Sophia is a demon crawler now, so I'm overdue to toddler proof the house ? I can't rely on the eyes in the back of my head and Sophia is not happy when she's placed in the exersaucer anymore while I nip outside to do something!
Some things are straightforward like moving all the breakables from the bottom drawers. Filling up these drawers with plastic cups, wooden spoons and other baby-friendly utensils is a good way to satisfy her inquisitive mind.
A lot of things I already do because I also have a curious three-year-old in the house. Medicines, cleaning fluids and insecticides are all kept out of reach. So too are my knives and the serrated glad wrap boxes. But some things I have been too relaxed about ? Charlie was never interested in the cupboard under the sink so that was my first job: buying a safety latch for the dishwashing detergent and powder (thank you Consumer for the timely reminder in August).
There are a lot of options ? latches with adhesive fasteners, latches with screws, or sliding ratchet locks that loop around door handles. In the past I've used adhesive fasteners but they're a nightmare to remove and leave sticky patches that I won't be wanting in my kitchen in five years time. This time I've gone for a sliding rachet lock that you have to press and slide to open. It's not too annoying for me but is too hard for my kids to work out (for now!).
I don't know what it is about power points but they're a toddler magnet so I've put plastic plugs in all the power points.
My kitchen door opens out on to a deck which, depending on the side, drops down to gravel, pavers or a hedge.?So until Sophia can negotiate steps on her own a safety gate is a must. Unfortunately many safety gates aren't up to scratch. When Consumer tested safety gates last year only 1 model out of 13 passed all our safety checks.
On average 5 children a year die from being run over in private driveways so I'm thankful that our garage and driveway are fenced off from our section. It's a different story teaching adult visitors how to properly close our kid-proof front gate ? when most people leave our place I'm double-checking they have got it right.
No doubt tomorrow will bring another potential danger to Sophia-proof ...
More from consumer.org.nz
Source: http://www.consumerblogs.org.nz/tech/2012/10/time-to-toddler-proof.html
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