[clrw]

We have lift off! It's time to baby proof. DS is 11 months old

We will remove what we can and fence some areas off. What I'm more curious about is keeping babies away from things you can't remove. Currently the heater and DVD player are the favourites.

Do you give a firm no or scold or do you just pick them up and move them away without saying anything? I feel like I'm spending all day trying to get him away from them....

[Jenflea]

Block them off so he can't get to them. Get those things to lock the front so he can't put things in the players.
I bought a 6 sided play pen and set 3 of them in front of the entertainment unit so my daughter couldn't get to the stuff there.
Buy a thing to fasten the flat tv to the wall as they are VERY easy to pull over onto a child.

[SierraX]

Distraction is the key. I remove my DS from the situation and give him something else to play with but inevitably he will come back to whatever it is you don't want him playing with.

You really need to stop him from accessing everything at this stage. Get those baby fence/gates that can be adjusted to fit around the heaters. I have seen plastic panels you can fit to your DVD players to stop them getting in ere too. My DH ended up fashioning a similar thing from sheets of Perspex which we put in our entertainment unit and bookcases.

[meggs1]

I have the whole TV stand (with the wireless modem etc) inside a playpen.

You can get boxes to put around powerboards so they can't get at the plugs.

[Lil Chickens]

I got a six sided playpen - 3 went around our very wide hearth for our wood heater to keep them right away.

The other three block them access from the entertainment unit. DS just learned how to pull it away so he can get in and pull out all the DVDs!

[Ehill]

Hi clrw, yes I can relate......DS is off like a rocket now! Tbh i just find doors the best thing. Keep him confined to a main room, keep it kiddy friendly and the block off other rooms so you dont have to babyproof everything. We did put in our stairgates this weekend!

In our house the kitchen, casual living is all 1 room. Most of the toys are in there and stuff to keep him busy. Only a small TV kept up high, no sharp edges on anything and then the kitchen. In the kitchen stuff like dishwasher tablets, flyspray etc is all now high up. I purposefully put plastics on lower shelves, saucepans and even have a special cupboard with all the kids crockery and lunchboxes. I dont want him to be unable to get into everything, he needs to explore (I hate those kitchen latches) so he thinks he is really clever by finding the plastic stuff (I purposefully leave it half open while I am cooking) and he pulls it out on the floor, clanging a few bits and pieces if he can. Pretty much in that whole area he cant get into a whole lot of trouble. The rest of the house, well yes it isnt completely babyproof but I keep doors shut.

I find it good to babyproof your ensuite bathroom to as he often plays in there while I shower. Makeup is a MAGNET to babies! My bedroom i am always there so not so important.

[Runnercoz]

Am loving these ideas does anyone have any idea on what to do with a dogs bowl of water??? Short of getting rid of it, I'm all out of ideas on how to stop my boy getting into it. I've been able to distract him from it but he's getting more and more interested!

[~ky~]

Relocate the dogs water.

[Codswallop]

I went the other way and changed nothing (apart from poisons!) I trained my daughter what she can and can't touch as I didn't want to go to childless friends home and have a panic attack that she would damage everything. She is now 3.5 years and so far has not broken anything, tried to put anything in the dvd or stereo, drawn on walls, fallen down stairs or generally caused any chaos! Maybe this is because she is a girl (friends say boys are more damaging!) or my vigilance in the early days, but so far so good and a house not built like a giant playpen!

[meggs1]

I went the other way and changed nothing (apart from poisons!) I trained my daughter what she can and can't touch as I didn't want to go to childless friends home and have a panic attack that she would damage everything. She is now 3.5 years and so far has not broken anything, tried to put anything in the dvd or stereo, drawn on walls, fallen down stairs or generally caused any chaos! Maybe this is because she is a girl (friends say boys are more damaging!) or my vigilance in the early days, but so far so good and a house not built like a giant playpen!

My son pulled down and broke a huge standing lamp and then pulled down the TV within 20 minutes on his very first day of crawling

I have the cat's water and food inside the kitchen which is babygated. I figure poor kitty should be able to eat in peace.

You can get a thing from bunnings to keep the toilet closed. DS's new favourite game is dropping things in.