace, arms of chairs. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Obviously we all want to keep our babies safe but honestly there's no need for half the stuff we're told to buy. My advice would be to wait and see whether you have a cupboard trasher before you go mad with baby proofing gadgets.

stairgates are the most important
ive a wood burner so have a really good fire guard against that.
I did have a playpen as it’s really handy if the phone rings/doorbell/anything else to put the child somewhere safe quickly.

socket covers are dangerous
didn’t bother with cupboard or draw locks. As they have really strong magnetic closures so couldn’t be opened.

My second could turn the bath taps on from a really young age so I has to keep the bathroom door shut. I had nightmares of her turning the taps on and falling in the bath! I also hid the plug

Oh yes, forgot about the fire guard. And definitely no to plug sockets covers. We didn't bother either.

I do think a lot of baby proofing is just a money spinner. While they're young enough just plonk them in the playpen if you need to answer the door or make a cup of tea or whatever. When they're older, make the house child-friendly and have locks on doors you need to shut off.

Do you mean actually bubble wrapped? That's bonkers! 😂

• Don't have swallowable magnets in your home

• Keep cleaning products, dangerous chemicals (including essential oils), medication and batteries in either a high/unreachable or locked cupboard

• Do not have toys or gadgets accessible from which button or coin batteries could escape and be swallowed

• Take care with hot drinks, put your coasters / get used to keeping your hot drinks somewhere small hands can't reach. Consider whether the kettle is accessible if you have a particularly tenacious LO

• Be careful with hair straighteners / curlers that use heat. They look like toys and are liable to grabbing

• Ensure that heavy furniture (including TV) that could tip onto a child is secured

• Ensure anything like a pond, hot tub or pool is inaccessible or covered or just get rid

I actually think stairgates are optional as most tots are intuitively reluctant to fall from a height and children don't usually critically/seriously injure themselves if they do tumble down the stairs. Likewise developmentally typical children do not burn themselves on radiators and UK plug sockets are very safe and don't need covering (which technically makes them less safe).

The avoidable hazards that kill mobile children are drowning, being crushed by furniture and ingesting magnets or small batteries (with delayed presentation because parents / caregivers are unaware of the ingestion).

Scalding from hot drinks and accidental ingestion usually of children's medicine (because it tastes nice) are pretty common but usually have a good outcome.

Thanks for this!