[blparent] Childproofing Recommendations?

Sat Oct 16 15:12:49 UTC 2010

Hi Leanne,
Thanks so much! We have a toilet lock we plan to get. 
We also will put a gate in our kitchen doorway, and our bathroom is right off the kitchen. We can't close our bathroom door unless we want kitty accidents, because the 2 cats can't get to their litter box. ;-)
The agency isn't concerned with every little thing, just as long as the home is generally safe. Our caseworker actually said to be careful as to how "childproofed" our home is, because we may look too caucious and we may overimpress them in a way.

We plan to put our meds in a locked tackle box in the locked bathroom cabinet, and the cleaning supplies would also be in a locked cabinet.
I'm looking into the outlet covers and gate you mentioned today!
Where did you get the door alarm? What door(s) do you use it on at home (if you do)?
Thanks again for everything, and have a great weekend!

In Christ, Miranda

-----Original Message-----
From: Leanne Merren <leemer02 at gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2010 8:42 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Childproofing Recommendations?

Miranda,
I think a lot of the safety locks and plug covers are made by Safety 1st. 
We have an expandable swinging gate by First Years I think?  It has served 
us well.  You have to slide back a switch and lift up on the handle on top 
to open it, so the baby can't do it, even now at age 2 1/2.  It also doesn't 
have any grooves in the plastic so they can't climb it very easily.  Unless 
they're bigger, of course.  You may want to look into a lock for the toilet, 
as they will probably be concerned about the danger of water.  I personally 
keep the bathroom door closed at all times with a little one in the house, 
but as you said, you're going for impression on the agency.  I like Dena's 
idea of a padlocked cabinet or container for cleaning supplies.  I keep mine 
in a very high cupboard where small children can't possibly reach them.  I 
also keep medications in a basket up in my hall closet, as opposed to 
putting them in my medicine cabinet, where kids can climb on the sink to 
reach them.  Same with razors, soaps, first aid supplies, and anything else 
that could potentially be dangerous.  I have my tall book shelf bolted to 
the wall.  Climbing is a big safety hazzard, so you want to pay attention to 
how secure your furniture is.  Many children have been killed by dressers 
and shelves falling on them.  For any doors you don't want opened that can't 
be locked somehow, you could use alarms that make noise when they are 
opened.  We have that on the fire exit door in our church's nursery so the 
kids don't escape.  It makes a sound like a door bell, so we know if a child 
is opening the door when we're not paying attention to that area.  Toddlers 
are crafty little people. *smile*
If I find any of my stuff here that I'm not using, I will let you know.
Leanne
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dena Wainwright" <dena at envogueaccess.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 7:11 PM
Subject: Re: [blparent] Childproofing Recommendations?

> My favorite pressure mounted gates are by North State Industries. We love 
> them. They magnetically close, are hard to open because they require 2 
> motions at the same time, are strong, and were very easy for my 
> non-handy-man husband to install. The child locks have honestly been a 
> total waste of money. I use hair ties, those locking straps with sticky 
> backs (in certain places), and the very occasional child lock. The locks 
> tend not to stay shut if the door shifts easily. The best advice I can 
> give you is if it is within your child's reach, it shouldn't be dangerous. 
> All child proofing mechanisms are prone to error. We have a big container 
> (like a Rubber Made). It has a pad lock on it, and it keeps all the 
> dangerous chemicals in the house. We changed door knobs on the more 
> dangerous rooms of our house (maintenance room with hot water heater, 
> exercise area with equipment) and replaced them with knobs with locks. We 
> have also just restricted certain areas of the house, because they are not 
> possible to baby proof. E.g., the office. You can't baby proof a printer 
> or computer, no matter how hard you try. My other piece of advice would be 
> to have at least one totally baby proofed area in your home. This is a 
> room where it is absolutely impossible for your child to damage himself: 
> everything locked down, bolted to walls, padded, etc. There are times when 
> you absolutely need a safe place to leave your child for a few minutes 
> without supervision. If you don't have this, you'll likely lose your mind. 
> Also, a lot of what you'll need to do will depend on the personality of 
> your child. Our daughter is a climber, so we have to do things that other 
> parents without climbers might not have to do. Conversely, she has no 
> interest in playing with outlets (thus far), so we haven't had to do as 
> much with cords and plugs as someone else might.
>
> Dena
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Miranda" <knownoflove at gmail.com>
> To: <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 11:24 AM
> Subject: [blparent] Childproofing Recommendations?
>
>
>> Hi,
>> Sorry if I am posting this a second time, but I didn't see my message 
>> come through earlier this morning.
>>
>> I know we've discussed childproofing before. I am wondering if any of you 
>> could provide recommendation on the brands/models of the following:
>> 1. Outlet covers
>> 2. Safety gates (both hardware and pressure mounted
>> 3. Cabinet and drawer locks
>> Also, if you have any other recommendations and/or suggestions, please 
>> feel free to pass them along.
>> Thanks, and have a great weekend!
>>
>> In Christ, Miranda
>>
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>
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