Childproofing Question

Updated on October 24, 2007
E.H. asks from Circle Pines, MN
13 answers

I'm getting started on baby-proofing my house. Just wondering if those of you that have already done it can give me some helpful tips. I'm concerned that I have a lot of electrical cords in my living room - the TV, DVD player, surround sound, lamps, ionic pro, etc... you get the point. How do I get these cords out of the way while still being able to use all my electronics? Is there a product you can purchase to get the cords out of the way? Also, what do you put on sharp corners (such as the TV stand, coffee table, etc)? Thanks!

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Thank you to everyone with the great suggestions! Very helpful!

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M.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

E. we just went to the hardware store and bought their hollow plastic tube and it is slit all the way down one side. You put all the wires into it and then the plugs are inaccessable too. Good Luck childproofing was the hardest and my least favorite thing to do for my son todate.

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A.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

With regards to cords, if you can hide them behind furniture or something, that would be best. We have only 2 cords out in plain view and of course, my daughter is drawn to them and always tries to plug and unplug them (which is highly annoying and dangerous). For sharp corners, I bought some corner guards at Babies R us.

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B.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

With my babyproofing I just made the cords as short as possibly to the wall and took a twistytie and bundeled them up.

With everything else I just put any knick knacks or picture frames up high out of reach.

With sharp corners I didn't really have that problem my tables were all round on the edges.

I just practiced more with supervision and teaching what they can touch and not touch and didn't really go out and buy anything to childproof. I did lock up under our kitchen sink with the chemicals. And got the plugs for the outlets.

When my daughter was crawling I put a babygate in her bedroom doorway so I could put her in her room to take a shower or run downstairs to grab laundry etc. Her room was 100% babyproof.

In our living room I had a ball pit she couldn't get out of used it like a playpen. I didn't always have the balls in it.

I know Babies R Us has a large assortment of babyproof products. Might want to check them out.

Also if you have to take the sharp tables out of the room, put them in the garage or something. There was alot of things I temporarily removed from the room or the house and then when I felt comfortable brought them back in. I think by the time my daughter was 2 I relaxed alot on most things and she knew what she could and couldn't touch. I am also lucky and she never got into anything, never messed with the vcr or stuff like that. The worst she did was take the remote and pretend it was a phone.

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S.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

One Step Ahead is a great place to start, and then from there I found what I could at Target and Babies R Us. I still ordered some things that I couldn't find in stores (like a computer tower cover for the computer that sits on the floor). What the "experts" say to do is get on your hands and knees and go through the house to see what your baby can get into. As for some specifics, we tried those corner cushions for table-tops, and the self-adhesive ones did not work very well. A better bet I think would be to try those elastic things that cover the whole edge. We also made an ottoman out of the coffee table that is in the main family room by cutting a piece of thick foam to fit (JoAnn etc. will do this for you), and sewing a short slipcover for it. This works well because 1) baby can't bump into it, 2) baby can't pound dents and scratches into it and 3) it's nice for us to put our feet up when kids are in bed! :)

One last thing, we were worried about wrecking our wood railings, and my dad cut lumber to fit and used heavy-duty tie-wraps to secure the lumber to the railings. We then screwed swinging gates to the lumber. So when the gates come off, there won't be those horrible holes in the wood. Good luck!

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L.R.

answers from Minneapolis on

I saw in I believe the Menards ad that they have a cord hider that goes on top of your wood moulding. They are white plastic and I think they are screwed in to the wall and it hides all your cords behind it. As for the sharp corners they used to have a plastic cover that stuck on the corners. I'm not sure if they still make those or not.
L.

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M.C.

answers from Minneapolis on

BabiesRUs sells triangle cusion pads for sharp corners. I use those and worked great. My oldest, now 3, pulls up and has gotten the adhesive free. I have the big covers that cover the complete power outlit and I use the individual outlit covers that are flat. They sell childproof power cords or you can get away with filling the additional slots with outlit covers or purchase a cover that won't expose any outlits and has an opening to allow the cords to come out. A gate for stairs is essential. I have one where a mesh screen comes out and you can install on two banisters, one banister and one wall, or two banisters. We have ours on the small metal railing and works great. I have all breakables and coasters put up and away. No candles are in reach either anymore. I dropped my crib mattress when my youngest started to stand up in the crib. They do have cord covers where you fit the cord in a track and something will stay lay on the floor but it's not a bunch of cords. Our cords are hidden behind couches or in a corner and the kids don't mess with them. I guess if mine were to pull on them they will get hurt. I block the area off with a tv tray and some of their non mobile toys and things are working great.

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M.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

I believe it is called loom (sp?) that you can use to cover all your wires. It's a plastic (inexpensive) covering that encloses around the wires and can be found at any electronic store like Circuit City or Best Buy. It comes in diffrent sizes/colors ect.
We used foam pipe insulation that wraps around a water pipe for around the glass on our coffee/end tables. It works great because it goes on/comes off easily for when we have company.
Hope this helps.

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S.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

You can check out the safety section at Target or Babies R Us. They have a lot of products there, as does Menards and Home Depot. You can get an outlet cover that protects the cord so it can't be pulled out and the outlet can't be touched. You can get cord protectors, which are like a plastic tube to put the cord in, so if a child (or pet) try to chew the cord, they are protected by the plastic tubing (still wouldn't want anyone chewing on it, though). Try to have as many cords as possible behind tvs, furniture, etc. You may have to rearrange your furniture while your child is in this stage. You can get padded corners, that are like foam that sticks to your tables, etc.

Good for you for being concerned and getting the safety stuff done before your baby starts crawling.
S., mom of 3 and daycare provider

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E.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

they do make a product for that you can buy it at an electro0nics store it is basicly a tube with a slit in the side that you can shove the cords into, as far as the corners they sell those at target/wal-mart in the infant section, in an orange box last time i saw them

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M.F.

answers from Minneapolis on

A few other suggestions...when your daughter figures out how doors work, take a thick hand towel and hang it over the door to avoid pincehd fingers and doors closing.

Also in the bathroom (unless you keep the door closed), toilet paper guard and toilet seat guard.

We always made sure to keep ALL cleaning supplies at the back of the cupboards and had the cabinet locks on them as well. My son can still get his little arms in the cabinets so keeping anything unsafe to the back of the cabinet is best.

Make sure to bolt any loose furniture to the walls (bookcases, dressor, etc), you would be amazed at how strong they get when they are trying to pull themselves up on the furtniture...wouldnt want a bookcase or soemthing to fall on the babe.

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M.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

Haven't found anything to hide the cords completely, but babies r us sells little boxes that completely cover your outlet with plugs in it. You just take off the outlet plate cover thing and the box scews into outlet where the plate cover went. The box is removable by an adult and plugs are stored safely inside. They also have ones with room to store some extra cording. That way, your child can't pull the plug out and access the outlet.
Hope this helps!
:)

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A.G.

answers from Minneapolis on

Hello!
We baby-proofed a while ago, and bought zip-ties at Target to keep the cords together. We then tucked them behind wherever the electronics is housed. As for corners, you can purchase (also at Target) Parents brand corner pads. There are four in each box, I think. They're marvelous!

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A.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

One Step Ahead has a website and catalog loaded with babyproofing stuff including a cord control kit and padding for corners of stuff. I don't know if one step ahead has this or not but you can get electrical outlet covers that have a shield that snaps over the holes if your baby unplugs something. Good Luck.

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