Child or baby-proofing is not an easy task. It involves anticipation, determination, perseverance, as well as some fine-tuned drill work.

Child-proofing starts when your baby starts to crawl but doesn’t intensify until you have a little walker on your hands. At that point, you better have everything on lock-down or else you are doomed. We lucked out at our old house because the people before us had a 1 year old so they had all of the cupboards locked already. Our new house was another story. This house has tons of cupboards, none of which had locks.

So we had to make a plan. We started with the obvious, the kitchen because there are so many “untouchables”in the kitchen.

When baby-proofing your kitchen here are a few things to consider:

• how many cupboards you have
• what type of latch/handle you have on your cupboards and drawers
• how many drawers you have
• are you going to let your baby into any cupboard (tupperware or plastic cups)
• what type of locks do you like best

We have a ton of lower cupboards as well as drawers and a lazy susan corner cabinet, so I wanted something easy to use.

Here are three types of cabinet locks we have tried:

1. Safety First Door Handle Lock

Pros:

• stays closed so Anna can’t open it
• small
• not too unattractive

Cons:

• hard to remove – can’t easily be done with one had
• you see it on the cabinet
• over $3 per cabinet – this adds up

Overall:

I think this is fine to use for a non-permanent child lock. It’s nice that it works and is not too bulky. Not good for cupboards you often open.

2. Basic Screw in Child Lock

Pros:

• Anna can’t open it
• you don’t see them
• they can be used on drawers or cupboards
• they are super cheap – about $3 for 12 locks in a package
• they can be opened with one hand

Cons:

• they have to be drilled into cupboard door and base piece and they MUST be lined up to work! 🙂
• more permanent option (could be a pro if you are starting the kid thing)
• they are not super sturdy and may need to be replaced

Overall:

I think these are great to use if you are just starting with kids and will want child locks for a long time. They are hidden and don’t affect the look of your kitchen. Also, they are inexpensive and get the job done. They do take some time to install though!

You can’t tell this is an off-limits cupboard!

3. Slide on Door/Handle Locks

Pros:

• cheaper than the other out of door / non-drill locks

Cons:

• Anna can remove them easily by bending the plastic (not the proper way)
• they are bulky and ugly
• you need two hands to take them off the correct way
• they are poorly made

Overall:

I plan on throwing these away. Not only do they look horrible on the cupboard – they don’t work.

This is usually how they look on my cupboards:

Or when Anna removes them. Actually, this doll may have even been able to get through this type of lock…

Once you finish locking down your kitchen cabinets and drawers, you need to move on to bigger things – real doors.

Anna isn’t quite able to open a real door knob but Addie is. If Addie can do it, it won’t be long until Anna can too!

These door locks are great. They snap onto the door knob and spin loosely around the knob. Kids are not able to get a firm enough grip on the knob to open it.

Adults can easily pinch the actual knob through the little holes to open the door. We have these on the basement, garage and bathroom doors.

Once the doors are safe, move onto furniture and potential head bumping hazards.

The fireplace hearth has a ton of potential for injury! I love this pad that sticks onto the corner of the hearth with a strong adhesive. It has yet to fall off and works great. Another bonus, it blend in!

Corner protectors are great for sharp edged furniture. Anna’s head is just the right height to hit this corner so these are a must.

Babygates are a big part of baby-proofing. There are tons of types of gates that work for all kinds of areas and spaces. If you are planning on staying somewhere for a long time, invest in a gate that screws into the wall. They are easy to use and super sturdy. You won’t have to mess with putting it up and down or worrying that it might fall on your child.

We have gates at the bottom and top of our stairs. We don’t need any other gates in this house, which is great!

For the bathroom, you will want to make sure you have something over the faucet so baby can’t bump their head on it. This Boom one works well and is easy to take on and off.

Another thing I really like is this door stopper. This rubber bumper stops the door from slamming. It’s great when I keep a window open while Anna is sleeping and the breeze blows the door shut. It’s also great to make sure no little fingers get stuck in the door. These are cheap and easy to take on and off.

This one is a must as well.

Those are just a few observations from our experience with baby proofing.

Question:

What pieces of equipment do you find important or useful? Do you think everything is necessary? It does create piece of mind.

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