Time to Babyproof?
Part 1: Here’s Help Getting Started
Experts agree. Childproofing your home gives your baby a safe place to play and explore, and gives parents peace of mind. But before your baby even becomes mobile you may be confused about when to begin the process of securing your home, where to start and what to do. A good place to start is to think about the developmental stages your growing baby will reach. From birth to 5 months, he or she will stay where put. But watch out! Sometime between the ages of 6 to 12 months your baby will begin to crawl. From 12 to 18 months he’ll have even greater mobility and reach. By 18+ months he’ll be running around and you’ll be trying to catch him. The best advice: be proactive. Anticipate your baby’s development, mobility and abilities. Childproof your home in advance, before your baby crawls, and you’ll minimize the potential of injuries. More advice: babyproof your home once, and thoroughly. If you’re handy, you can purchase babyproofing products and install them yourself. Carefully research and select them. Although products may look similar, they do not always offer the same quality and level of protection. If you lack mechanical expertise or you simply don’t have the time to get the job done, consider hiring a professional childproofing service. Visit iafcs.org to find a babyproofer in your area.
The First Step: Define Spaces and Secure Stairs
Babyproofing and selecting babyproofing products will be easier if you begin by separating your home into different zones: an area for family space, one for baby and an off-limits area set aside for adults. This is ideal preparation for determining where you will want to install safety gates.
For many, the homes in which we now live are very different than those in which we grew up. Larger, open floorplans offer tots many opportunities to get themselves into trouble. It’s sometimes a good idea to try to limit the area that we allow them to roam by installing baby gates to block access to unsafe areas. Child safety gates should always be installed at the top and bottom of stairs. If this is not realistic, you can install safety gates in hallways leading to stairs.
If your kitchen and family room are connected, you might want to secure this area with child safety gates (you’ll also have to thoroughly babyproof these rooms), which will give ample space for your child to explore while you can still supervise. Installing safety gates in these locations may replace the baby gates you would otherwise need at the bottom of the stairs. The remainder of the downstairs is “by invitation only.” Visit this space with your child, not to play but with a special activity. You might choose to read a book or listen to music together.
If you have a home office, block access to it by installing a baby safety gate or a door lock. If your office is located within another room, secure the area with an extra-wide gate that can be configured to any shape you need or consider using a play yard. Either way, this is an adult space and should be made off-limits.
Be diligent about closing and latching all your child safety gates every time you walk through them, whether they are installed in hallways, entrances to rooms or at the top and bottom of stairs. Your baby will see and understand that the baby gate is not a hurdle to climb but a doorway into an area that mom or dad has to open. By making sure safety gates are always closed and latched, even when your baby is sleeping, you’re less likely to forget to do this when it really counts. In addition, when your baby is with you in what is typically an off-limits area, you will have to be super-diligent about monitoring his whereabouts.
The Next Step: Selecting Safety Gates
Once you determine where you want to install your baby gates, you’ll have to select an appropriate safety gate for each location. There are three basic styles of safety gates.
Hardware or permanent mounted baby gates swing open and closed like a door. They are secured into walls and/or newel posts, offer maximum security and should always be used at the top of staircases. They’re also convenient for use at the bottom of stairways, as well as for hallways and entryways between rooms. These baby gates require mounting kits unless you are installing the gates in wood framed doorways. New styles include safety gates that install on an angle and baby gates designed for outdoor use.
Pressure mounted walk-through baby gates also feature a convenient doorway but are secured to walls with tension, offering tool-free installation. Since this is not a permanent style of mounting, pressure mounted walk-through baby gates are ideal for separating rooms on the same level. They are also often installed in hallways, entryways or at the bottom of stairs. Pressure mounted walk-through baby gates are available for openings up to approximately 6’ wide.
Irregular and extra-wide baby safety gates let families install large safety gates that compliment their floorplans and lifestyles. Relatively recent in design, these irregular and extra-wide safety gates can be used to separate rooms, for hallways, entryways and at the bottom of stairs. Since some irregular and extra-wide baby safety gates feature add-on sections so you can customize them to create safety gates in whatever size and shape you need. They are often ideal for sectioning off an area of a room to create a safe play space for baby.
Another option you may wish to consider is to use a play yard. A modernized version of the playpen, it allows you to create a safe play space within any room. Most styles of play yards allow you to add on as many panels or gate extensions as you need. You can even use a play mat underneath it, offering a cushioned play surface for romping and rolling.
Written by Susan and Jeff Baril
Safe Beginnings, Inc.
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June 20th, 2009 at 5:04 am
Thanks for the info …. nice article