What are the easiest things to overlook while babyproofing a house?

Question

My husband and I did the obvious, electrical cords and outlets, tethered furniture to the wall, safety gates at stairs, bathroom door closed. Have any of you overlooked something that caused a scare?

Wow, thanks for the great replies!

Yes, we did the cabinets and the fridge.
We did the blinds and oddly enough, all of our furniture has rounded edges.

The front door!! Right! I used to escape on a daily basis. My mom said that the mailman used to pick me up every day!

Answer 1

aside from all the other things you've done...
Make sure pot handles are turned in on the stove because they can reach up and pull on them.
NEVER leave a hot cup of coffee or your dinner plates with utensils on the table. I left a mug of tea (thank god it was cold), and my son immediately pulled it.
Don't have table cloths on your tables. They pull on the edge and down comes everything that was on the table.
Make sure your garbage can is weighed down and can't be opened easily.
Nothing around the crib they can grab onto... like the wire from the video monitor.
Don't leave magnets on the fridge where they can grab them (unless you're sure they can't fit it in their mouth)
If you have baseboard heating... make sure there are no sharp edges or that they can't easily get to the heating element inside.
...and finally, if you live in the suburbs, you'll have plenty of bugs in and around the house. It's amazing how quickly they'll pick one up and shove it in their mouth.

Answer 2

The one thing I missed was the corners of coffee and end tables. My eldest son, now 8, stumbled when he was learning to walk and fell into the corner of an end table. He ended up with a gash on his forehead that could have required stitches (they used medical super glue instead). Now he doesn't need makeup to dress up like Harry Potter.

The other thing was that when he was 3 he figured out how to unlock the front door and escape. He got out while we were all asleep and we didn't know he was gone for 2 hours (he got out at 6 am). Make sure you have a deadbolt that requires a key on both sides. Don't use a chain. You'd be surprised what a little kid can squeeze thru when they want to.

Answer 3

We didn't have a problem with it but something you may have missed is turning down your hot water heater. It is way to easy for an older sibling or even a distracted parent to put the baby in too hot water. Also when the child gets a bit older, he could just as easily turn on the hot water. Another important safety tip? Always cook on the back burners on your stove if possible and turn the pan so that the handles are facing in toward the stove and back. This way no one walking by the stove will catch the handle by accident. Hope this helps :)

Answer 4

a million. Curtains. there is continuously a nosy neighbor. rather once you're shifting in. 2. each little thing that you'll favor on your children, %. on your automobile or someplace the position that is in the present day accessible. the most stressful component may be to have them whining and crying for some thing and function no theory what field that is in. So get out the toys, diapers, books, substitute of clothing, videos, dvd participant, or perhaps a television. 3. in case you'll get interior your knew position an afternoon before to sparkling and disinfect each little thing, that could be triumphant. also, in case you'll paint, and may a minimum of get their rooms painted before you bypass some thing into it, it will be a existence saver. 4. be sure you've each little thing grew to develop into on before you get there. electric powered, gas, water, and CABLE! 5. bathroom Paper... no man or woman must be interior the midst of the bypass, truly favor to bypass to the bathroom, and there is no bathroom paper interior the recent position.

Answer 5

You'll have to be careful that there are no strings of any kind hanging around. It is very easy for babies to get tangled and choke on even a short piece of string. Have you baby proofed your oven? There are things you can buy to prevent babies from being able to open the oven door. If you like leaving your windows open to let the breeze in, you'll have to make sure that you have a window guard.

Answer 6

If you have any table with sharp, squared edges (coffee table, dining room table, etc.) you can get padded corner things for them so that when your baby starts to crawl and pull herself up to a standing position, if she stumbles, she won't smack her face/head on a sharp corner.

Also, if your entertainment center/tv stand has doors on it with handles, get something to tether them shut...once your baby starts crawling, all the DVDs and VHS tapes will be the BEST toys in the world, and you'll end up picking them up and reorganizing them many times a day. :)

Oh, and don't forget the lid lock for the toilet. LOL

Answer 7

if you have a coffee table or any low table, make sure there is nothing that the baby can grab and pull off. once they get a little older they will surprise you with just how high they can reach so if the table is 2 ft tall or shorter, be careful what you put on it. also if you have curtains, long ones in particular make sure that they are on a strong support pole so the baby doesnt pull them down.

Answer 8

One thing that we overlooked was our coffee table. It had round edges so we weren't too concerned. She was very soon able to climb up on top of the thing and it had glass inserts in it. We got rid of it because I was afraid she was going to fall through them.

Also she got really good about going out the doggy door. And my cell phone took a bath in the dog's water.

Answer 9

The easiest thing to overlook......the little caps on the ends of the door-stops. My daughter found that those doorstop springs make the best "boing" sound when she pulls them and lets go. Then she found out that the little whilte caps come off....and I caught one in her mouth. I NEVER would have thought of babyproofing those!

Answer 10

My daughter is 16 months old now and I am finding out all the stuff I didnt baby proof everyday. first of all Ive seen on the news that in the past month 2 babies have been killed from the tv falling on them when the pull up on the entertainment center.
I dont have that problem but one time when she was congested during dec we had a small blanket in crib with her so she would stay warm and she would rub her nose on bed all night because her nose itched well that night she kept doing it I guess my husband went to check on her and she had wrapped the blanket around her head he took it off and she was purple her eyes were rolled back she almost died. It was so scary. we are first time parents so were are learning as we go. so its a good idea not to use blankets pillows stuffed animals or anything like that in the bed with baby. also another thing I learned is she climbs alot so make sure if its something they climb on everything that is dangerous is out of reach. I try not to let her climb but sometimes at night she tries to climb out of crib or during her nap time she tries to climb out of her pack n play. she will also take toys and try to stand on them to reach thing that are out of reach. but other than that it sounds like everything is covered from your discription. hope you get lots of helpful advice