Should baby learn not to touch things or should i babyproof house?

Question

baby is learning to crawl & i've been thinking about babyproofing the house. Isn't it better for baby to learn he can't touch things or am i being naive? I know some people don't bother with stair guards etc . . . .

Answer 1

this is one of those questions...

on one hand, it is good for the baby to learn for themselves about certain things, otherwise, they'll be the ones growing up naive, however, anything that could potentially be deadly should definitely be taken out of their environment. electrical outlets should be covered, poisons taken out of their reach, televisions placed on level, sturdy surfaces large enough to prevent tipping, any heavy furniture secured, etc. the stairs aren't that much of a concern at the moment, as they won't be climbing more than a step or two. on the other hand, stairs leading to a lower floor should be secured, a tumble all the way down the stairs could kill.

Take time to really consider the weight of your baby, and their mobility. If there's a possibility the baby can get to something, likely he or she will, and will very likely put all of his/her weight on it. push on all surfaces and consider the consequences of baby putting his/her weight on those surfaces. if it could turn out bad, fix the situation, if not, don't worry about it.

Answer 2

The main things that you need to prevent against are: falling down the stairs and out of windows, sticking things into electrical sockets and swallowing or choking on little things that are found around the house. You also need to make sure that once the baby is a toddler, that he can't wander out into the street or near roads.

Never leave a child unnattended in the bath - that's common sense I guess, but people still do it.

Make sure that tablets and other meds are locked up or kept well out of the way.

Pen tops can also be a hazard.

I've got two kids and I encouraged them not to touch things and they caught on very quickly.

I have banned balloons and elastic bands and I vacuum up twice a day to make sure that there's no little, tiny things lying around. I removed the stair gates as soon as they could get up and down stairs without falling and I make sure that he can't get anywhere near anything hot - stove, kettle and iron.

I have two sons - one aged 8 and the other 2.5

A safe environment is wise, but there's no need to become paranoid.

I would say that the pets get into more trouble with safety issues than the kids!

Answer 3

You babyproof for the big stuff -- stairs, electrical outlets, window cords. This is the stuff that doesn't give second chances.

You won't be able to babyproof everything. There will be plenty of stuff to still teach the baby even after you babyproof the really important things.

Answer 4

When you are pretty certain that you've baby proofed the house pretty well., get someone (your mum) for example to go through and have a look. Sometimes you might miss something or there will be something you never thought of, and they will know from experience and point it out to you. You have the main things covered between what you and other answerers have written. I recently baby proofed my house and it was the next time my mum came over she pointed out our dvd stand was fairly light and she could easily pull it down on top of herself - I'd never thought of it it's a piece of furniture to us so wasn't at all what I was looking at. I also think it's important to make sure that you have plenty of things at her height that she is allowed to touch nd play with as there are some thing (such as cords) that she isn't and if there are plenty of substitutes you can offer I think she will be happier to accept when you say no to something (eg no you can't play with that cord, but would you like to look at this dvd cover intead for example). Even if you were able to turn the house into a padded cell, the most important thing is supervision and positive reinforcement is great too in my opinion. Make sure too that you are looking at everytbhing that is not only at floor level but the heighest level she could reach if she were standing up and reaching up, as it's not a big jump from crawling to pulling herself up on furniture eg coffee tables any dangling cords etc etc

Answer 5

Babyproofing is most important. Babies are naturally curious and it would be bad to discourage that. You should point out what not to touch but don't stop a baby from exploring, that is how they learn about the world.

Answer 6

I would say do both. Our son was tought from very early on what he could and couldn't touch and knew from a very young age what the word "NO" meant. He didn't like it much but it worked. He's 15 months old now and still knows what "NO" means but he pushes it. I guess he's testing us and finding out what will happen if he carries on. Best to do both because you never know with little ones. We haven't got stair gates yet and our son has been walking for 2 months now. When we are in the front room he knows he is not allowed to walk into the kitchen (which is the next room on). If he walks towards the door we say "NO" and he turns around and comes back. I guess when he thinks "I'm not going to listen to you any more" and he does what he wants then that's when accidents can happen and the kitchen is a dangerous place for little ones, so it's best to do both, because if one fails then there's always the other.

Answer 7

In my opinion you are right to teach baby to respond to a 'no' or not be allowed to touch or play with anything and everything.......

what happens when you got and visit someone else's house, or are out and about somewhere.... that place won't be baby proof........

you can't wrap them in cotton wool forever and they have to learn that certain actions have consequences.

But I'd think being sensible would also be a good idea, in case of real danger..... for example a fire guard round a fire, or not leaving medicines around for baby to get hold of and put in their mouth.

So, I guess, a bit of both.

You'll do fine, you aren't naive, and seem to have a lot of common sense, which isn't always as common as it ought to be.................. lol

Answer 8

Babyproof the house for a little longer. Baby just learning to crawl is too young to understand about not touching. Easiest and less stressful for you both to move as many things away from child as you can.

Answer 9

My philosophy is, if you are going to be CRUSHED if something gets broken, then baby proof it. If baby can actually get really hurt then baby proof.

At our house the stairs to the basement were always blocked. The single step to the living room? We called that the learning step. Baby falls down the stairs – gets hurt really really bad. Baby falls into the living room – will cry if someone’s looking.

It is also a good idea to not baby proof everything otherwise you will not have any opportunity to teach your child that some things are okay to touch and some things aren’t. Otherwise, if you go to a friend’s house and it’s not baby proofed, you’ll have to teach at your friend’s house.

Answer 10

You definitely need to baby-proof your house because at this point, your baby isn't old enough to learn not to touch things or climb stairs, etc. The fact is that you can't watch your baby 100% of the time and you don't want him/her to stick something into an outlet or break something made of glass and cut him/herself or fall from someplace high during that second that you aren't watching. Babies have a knack for getting into something dangerous in that split second that you are distracted by the phone ringing or something like that.