Baby Proofing, My Way!

Baby proofing your home is one of the most important things you can do for your toddler. It is amazing how mobile a toddler can be! There are a wide array of baby proofing tools in the market nowadays, from safety gates to cover guards for sharp corners, to even toilet lid locks.

But that solves the common head bumps, finger nips and staircase accidents. How about stopping toddlers who are prone to ransacking drawers, sucking on shoes and 'cleaning' the fridge? It looks like the house needs to be babyproofed against the toddler instead of vice versa. That's where my version of baby proofing comes in.

Aiden loves ransacking drawers. When it comes to opening drawers, he is definitely a pro, hands down. When opening the drawer he would meticulously take every single object out, insist on touching or trying it and then leave it all on the floor for Mummy and Bibik to pick up after. I have no problems with him going through some drawers, but when he starts to pull at the drawer with so much force until there is the danger of it falling out and hitting his feet, I had to become creative.

When he was a bit younger, we used his playpen to block the drawers. Now that he is older (and stronger), he simply pushes the playpen away. In the end we tied it with a strong cord.

Works for display cabinets as well.

Make sure you tie a strong knot and check that these drawers/cabinets do not contain items you will need often, as it is not easy to untie them once you're done.

So most of the drawers are now tied up. But what do you do when the drawer has no handle i.e. no place for you to tie the cord to? This one was quite a complicated one. I pondered on this for days and days, and in the end came up with this:

Masking tape! Yes, we taped all the drawers shut, from one end to the other, the longer the better as it makes it harder for curious fingers like Aiden's to strip off. Can you see the two drawers we taped shut? Buruk, tapi what to do, safety first!

I am a shoe junkie. Maybe not as bad as handbags, but I do have a LOT of shoes. These shoes don't even fit into my shoe cabinet anymore. Which means I have to resort to stacking them on top of each other anywhere I can. (In the new house I have learnt this lesson well therefore hopefully the shoe cabinet there would fit them all in!) Aiden enjoys bringing these shoes to me (helpful lah konon) and when I get angry at him for touching the dirty soles, he would threaten to put it in his mouth. So Bibik's creative mind came up with this:

Use Daddy's rarely used golf set to block his way.

This is how it looks like in the grander scheme of things.

The staircase is always a nightmare for all parents with adventurous toddlers. Some people invest in safety gates to prevent their kids from climbing up. Some silly people (read: me), decide to install their newly purchased safety gates in their new home when in reality they're eons away from moving house! So this is another of Bibik's great invention:

Use the stroller. MacLaren strollers work best as their umbrella strollers are long and strong. Hook the handle of the stroller to the staircase handle for stability. Good for exercise as well as occupants of the house would have make a giant leap to the third step to go over this obstacle.

And then there is always the kitchen. The dreaded room full of cabinets and other dangerous knick knacks that are very very very interesting to a toddler's eye.

This is the cabinet below the gas hob. Instead of tying it with a cord, we tied it with a plastic bag. Since we need quick access to this cabinet, a plastic bag is easier to pull off as compared to a rope.

Another creative one. Tied one drawer to a cabinet because the latter didn't have a place to tie a knot to.

Not to forget the fridge!

Tied with a cloth because a cloth is easier to unravel for easy access to the fridge.

What about the television? How many of you have grappled with the problem of toddlers who enjoy turning the television on and off multiple times in the span of a minute? Besides damaging the not-cheap television, there is always the danger of these slim (hence lighter) televisions toppling down on to the toddler.

So we blocked the television with a pretty laundry basket.

Which, when you look closely, has a string woven through it.

And is tied to the couch leg so that Aiden is not able to push it away. Effectively blocks access to not only the television but the television cabinet as well.

Last but not least, the parquet. It is typical for an 18 year old house to lose a parquet or two. Believe me, I have tried to glue them back on with elephant glue (gam gajah) but they just come off again. Not only is it a tripping hazard, but Aiden loves munching on them as well. So, we taped them all up!

Like this.

*sigh* Need to get my contractor to repair these parquets ASAP!

Disclaimer: In no way do I sanction these baby proofing ideas as full protective methods for all toddlers. I am merely sharing my ways around my own house, catered to the needs and the level of curiousity of my toddler.