I don't want my son to learn the hard way?

Brittany - posted on 04/06/2011

I found the plastic socet covers to do the oposite of what they are ment to do... it attracted my daughter to it. Now we don't have any and she leaves them alone. For a lot of things its a matter of disaplining them when they do something wrong. Distraction works well for really little ones.

Wandy - posted on 04/06/2011

I stressed about this when our first started to crawl around. In the middle of the night I would wake up in a panic worrying about bobby pins etc. In reality it wasn't that bad. I covered the powerpoints, put up ropes from blinds and made sure chemicals/medications etc were put away safely.

To be honest it is more dangerous now that he is 3, because he can reach most things and move chairs to climb up and get into higher cupboards. Also he sees me cleaning windows for example and then he wants to copy me and almost sprays himself in the face. So I think I have to be much more careful these days than in the beginning. At the same time he understands the word 'dangerous' much better than when he was little.

Kids are pretty good and IF they hurt themselves, you can use that as an example the next time:"Remember when you touched...."

Elfrieda - posted on 04/06/2011

He'll bump his head and it'll hurt you more than it'll hurt him.
For the dangerous stuff, it's my opinion that you should let them get a little bit hurt so that they learn to avoid the bigger hurt.
Example: I taught my son to climb down backwards from stairs, sofas, etc because that is the safest way. Our house has a place where it goes down 1 step, and I never sheltered him from it. It's only 6 inches, and he had a few bumps, but now (15 months) I don't worry much about the staircase. (We still have the baby gate up, but at other people's houses we have found him on another level when we took our eyes off him for a minute. No harm done.
Also, we have a masonry heater and we heat with wood. The glass door gets very hot when there's a fire going. I took him over right after I lit the fire one day, when it was uncomfortable but not damaging to touch, and I told him not to touch it, but of course he did. I told him "NO. Fire is hot." And it sunk in. Babies are smart.

Becky - posted on 04/06/2011

I absolutely agree with Gwen. Electrical outlets should be covered. As far as putting everything out of reach - no, the child should learn early on what they are allowed and not allowed to touch. You have to be consistent when they are maybe just crawling around, but they will learn. This is also helpful when you are at other homes -they will know their limits.

Gwen - posted on 04/05/2011

Other than covering electrical outlets, I really didn't do much in the way of childproofing. I found that by leaving the usual stuff on the coffee table, etc. she just learned to live with it. (I believe) By hiding everything out of reach when they are babies, and bringing it all back when they are older, you create a bigger problem because all of this stuff so new and exciting they want to touch and get into everything!

Bonnie - posted on 04/05/2011

The only things we really did was put covers over the sockets and a gate at the stairs. We had tried locks on certain cupboards and the door knob covers with our first child, but he was too good at figuring out how to remove them so with our second child we didn't use them. Kids definitely learn the hard way. Just do the main things.

Renae - posted on 04/05/2011

You can only teach a baby or child to the extent that they have the intellectual ability to understand. Understanding danger is a big ask.



I have one room that is completely childproof (apart from falling off furniture or down the step). But I was also looking after other peoples kids a couple of days a week so I had to have a safe area for them.



In the kitchen one cupboard is child locked and that cupboard has everything sharp or breakable in it.



I think some people child proof to stop kids getting into things so they dont have to pick up after them. If he pulls all the tupperware out I just pick it up and put it back! Really not a big deal to me. I child proofed to protect my baby from dangerous things not to protect things from my baby. If you will care if your baby breaks it, put it out of reach.

JuLeah - posted on 04/05/2011

Get down on the child's level and look at the house from that point of view ... what catches your eye?
And, it is not your job to protect him from everything. Over protected kids face a lot of dangers when they grow up becuase they don't have the skills and tools to deal with life. We learn not to touch sharp objects as toddlers when they poke and hurt us. This information keeps us later from slicing off our fingers with kitchen knives. We come to understand 'hot' if we get a small burn, which keeps us safer around an open fire.
What I taught my child was how to deal when something happened - usually 'no big deal' becuase I didn't want to teach her to get upset and cry over every little scrape .... many kids cry cause mom is expecting them too ... anyway, knowing how to deal with life when it happends, knowing how to react and responce are very importing things and the lessons start at your sons age. Don't rob him of the life he is meant to lead becuase you have big feelings around wanting to 'protect' him .... teach him to live

Sharon - posted on 04/05/2011

We just moved the obvious things and made sure all the power points have those proctector things on them. Other than that we just watched him as he was learning to get around, and started moving things, or locking cupboards when he was big enough to get into them.
Our lounge room we didn't baby-proof, but instead taught him what he can and can't touch. So far so good, and everything is still functioning...touch wood!
Diversion worked well for us...we'd tell him no, then give him something else to put his attention on.
Oh yeah, all the cleaning items went onto the highest cupboard in the laundry...I was a little paranoid about those.

Alison - posted on 04/04/2011

My advice would be not to worry too much! Do the usual things like corner cushions on sharp table corners and socket covers but your toddler will take their cues from you. Put your cleaning materials in a high cupboard so they can't reach even if the cupboard door is accidentally left open. If he touches something he shouldn't just tell him that it isn't good for him and take it, giving him something he can play with instead. That way when you go to someone else's house he'll know what's good and what isn't - after all theirs mayl not be baby proofed!

Emily - posted on 04/04/2011

I think there's a difference between putting away potentially dangerous items and putting away things that you just don't want them to have. I think it's reasonable to make sure their environment is as safe as possible.. so if there are sharp things and whatnot, remove them. If it's just a matter of "I don't want him to touch the remote," I guess that's up to you whether you want to constantly be redirecting. Babies have very little impulse control. If they want something, they're going to go for it. You can be as conscientious as you want, but it only takes a second for something to happen.. that's why I think putting dangerous things away is a good idea. That's just common sense, IMO.

Tiffany - posted on 04/04/2011

I did not child proof my house. Everyone always told me, if they touch something they are not suppose to to remove it from their sight. I WANT them to have the option to touch what they are not allowed to touch that way they can learn not to touch it. If they get a remote, or a decoration i dont want them playing with, I tell them no and put it back where it belongs and I keep doing it till they learn they are not suppose to mess with it. I started this at 6 months old with both of my kids. That way they wouldnt all of a sudden have to learn what not to touch. Also, Im not trying to be rude, but it is best for them to learn the hard way. Yes you can tell them no for hours upon end, but they will never understand why you are saying no. Kids minds run 90 to nothing and they want to know why about everything. My son always messed with plug ins. A very dangerous thing for hijm to mess with I know. I had a friend over and she forgot to unplug her phone charger and he decided he was gonna find out why mommy always said no. Me not even knowing it was there was completely unaware the charger was there, and he got shocked. 2 years later he has still not touched plug ins and he panics when his little sister gets near them. They are always gonna wonder why about everything and they dont always understand your explanation of it. Its best to let them learn alot of things that is not life threatning on their own. It gives them a better understanding. Also, wires are usually aggrivating to kids. My little one likes to play with the cord to the house phone. There are 2, one to the wall and one to the phone modem. She plays then gets tangled. After a few times of getting tangled in them she has decided they are not fun anymore. lol. you'll figure out your own way as things happen. Alot of things your little one will figure out on his own even if you dont wasnt him to. Its part of them growing up. They will have bumps, bruises, scratches, and cuts. and its ok. It happens, it heals, and they learn from it. Good Luck!

Medic - posted on 04/04/2011

Just crawl around and see everything how they see. I just taught my kids "no". I guess I never really stressed out about the issue. And just fyi kids learn most things the hard way, it is part of life.