The basics to baby proofing

Jess-Miller-Sunglasses
Published by 
Jess Miller
Last updated: 
April 5, 2023
The baby is smiling

What is baby proofing?

Baby proofing is the act of making the environment or an object safer for your child.

What is the difference between baby proofing and childproofing?

Baby proofing and childproofing are really the same things. It all depends on when you stop calling your baby a baby, It all comes down to personal preference. Regardless of what you call it, the methods are the same.

Baby proofing is not a substitute for supervision

Your little baby is curious. He is going to want to explore every inch of your house. This is part of the natural learning process and should be encouraged safely.

Guess what? Baby proofing every inch of your house is not going to keep your baby safe. Your baby is an expert at getting hurt in the most unlikely of ways.

You will still be required to constantly supervise your baby.

"Great, so why bother baby proofing then?"

That's a good question. Baby proofing in conjunction with a watchful eye has proven to be effective in keeping children safe in the early years of their lives.

Your child will fall, even under your watchful eye. Where he falls is up to you. If you have taken the precaution of padding up the corners of the coffee table for instance, then your baby will not be seriously injured should that be the location of the fall.

baby proofing + supervision = safe baby.

Baby proofing is unique to you and your baby

The baby outside the crib

Don't run out there and purchase every baby proofing product under the sun. This is a commonly made mistake by new parents.

Your little baby is a little individual. What interests your baby and holds its attention will be completely different from another baby. This also makes baby-proofing completely unique to you.

Some babies love to climb dressers, while yours may love to flush the toilet and watch the water swirl. Watch your baby closely and how he interacts with objects around the house. You can always go out and purchase a baby-proofing product after he shows an interest in dangerous behavior.

Start with the important baby proofing products such as baby gates and electrical outlet plastic plugs. After you have the important basics installed, adapt to your child's actions and add extra baby proofing products as needed.

Baby proofing is continuous

Unfortunately, you cannot baby proof once and forget about it. Your baby's personality and interests change rapidly over the early years of life. Household objects that were never an interest will soon become the next hottest play toy. Simply supervise your baby and adapt.

Choosing the right baby products for you.

Baby inside the white crib

Many people neglect to consider the following when choosing bay proofing products.

Does the baby-proofing product make your life harder? Yes, it is great that your new baby proof drawer lock keeps your child out. If it takes you 10 minutes to open the drawer each time you need to use it then you are going to get frustrated really quickly.

More often than not you are going to be using baby proofing products over an extended period. Look for baby proofing products that are both effective and simple to use.

What happens when you no longer need to baby proof your house? Your baby is going to grow up. It's sad but true. There is going to come a time when you no longer need all your baby proofing products.

Many baby proofing products are hardware mounted. This means that they screw and latch onto walls, door frames and the like. When you remove these baby proofing products you are going to be left with damaged timber from screws and other fixings.

When choosing a baby proofing product consider if it needs to be permanently fixed. More often than not you can find a product that is temporary yet just as effective.

Baby proofing priorities

When you babyproof your house you may be a little confused as to where to start. A good idea is to determine what degree of injury can be caused by each hazard.

Electrocution can kill a baby, right? So you are going to want to make those outlets as baby proofed as possible. Toilet paper only costs a couple of bucks and if unspooled at most is a minor annoyance. It is probably easier to teach your baby not to do it than splurge on an expensive baby proof toilet paper dispenser.

Why do you have so many baby proofing guides?

Baby inside the wooden crib

So if you have peeked ahead you will have noticed I have written baby proofing guide for just about every household object capable of giving your baby a scratch right down to objects that are just minor annoyances.

The reason is simple, every parent is unique. If you wish to baby proof everything, then you might as well do it properly. If you wish to only baby proof major hazards, then I have guides for that too. I have tried to cater to everyone.

Our Purpose

Simple: To write awesome guides. Kids don’t come with instructions. We are not afraid to dive right in and get messy. The result? The most detailed guides on the internet; from gear guides to parenting advice.
Copyright © 2024 parent.guide All Rights Reserved