When I was pregnant with my first baby, one of the big things I worried about was how to make sure our house was completely baby proofed and safe for our new baby. As a first time mom who hadn’t really ever been around babies before, I wanted to make sure to keep my baby safe from any and all hazards that could arise. Once she was born, I wondered how much of this babyproofing was really necessary. I guess I was just blessed with an easy baby the first time around. Now that I have twins, I know that the more you baby proof your home, the easier your life will be (and the safer for your babies too!)
Read on to learn about the most useful baby proofing items that you can get for your home.
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Baby Proofing Must Have #1 – Cabinet Slide Locks
Cabinet slide locks are one of my most favorite baby proofing items. These are cheap to buy and super easy to use. They can be used on any type of two door style cabinet, with a wide variety of handle styles. Simply slide the lock over (or through) the handles, and slide the lock to secure them shut. These are great to keep your baby out of all the lower cabinets that you don’t want them to get into – in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and even entertainment centers. What’s great about these is that you don’t need to install them, and they come off easily when you need to use the cabinet.
In places such as kitchen cabinets, where the contents aren’t necessarily dangerous and just more of a nuisance for my babies to get into, I leave them hanging on one handle and only engage the lock when the babies are in there with me. This makes life so much simpler. You definitely need a couple packs of these!
Baby Proofing Item #2 – Drawer and Cabinet Latches
Unlike the simple and awesome slide locks mentioned above, cabinet latches are a bit more difficult to install. Some can be done with double sided adhesive, and some install with screws (these are the kind we have). If you have drawers and lower cabinets with single doors, you are going to need several of these.
For drawers, you install one piece on the drawer itself and one on the cabinet. These latches make it so that a baby cannot open the drawer. If they try to pull it open, it will only open about an inch before it catches. Be careful not to store anything dangerous in these drawers, such as scissors or knives, as small baby hands can still fit inside. These are more to keep your baby from pulling things out and making a huge mess.
These also work for single door cabinets. Attach it at the top of the cabinet to keep your child from opening it more than an inch. If you don’t like those cabinet slide locks, you can use these on two door cabinets as well and just put one on each door.
For must have newborn essentials, click here!
Toilet Locks!
This is a baby proofing item that I never needed or even thought of with my first baby. Even when she was in the bathroom with me, she never seemed that curious about the toilet. When she wasn’t in there with me, I had other ways of keeping her out of the bathroom (see below).
Then came the twins, and for some reason, they are both FASCINATED with the toilet. They love to open and close the lid, try to flush it and pull the toilet paper off the roll. Worst of all, they like to drop things in the toilet and then reach in to get them out. It’s hard to keep them out of the bathrooms completely because of the way the doors are in our house – and sometimes they need to be in there with me while I get ready. At first I tried putting heavier items like the bathroom scale on the lid, but that only worked for so long (until they started pulling these things off the toilet and posing a danger to themselves). I had to find a better solution.
Eventually I ended up getting these outsmart toilet locks from Safety First. They are a life saver! And the best part is, they are a breeze to install. Just peel off the backing and stick one side to the bowl and the other to the lid. They even have a decoy button. And they aren’t too difficult for older kids who actually just want to use the toilet to unhook.
Babyproofing Must Have # 4 – Door Knob Safety Covers
If you have regular knobs on your doors, this babyproofing step is a cinch. Just get a bunch of doorknob covers and snap them over your regular knobs to keep toddlers from opening doors to bathrooms, basements, even doors to get outside.
These are simple to install because they really do just snap right over your regular doorknobs. I have found some to be a bit loose and not stay on, so make sure they are snapped on good and tight. They make it so small hands won’t be able to open any doors you don’t want them to open, but allow older children and adults to turn the knobs easily enough. Just don’t forget to completely shut doors to rooms that are off limits (and remind your older children to do the same.)
If you have the kind of lever handles we have in our house, they make covers for those too. I haven’t needed to purchase any yet because our babies can’t reach the handles. If it becomes a problem when they get bigger, I plan to purchase something like this.
Outlet Plug Covers – Baby Proofing Item # 5
This one is a given that I’m sure most people have seen already, but they still deserve a mention. Modern homes have SO MANY outlets. Luckily these are very inexpensive so you can buy a whole bunch. Get extras to bring if you go on vacation to plug up outlets in the hotel room or rental property as well!
These tend to go missing easily, especially if you need to remove them often to actually plug something into the outlet. I really do stress getting a lot more of these than you actually need.
Outlet Covers for Outlets You Have Things Plugged Into
Those little plug protectors are great and very necessary, but what about the outlets that you actually need to leave things plugged into? Little cords for lamps and appliances can be pulled out easily. Luckily they make covers that you can install over the outlets to cover the plugs so they can’t be pulled out.
These come in two pieces. The first piece you screw right over your existing outlet (using the tiny little screw that should already be in place). Then you plug in your lamp or appliance and snap the outer cover over it. Now it would be virtually impossible for a baby or small child to get this cover off and access the cord.
Safety Gates
Safety gates may be a bit annoying to have in your home, but with young, inquisitive toddlers, they are a baby proofing necessity. Especially if you have a home with stairs, you will need a gate at the top and bottom. You will also probably want to gate off one room to be designated as the “safe” room so that you have somewhere your kids can play safely and be left alone for a few minutes, such as when you need to run to the bathroom or answer the door. Having at least one completely baby proofed room in your home will make your life so much easier, I promise!
Safety gates come in all shapes and sizes. The pressure gates that you can set up in an instant are great for temporarily gating off an area. They aren’t so good when toddlers begin to get curious and try to climb them! For a more permanent solution, I suggest getting the kind with a door that opens and shuts, so you aren’t constantly taking down or stepping over a gate. These come in both pressure mounted or fully installable types – so choose whatever is best for your home.
Large Play Yard – Baby Proofing Must Have #8
Yet another item that I didn’t need when I had just one baby to care for. With my first, a baby proofed room was enough. I brought her with me around the house to various rooms throughout the day, and if the room wasn’t totally baby proofed, that was ok. I was able to watch her the whole time anyway.
When I had twins, I learned this was not enough. Once the twins were old enough to roll around and pick things up with their hands, it wasn’t safe to leave them alone in the play room, even for a minute. Especially since my older daughter has lots of toys with small parts – I needed a solution that worked to keep the babies safe while still allowing my older child to play with her toys.
I will never regret purchasing a large play yard like this for my twins. It was big enough for them to roll around and eventually crawl, play with toys, and explore, but small enough to fit in our play room. Adults could fit inside as well with plenty of room to play with the babies, and it could be adjusted in many different ways. This is a wonderful item for any baby, but especially with twins, or if you have older children, this is a baby proofing must have you should definitely check out!
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Now that my babies have outgrown it, we still use it! Now, instead of using it to keep the twins in, we use it to keep them away from my older daughter’s toys. We set it up in the corner of the room and keep her Barbie house and various other toys with small parts in the play yard. She can go inside it to play but still be in the same room. It’s really a great and versatile product!
Anti Choking Device
Ok – I have to admit, I’ve never actually USED this item. Hopefully I’ll never need to. I will also admit I had never even heard of this before I saw it on a Facebook ad. Perhaps you’ve seen it too. I have no proof that this actually works, but I feel safer having it in the house. Choking has been one of my biggest worries with babies and small children. So even though this isn’t necessaryily a baby proofing item, it’s a baby safety item that deserves a mention on this list.
If my baby or child ever starts to choke, I will certainly be calling 911. While I am waiting for help to arrive, I don’t think it can cause any harm to give this simple device a try.
Baby Proofing Must Have #10 – Corner Protectors
These are simple pieces of a stiff foam material that can be put on anything with a sharp edge such as a coffee table, end table or fireplace hearth. You can get just the corner pieces or you can buy enough to cover the entire edge. They go on with a simple double sided tape, so if your little one happens to fall and hit their head, it will soften the blow.
The only drawback to these is that sometimes the tape doesn’t stick that well. My twins LOVED pulling these off the fireplace over and over again. Finally we ended up securing them with a ratchet strap so they can’t pull them off anymore. If that didn’t work, we were going to try superglue next!
I’m sure most homes probably have at least one table or other piece of furniture with sharp edges. Luckily they make such a convenient (if not necessarily cost effective) baby proofing item.
Stove Knob Covers
Do you have the kind of stove where the knobs are on the front and in reach of your child? If so, this is a baby proofing item you really need to get. These work sort of like the door knob covers where they fit right over the existing knob. Since these are for use on a stove, make sure they are top quality and made of heat resistant plastic. Especially if you have a gas stove, this is an important safety item that will keep your whole home safe when you have babies and young children.
Non Slip Tub Mat
This is not only a baby proofing item, it’s something that adults use too. I recommend it for babies if you don’t already have one in your tub, because when they learn to stand up, the tub can be a dangerous place! Having a non slip mat makes it less likely that your baby will fall and get hurt if they try to stand up during bath time.
Even before you ditch the baby bather, this is still a good item to have. Putting it in the tub will keep that baby bathtub from slipping and sliding around while you try to wash your infant. An inexpensive and easy to use item, I recommend you get one for each tub that you plan to bathe your baby in.
That’s my list of the top baby proofing items you should have in your home to keep your babies, toddlers and young children safe! Did I miss anything on this list? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Thank you!
