Is There a Limit to Babyproofing Your House?

When you have to go to the bathroom, cook, etc. put him in a pack N play with some fun toys. It only takes a second for something irreversable to happen to a toddler that young who cannot control their body very well yet. This will not last forever--just a couple of months until he's coordinated better.
Good luck!

When you can't watch him, put him in a playpen with toys, the tv on, etc. Shower only when someone else is in the house or he's asleep.
M.

This is really a two-pronged issue: 1) safeguarding your house (you can only do so much of this) 2) keeping an eye on your little one at all times and/or putting him a safe place while you leave the room and/or cannot watch him directly. This is not to say that you are at fault for your child's injuries. Toddlers are very wobbly and they will inevitably fall down a lot (especially when they first start walking). My son is almost 21 months and he is still tripping and falling occasionally and bumping his head. You just have to do your best to anticipate that crack in the sidewalk, that step down the stairs, etc until they become more balanced (which I have heard is around 2-3 years old). Do you have a pack & play you can put him in while you cook dinner or clean? Alternatively you can put him in an Exersaucer or a Jumperoo (in the doorway)--anyplace where he can be stationary and still have fun w/o getting hurt. You can also put him in his crib with some soft toys or books while you take a shower (I do this all the time). While you are cooking, you can also devote a kitchen cabinet/drawer/space to him that has safe toys for him to play with--plastic tupperware, pots & pans and spoons to bang on. That way he is in the room with you, entertained but not moving and you can keep an eye on him while you prepare dinner. Good luck--I know it's hard. I am looking forward to the more balanced days ahead too--they will be here before we know it.
All best,
A.

I kept my daughter in a pack n play at that age if I couldn't watch her. It kept her safe and occupied so I could cook dinner, put in a load of laundry, etc. I suggest trying that. In my opinion, 12 months is a little young to be left unsupervised since they are very curious, still unsteady and can get injured often.

Hi K.! Sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice already. Having a pack and play with toys in it so you can keep him safe when you need to cook or clean or use the bathroom will be VERY helpful. There's only so much you can babyproof, and new walkers just fall a lot--so even if you had him in a room with NOTHING, he'd get a head-bonk from the floor. You kind of have to make peace with head bonks for awhile--he'll get more coordinated and get hurt less and less. You have to keep an eagle eye on him for now, and it's a good time to let him learn what things are no-no's. I sometimes let my 11-month-old daughter get right up to something she shouldn't touch and give her a firm "No" and take her away to help her understand what's off-limits. This helped with our son (who's now 3-1/2) for the things we couldn't completely block off, but weren't safe for a toddler. Good luck!

Hello,
I am a mother of three. With my first child I was in the same situation. I put pillows on pillows. Later I found that (within reason) bumps and falls are what helps baby learn when and how to protect their selves. I know we want are children to never go through pain but some lessons are needed so that they are aware of their surroundings. If you constantly keep him from bumps and falls he will need you to do that until he's 18 and probably after. My two youngest seem to be more independent then my oldest. I believe this is because I gave them more freedom to explore. Really that is what baby's whole life is about. Always console him, but he will never learn to get up if you don;t allow him to fall.

It may help to use words to let him know what happened and he can start realizing cause and effect better. "Oops, if you try and stand in the tub it's slippery and you lose your balance and fall." "You were walking too fast and ran into the doorway and hit your head." "Try not to stick your tongue out when you fall, it hurts when you bit it." Kids are smart and this helped my son not repeat accidents and listen well when I would say "If you run near the water on the floor by the dog dish you'll probably fall." He still might do it, but then the next time would consider it. Good luck!

I feel your pain. My son is now 22 months old and seems to hit his head on something every other day. I feel so bad seeing the bruises and lumps on his head and I just can't take all the constant injuries! I don't think you can ever 100% babyproof your house--my son constantly crawls under the dining table and then stands up, bonking his head, or the other day he twirled around in the kitchen and fell against the oven door, banging his head on the corner of the handle and getting a goosehead on his forehead. The only thing I can suggest is making one safe room and putting up another baby gate to keep your son in there in case you have to go to the bathroom, shower, etc. We have one on our son's room so we can put him in there for a few minutes if we have to do something and need to know he's safe as he'd have to try harder to find a way to hurt himself in there!

I probably wouldn't take a shower with him wandering the house alone at that age but kids will bump into things, like walls, and get bruised so it sounds like you have covered the major stuff. Like the other posters said, an exersaucer in the bathroom is good while you take a shower or put him in the crib. My son used to help me cook while I made dinner. I would let him do the veggies and he ate as much frozen veggies as he put in the pot and that kept him occupied for a good while plus he got his veggies:-). Then to keep him out of the way he would wash dishes (plastic cups and bowls in the sink nothing breakable) and he would play with the water. We too couldn't baby proof we had to Shaun-proof the house. He figured out all the baby proofing guards very quickly and still managed his share of bumps and bruises. You can only do so much but just make sure that you do watch them all the time. At least that way you can cut out the very serious accidents though there probably isn't much you can do about bumps and bruises as that just takes practice and experience though it is hard to watch. Good luck.

Sounds like you have a clutz like I did. When my oldest was learning to walk we literally gated him into a carpeted room with the Superyard XLT play yard for kids. They are about $65.00 at Babies R Us or you can purchase them at Petsmart (same gate just one has pictures of kids and the other has pictures of dogs). We strung about 3 sets together and outlined the living area with the couch in it so that we had a place to sit with him. Otherwise he would be black and blue because he was constantly running into things.

With my second who is now 15 months, we just put up two baby gates and some foam mats over the hard wood floors where he had access. He still had his share of bumps but isn't nearly as clutzy as my now 3 and 1/2 year old.

I think some kids just pick up the whole balancing thing sooner than others. Be wary though, no matter what you do they always have bruises at this age somewhere.

Dear K.,

Just to help you feel better, I'll tell you of my daughter's klutiness. She gets out-of-balance when she has a growth spurt. When she was about 3, I was in the same room with her but looked away for a billionth of a second to turn off the light, and she managed to fall into the table she was standing next to. She wasn't walking around, she just fell into the table.

She hasn't gotten a lot of boo boos, but she manages to get them at interesting times, like falling on her mouth and cutting her lip the day before a doctor's appointment (she was crawling at the time), or she mangaged to fall onto a tooth just as it was erupting (don't ask me how, and I saw it). I think she delayed walking because she decided she could crawl from the sofa to the coffee table across thin air (I was nearby for that one, too). When I was a kid furniture would bump into me on purpose, so I was covered with bruises. It just comes with the territory.

Hope this helps.

Hang in there.....He's only been walking for 3 weeks now....It'll take some time before he's not crashing multiple times a day. My son's been walking for over a month now and is MUCH more stable but still crashes and burns everyonce in a while. As long as the major bases are covered ie., stair gates etc, you've done all you can. Go ahead and let him get his "badges of courage" :-)

It sounds like you've done enough to me. (We never even babyproofed our house with our first child because she knew how to go up and down stairs before she could walk and listened well when we told her "no" to certain things. With two in the house, it's a different story and we have started installing the dreaded gates, etc.) You have to realize that kids are going to get hurt no matter what. I have girls and they both are scraped and bruised all the time becuase they are so active. As long as you protect him from the "major" injuries, you'll just have to learn to live with some of the minor ones. Good luck.

You said it you can't watch him every minute. Kids will hurt themselfs even if you put foam rubber on every edge in the house. What I suggest is got get a couple of bags of frozen peas and lable them " ICE PACK" so when Junior has a bump you have a nice inexpensive ice pack what will make his bump feel better.

Bumps and bruises will happen, especially the 2-3 months after they first take their steps. However, you DO have to watch him all the time!!

I think about where I spend the most time - our kitchen-family room-laudry room area. My baby has freedom in there as long as I don't have boiling pots on the stove. It is childproofed, and I can see her completely. If there are hot pots, I put her in the highchair. She comes in the bathroom with me, and I tell her to sit and give her a toy. At 12 months I would plop her in the crib with safe and non-climb-able toys. I shower during naps or before my husband leaves for work. IF I have to shower while she is up, she goes in the exersauser or crib, even if she screams for the 2.5 minutes I take in the shower in those situations. Sometimes, they have to cry, if it measn they are safe.

I want to say it gets easier, but I am not sure that is true. They get better about not falling, but they discover new tricks - climbing, opening doors, etc. You jus thave to stay one step ahead. ut unfortunately you DO have to be ever-present, he has to be with you all the time. It is frustrating to have stop doing dishes 10 times because the baby diasappears around a corner or starts climbing on the ocuch, but that is just how it is.

Good luck! I have a 5 year old and a toddler. Around 2 1/2 it is a little easier - they can watch Seseme Street - It is amazing how much you can do in an hour of Seseme Street!!!

I would suggest also if you have a flat screen to make sure it is secured. I just bought an attachment for my wall so that mine can be secure. My daughter is 2. You never know what they will get into with your back turned. Good Luck

Babies just learning to walk are going to be banged up and bruised for a few months. Even older toddlers who have walking experience will be bruised up if they like to take chances. My son is a daredevil so I've just had to learn too live with it. He will eventually learn what he can and can't do. It is all a learning experience for him.

Ok well I just want to say things happen and they happen more often they are this age. Because walking has just happened and they finally realized they can actually go around and do what they want. There really isn't anything more you can do. Actually with my daughter I didn't even do that much. We got locks for our cabinets but with in a week she knew how to open them. We didn't use a gate at the bottom of the stairs she climbed one time and fell down about 2 steps and never did it again. We did put on at the top of the stairs but we didn't spent alot of time up there so we didn't use it often. I don't believe in childproofing much. I teach them not to touch things. You can teach most things with out damaging with out blocking them. I kept her away from the out lits. I kept her from the trash by slapping her hand if she got into it and saying "NO" if she went to the out lits i did the same. I kept a close eye until I knew she wouldn't. Most things it's just easier teaching than blocking. As far as falling there is nothing you can do. My brother had a bruise on his for head until he was 2yrs old...lol My mom tells us about it all the time. Good luck

You can't protect them from everything. I worry more about a child without bumps, bruises and scrapes than one with them.

Maybe I am reading your post wrong, but I hope you don't let him roam the house while you shower. I only shower when someone else is home or when my son is in his crib sleeping.

How about a play pen - there are a lot of structures - safe ones - to compare. This way you can keep him closed in a safe environment with his toys and play items, knowing he is safe while you must attend to other responsibilities. Some of these structures come with fun activities on them - mirrors, ball chasers, knobs, shapes...all age appropriate, safe fun for your son.

Unfortunately, bumps and bruises come with the territory with a toddler. Sounds like you've done a good job of baby-proofing. If it's any consolation, I'm not sure my daughter's been without a bruise or scratch of some description since she started walking almost 4 months ago.