I'm on to the next wave of child proofing.
The one that includes light switches that are easily accessible and shouldn't be... like the one that works the light at the bottom of the deep end of the pool which would be a BEAR to have to replace... but is left on regularly by fun little fingers that want to turn on every light switch available.
It also includes restricting access to our laundry room area which includes our actual laundry room that doubles as a storage pantry and the adjoining "office" which houses every piece of clothing that any of our children own. It is too-frequently turned in to a beauty fashion show by two curious little girls... one of whom can now work even the child proof door knob covers.
Another room of restricted-access will be our bedroom, which, with its close proximity to the front door, tends to be where everyone decides to venture whenever they're sent toward the front door to get ready to leave the house. With its lever-style handle, even the "least OT skilled" of my children can figure out how to get in to our room, find something, anything really, that they shouldn't have, and either hide/destroy/ or eat it before I realize they've gone in. The computer button is another favorite, since its glowing blue light just BEGS to be pressed...
Our next round of childproofing includes even more bi-fold door locks because I somehow overlooked the linen closets when ordering our first round... and today after finishing putting sheets on 8 little beds... we found a nice "surprise" when we realized the kids had gone behind us and "helped" us distribute the rest of the contents of the linen closet into the beds that we'd already made. That means I got to fold not only all of the sheets which didn't have enough time to go all the way through the wash therefore were replaced by clean and previously-folded sheets... but also every other linen in the closet. Towels too! :)
And last, but certainly not least, a way to lock our sliding glass doors OPEN so that while the kids are playing in our play room (a large enclosed porch), they cannot slam the glass doors shut on theirs or anyone else's fingers.
Can you tell some of the things that we've been in to the last few days?? :)
What are some baby proofing things that you've either come up with or purchased which help your house run a little smoother and help you keep the sanity a little longer by not having to worry about danger or destruction coming to your child (or your household!).
I just bought door chimes/alarms.At walmart 2 for 9.95.Theyre awesome,everytime the door is opened it alarms and i am alerted :)
ReplyDeleteFor interior doors, I ended up putting locking doorknobs on the doors (the kind that have a hole in them so that they can be unlocked by a nail)....... then I had a wooden heart with a nail in the side of it..... hung above the door (at the ceiling level) on a retractible dog leash..... so that it was ALWAYS available (i.e. pull heart down.... unlock door, then it retracts back to its resting place at the ceiling level) (in the event that the door got left unlocked and SOMEONE who wasn't supposed to, went in and locked the door). Actually, many of our interior doors were in a hallway and could be reached by a single "leashed" heart/nail. :) email me if that doesn't make sense. lakesmit AT gmail DOT com
ReplyDeleteFor locking your sliding glass door OPEN, try getting a wooden broom stick/handle and cutting off the broom part. (Or get a really thick wooden dowel.) Lay the wooden dowel/broom stick next to the sliding glass door while the door is open to measure what length you will need. You're going to cut the dowel to fit into the track of the sliding glass door, between the portion where it closes and the portion where it rests when it's open. Then, when you open the door and want to lock it OPEN, lay the dowel in the door track, and it will act as a bumper/block that will prevent the door from closing. However, I don't have a trick to keep little hands from picking up the dowel and using it as a sword, then slamming someone's fingers in the door after they've bopped their sibling with the broom stick! :-)
ReplyDeleteCould you use something like this for the sliding door?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=127764&parentCategoryId=85183&categoryId=85216
Or this for you bedroom door?
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=534469&parentCategoryId=85183&categoryId=85216
Saw a neat idea on locking sliding doors the other day while I was at a house showing. They have 2 children with autism that they don't want to have sliding door access to the pool so they had put one of the suspension shower curtain rods up at the top of the door. That way the kids could not reach it to remove it and slide the door.
ReplyDelete