Childproofing Must-Haves from Mom's Milk Boutique

Once your little one starts moving around, you’ll need to begin the process of baby proofing. You’ll first want to make sure you get the dangerous things off of baby’s level. Since baby won’t start off being super great at moving around, you’ll be able to baby proof in stages. Grab a starter kit, or go for some specific purchases for your needs as time goes on. 

Outlet Covers
As soon as your little one gains enough independence to be curious, you’ll probably want to start the process of covering your outlets. Start in the rooms your baby spends a lot of time in and work your way out as much as you need. The nice thing is that outlet covers are cheap and very helpful. 

Toilet Lock
Eventually you’ll want to protect your toilets from your toddlers and preschoolers. We were able to just close our bathroom door for quite a while. It will be awhile before your little can navigate the toilet lid, so this is a much later choice, but you’ve got some time. You may need to eventually consider lockingyour toilet. 

Cabinets and Drawers
The next thing you’ll have to do is figure out how you’re going to protect your cabinets from your little’s curiosity. There are lots of different cabinet and drawer closing options. We found that I was able to lock most of our cabinets with elastic hair ties. For the others, we grabbed some of these. Do a little research on the cabinet locks to make sure they’ll fit your cabinet handles properly, or you’ll be sad.

One thing we decided to do when my little was small was to fill one drawer with items my girl was allowed to get out and use. I taught her that she was allowed to get into that drawer, but not the others, they weren’t hers. She used it quite a lot for a few months, but now that she’s two she doesn’t get into it often anymore.

Furniture corners
Once your little is walking and bopping around you’ll need to make sure your furniture is properly guarded. Most of my furniture has rounded edges, but I’ve got one shelf that my girl’s just gotten tall enough to hit her head on it, which she did just the other day. I’m going to grab some foam cornersto stop that problem.

Baby proofing is just another step in parenting, and the nice thing is that you’re not going to need to lock your cabinets and guard the corners forever. Celebrate your baby’s independence and

Jenny Ditch lives with her husband and toddler in Illinois and is glad to live in an era with baby safety