Now that Eli is almost 7 months and very mobile, we have been starting to figure out how to child proof our home. We knew we needed gates for our multiple stairways, plugs for our outlets and locks for our cabinets. All those were easy enough to get and install and are relatively unnoticeable. Except for the gates of course. Unfortunately, gates are not pretty but safety trumps pretty in this case.
What we didn’t realize right away was that it was only a matter of a week or two, until Eli started noticing everything around him that we didn’t. He loves crawling into all the nooks and crannies where he shouldn’t go. Underneath the chairs to get to the carbon monoxide detector that we thought was hidden? No problem for Eli. Finding all the cable cords tucked under a blanket, the computer cord dangling from the laptop charging on the couch? Easy peasy for him. I’ve even had to start vacuuming and scrubbing the floors a lot more than I’m used to because this kid is everywhere.
So, what’s the solution? Well, we’ve begun to move things around a bit hoping to just keep some temptations out of grasp. The carbon monoxide detector was moved to higher ground in an outlet underneath the kitchen cabinets, we’ve moved baskets that housed books and other items off of the floor so he can no longer pull up on those and have books crashing down on him. The coffee table tray with drink coasters and decorative items will need to be moved any day now and there’s a whole list of other things to do. My goal this week is to try to now find a place to put all these items that need to be temporarily moved. Storage is a whole other story in this house!
Caught in the act
Anyone else childproofing their home? What am I missing? Any great solutions for how to make childproofing efforts prettier or is it just a temporary ugly phase we parents all have to live through at some point?
I’m going to need some help! We need to toddler-proof this new house and I’m not even sure where to start
Fun fun.