How to stop baby reaching plugs through the cot

[Laidee]

We are just about to transition our 6mo to his cot. Our plan is to start with daytime naps and work up to the night time. There are plug sockets on the wall behind his cot, which we've covered with the socket covers. But there is also an old aerial plug which he could get his little fingers into. We've pulled the cot away from the wall for now but wondered whether there were any possible solutions? I know we can use bumpers but is it possible / safe to screw a large piece of plastic to the outside of the cot so he can't reach through?

Move the cot?

Why wouldn't it be safe to attach something to the cot?
I don't think plug covers are recommended.

Move the cot.

www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

Er, posted too soon.

If you are in the UK, do not use plug socket covers. This is the advice of the government:

www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-10-21/49797/

www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/News/EFA_2016_002_Final.pdf

Apologies, just read again and missed your main question. You would create two possible issues. Firstly you would need to be careful that it didn't create anyway he can climb up and out. Second, it would need to be very strong. Little ones like to kick and plastic could break and cut them ud kicked at the right angle. In a few weeks time he will be wriggling about all over the place so those would be my concerns. Can you more the cot to another wall?

Don’t use socket covers they’re not safe
Don’t use bumpers also not safe
Move the cot!

I wish it was as simple as move the cot it's not like as if we hadn't thought of that. We haven't got another wall the cot can go on. There are built in wardrobes on one wall, the door on another which makes the wall too small and the window / radiator on the other wall. I hadn't realised we shouldn't be using socket covers tho so thanks!

Is it the only socket in the room? If not you’d be better cover the whole socket and Ariel or having them removed and moved. Assuming this will stay their room a toddler will be even worse with that sort of thing

Put a large board between the cot and the wall

Get an electrician to come and put in blank socket covers (or whatever they're called) for the duration of cot dwelling?

glad someone has flagged up the socket cover danger - there are three legal products in the UK that are dangerous when correctly used, the other two are sunbeds and cigarettes.

unless he is a pointy-fingered mutant from the planet Tharg he can't get his fingers in the sockets and can't get a shock by sticking something in them (assuming you are in the UK or a country with UK-style sockets). The aerial socket is no danger, although you could always put a blanking panel in its place.

and cot bumpers are also lethal. As are loose blind cords.

If you don't plan to use them you could get a quote from an electrician to switch the sockets for a blanking plate.

Electrocution wouldn't be my concern but playing instead of sleeping was with my son. He is switch mad and just likes turning things on and off

Use a blanking plate. You shouldn't need an electrician to do it. We had the same issue and it's easy to do. Otherwise the board between cot and wall is a good idea.

for anyone else who thinks socket covers are good - please read the link upthread. It is a miracle that no-one has yet been killed from these. They have probably caused a few fires from damaged electrics.

I agree the sort of cover you stick into the plug socket is a bad idea but you can get larger covers like this one that go over the whole box and which, as I understand it, don't have the same flaws because the shutters which are integral to the UK plug socket design function as normal.

Alternatively an electrician could fit blank plates across the plug and aerial sockets and put them out of use.

@welshladywhois40

If you don't plan to use them you could get a quote from an electrician to switch the sockets for a blanking plate.

Electrocution wouldn't be my concern but playing instead of sleeping was with my son. He is switch mad and just likes turning things on and off

This. Click click, fucking click on and on. Apparently it doesn’t get dull. Eventually I stored enough stuff behind the cot that they couldn’t get at them.

It’s not possible for a baby to put its fingers into the socket and socket covers are dangerous, please don’t use them! www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/ Also if you try to put a board against it or something the baby could use it to climb out.

We had a socket behind the cot. We switched it off and left it at that.

We had this problem, and just lined the wall around the cot with those big foam squares they sell as kids play mats. You could do the same with a very large board. We secured with 3M stickers when DD got old enough that we thought she'd be able to pull it out of the way.

Box them in. It can be removed when child is old enough to know not to mess about with them.

Put a large flat thing between the cot and the sockets! A sheet of cardboard or even a sheet pinned to the cot would be entirely sufficient.

But the question is pointless. British sockets are safe by design, there's zero chance to get a shock from them UNLESS your awful socket "protectors" have damaged the mechanism. Take those horrible things out and get rid of them.

And there's no problem with the aerial socket, by the way. It's just metal, there's no electrical power in there.

Can't you just put a big board between the cot and the wall?

www.amazon.co.uk/Clippasafe-Electrical-Plug-Socket-Protector/dp/B003TFCB6E/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?hvlocphy=1006855&hvnetw=g&keywords=sockets+covers&hvadid=259065050111&qid=1593261459&dchild=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgLCFuYGi6gIVyO3tCh0a8AfIEAAYASAAEgLyt_D_BwE&hydadcr=7563_1760389&hvdev=m&hvqmt=e&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-302715851025&adgrpid=54901097178&hvrand=1199350398227133725&sr=8-6

Huge link (sorry) but we got these for my parents living room, it covers the whole socket and you can get them in s variety of sizes I believe

You can buy lockable socket covers that sit over the whole socket/ plate .
I will post a link later or search for me on a post called something like ' what to do with this ugly knob ' I put a link on there.

When my DC were small, socket covers were definitely the done thing, it was very frowned upon not to have them, so it's no wonder people do still use them, but way back then, my dad (an electrical engineer) always insisted they were dangerous, so if any expert had been consulted it was obvious. I wonder how they did become so widely used (and sold)?