Baby proofing the house

Hey mum's!

Thought I'd start a thread about baby proofing as I couldn't find one. My son has just started crawling (on sat) and as excited as I was about it, I'm totally drained today. I'm sick of my own voice saying "no" all the time, we've moved our DVD units into another room, but he's constantly wanting to tug on cables! We bought a playpen to put in occassionally - for when you need toilet breaks and make a cuppa, but I worried I'll constantly be putting him in there. I don't want to hinder his new skill and I really want him to explore his home, but I hate keep on saying No all the time and pulling him away from the cables. I did put his car seat in front of them but he just moved the seat and began tugging on them again!! Little monkey

So...does anyone have any baby proofing tips that will stop me sounding so negative!!

Thanks girls,

Lou

Aw poor you Lou,

Well i know exactly where your coming from! We have the added problem of 2 dogs she chases round!

Is there a way you can hide the cables behind a unit? The best tip i heard was to get down to baby level then look at the dangers. We've just used socket covers for all the sockets and keep things well out of reach. We also live in a bungalow so keep all the doors shut for rooms we dont want her going in. It does get better once they've explored everything 20 times i promise

I hope someone else is more helpful but i thought i'd just come and say your not alone in this problem

Paula

Hi ya,

Under the sofa is another place they go to, Ryan is always getting his legs stuck under my sofa its got so bad i haev had to put sheets under it to stop him doing it lol 

Ryan also LOVES Dvds, the dvd player the video. I say No No No all day long, i haev now started saying No and come the 3rd time i just move him away as i swear he likes the word no lol 

But like Paula says go down to the babies level and see what they see and put yr hands and mouth every where they would.

Good Luck 

Susan & Ryan xx

Hiya Ladies,

I know how you're all feeling. Kamran's been crawling a while now and has just starting walking. I still get sick and tired of saying no but it's been better since I started smacking his hand. First time is a no, 2nd time is a no and he gets moved away, 3rd time is a no and a slap on his hand. It's enough to shock him, but obviously doesn't hurt him coz 5 seconds later he'll go off and do something else.
I've also got stair gates blocking off the exits from the lounge, mainly because I've got cats and their litter tray is in the bathroom and their food is in the kitchen and I really can't be bothered getting up every 5 seconds to drag him back into the lounge. He doesn't half move quick tho when he sees one of the gates open!
He used to grab at all my wires and especially my cordless phone but that's all stopped now. I've moved things that would be dangerous to Kamran, but I didn't want to completely babyfy my lounge, at the end of the day my way of thinking is that kids learn more respect when they have rules and boundaries, and if you move everything how are they going to learn what is ok to touch and what isn't? I don't know how to properly explain it without sounding horrible, but it was your home before your children came along why should you change everything? Certain things are exceptions obviously, but other things like ornaments you can put bluetack underneath so that they aren't easily knocked off shelves. Maybe move irreplacable stuff, but other nick naks I'd leave so that you can teach your kids not to touch. I'm not saying it's been easy, and I'm not saying it's completely effective, but persistance is the key!
I don't want my home to end up like my friend's house where everything nice has been moved, packed away or put on high shelves. I want it to still be my home, not just my son's!

This post probably sounds really nasty! But I'm happy and so is my son so it works for us!
x

EDIT:
Also wanted to add that my friends daughter is now 2 and although Kamran is only 11 months I think he's much better behaved!

Nikki - i get what u mean hun, my mum was the same if u dont say no and move every thing they wont learn. She kept all her ornaments out and we never touched and only a few got broke as we grown up and im doing the same with Ryan. I move what can hurt him etc but i want him to learn or if we go to someones house he would touch and go mad in there.

xx

I know what you mean guys, my little girl is very nearly crawling, it won't be long and as her dad was walking by 6 months Im getting prepared!!! lol

we also live in a maisonette all on one level so we'll have to shut the door and get a stair gate on the kitchen to let cats through but keep baby out!!

my husband has bought a cable tidy which basically ''zips'' them in to one and then we've taped it to the unit out of sight but im sure she'll find it!!

Ikea do some grat child proofing things very cheap if you've got a store near you but i agree if you make it so the babies can litrally run wild thats exactly what they'll always do!! xx

Ah hi girls, thanks for all your tips! Talked to my HV about it and she said you need to stop sounding negative and turn it into a positive... saying things like "whats this over here" and start playing with something...anything!! I've been doing that and it does work. He's still facinated with the telephone cables though. The cable zip sounds good Vicky, I might look into one of those.

1 thing I have noticed is that since he's been crawling, he's absolutely shattered, sleeping for about 3 hrs in total in the day now! Got loads of housework done today

Hi Babydust! & Ladies!

My little boy has just started the stage of crawling by dragging himself around like a lil snail lol but my god he moves fast! he's taken a liking to the tv stand, with all the buttons and lights and things to turn! he also goes for wires, remotes, phones, even the plug in the bath! we can put all his toys infront of him and he'll soon ignore them and dash to the most dangerous things! I'v had to buy plastic cups to drink tea from in the front room cos once i finished with my tea he'd glide upto the empty mug and bash it on the floor lol

he hasnt gone for plug sockets yet he seems more interested in the wires and not what they lead upto lol but i will have to get plug socket covers as he does stick his fingers in the bath plug, He also goes for the wheels on his pram, and door hinges! me and OH have had to jam the door open so he cant trap his fingers as he has pulled the door with one hand and trapped his finger under the door on the other hand many times!

he's also taken a liking to the stones in the fireplace, he takes them out and carries them around and throws them! I dont have to worry about a fireguard as my fire is electric and doesnt get hot it just blows nice warm air, or cold air. I'v kept my candles and pictures low as he likes to grab them aswell and they cant break but i want him to learn and by taking everything from his level he wont learn.

we say no, he'll go back to it, we say no again and he'll go back to it, we say no again and move him away and distract him and he'll soon learn no means he cant go there.
I'm really iffy about giving out physical punishment as i was never struck as a child, i have a family memeber who will strike her kids and all they do is smack her back and laugh, the worst my mum ever did was shout and my god that was enough to scare the grim reaper lol!!!

Babies will grow up fast, so you need to make sure that the rest of your house is safe for her to explore. If you have long electric cords anywhere, tie or tape them so that your baby cannot get access to them.Kiddicare Wholesale

<div style="overflow: hidden;">