Baby Proofing Tips

By: Leslie Smith

It truly amazes me how my son can be in a room with 100 toys and without fail he somehow finds the one thing that could hurt him.  As soon as our Tyler started scooting around we knew we had to baby proof ASAP. We moved into a new house right around the time scooting turned into full on crawling and then into non-stop moving.  One of the first things we did on moving day was walk around the house and look for everything that could be harmful and like most houses, we had a lot to do.

We started with baby gates and deciding which areas of the house we could safely give him free rein in.  There are so many gates to choose from, but these are a few reasons we decided on the Cardinal Expanda Gate.

1. It comes out of the box already assembled opposed to many other gates you have to assemble the individual panels
2. Easy to install with just four screws into the sliding and adjustable mounting brackets
3. Can accommodate any size doorway / opening by adding the 15” extension panels (sold separately)

After seeing how versatile these gates are we decided we could expand Tyler’s safe space if we put one more gate around our fireplace in the family room.  It works perfectly to keep him away from the tools and out of the mess. Plus, the gate doesn’t get hot to the touch even after a fire burning all day.

After the gates were installed, we moved onto the smaller baby proofing items – outlet covers, table corner guards, cabinet locks, etc.  I found that outlet covers and table corner guards are one in the same but when it comes to cabinet locks, these one really stood out.

Instead of straps or latches these work magnetically.  We put them on all of our cabinets with cleaning supplies and keep the key up high so it’s completely out of reach.  They also attach with adhesive so you don’t have to worry about damaging your cabinets with screws.

One last thing we installed was window guards.  Although we don’t need them quite yet, it gives me peace of mind for when Tyler really starts climbing up on everything which I’m sure isn’t too far away.  These window guards easily attach to the windows with a velcro material so no tools are needed. They are adjustable and fit single and double hung windows that are vertical or horizontal.  

Now that we installed these safe guards, I feel comfortable that there are two rooms he can crawl around safely.  Although can you ever really take your eyes off a one year old boy?