Baby-proofing Your Home

If you have ever baby proofed your home, you know that it takes a lot of time, money and effort to do it the right way. You do not want your children to get hurt while at the same time you want to continue keeping your home functional and user friendly. Yet anyone who has ever seen the speed and agility with which children are able to pry open caps of so called child proof bottles must ask him- or herself if the efforts were wasted. After all, what good is it to have the bleach under lock and key only to have junior open the latch with the aplomb of a Mission Impossible hero?

To this end it might be well worth the effort to have an experienced parent come over to your house after you are done baby proofing it. Give your friend free reign and see if this new pair of eyes will see things that you missed. An experienced parent will known exactly where to look, what to look for, and she or he will also be able to give you some much needed advice where your little one most likely will head for first. If you really want to make certain that your home is absolutely safe, invite your friends to come over and bring their toddlers. Then let the little tykes loose in your home - with parental supervision, of course - and promise the first one who can bypass your child proof efforts a treat. You might be amazed what little hands with a sugary motivation can do!

Last but not least, even if you are able to secure your home in such a manner that you feel completely certain it is safe for your child, do not leave anything to chance and do not let your little gadgets and doodads take the place of adequate parental supervision. Keep in mind that these plug covers, door stoppers, and corner cushions are helpers to prevent serious injury, but they are not taking the place of someone watching over the child and preventing her or him to get close to the under sink storage area in the first place! No little piece of plastic - no matter how well it is bolted in - will ever be able to replace a pair of vigilant eyes, and a set of fingers ready to push an open door shut, or keep little hands out of harm's way.