Today, my son became mobile. He rotated his body 45 degrees in place counter-clockwise in about 15 minutes on his playmat while I was doing laundry. Earlier, he did a 90 degree turn in the time it took me to shower. So, is it time to hire contractors and spend a fortune making my apartment baby-safe? Or should I just put away my dust bunny collection and hide the steak knives?
The answer lies somewhere in the middle. There’s an entire industry born out of some well-meaning parenting advocates who advise you to prepare your house for this stage of baby-hood.
Like most experienced parents, I find it disconcerting when my baby all of a sudden appears in a different place than the place where I put him down. Even if it’s only a change of direction, it’s that first sign that OMG, THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM NOW ON. I distinctly remember parenting my first child, and how excited I was at this turn of events. And then the paranoia set in. I quickly searched online for advice and then made a hasty trip to the store to buy drawer locks, window locks, baby gates, electrical outlet safety covers, and oven locks. Most of which just sat in a bag (except the baby gates) and collected dust because I discovered that I’m not the kind of parent to make my house baby-safe and then leave a mobile baby in a room, alone.
The experts advise fireplace guards! Table bumpers! Covers on all your electrical outlets! Cord shorteners! Furniture straps! Drawer locks! Gates! The case they are making is that your house shouldn’t be a danger zone for a baby. And whereas I agree with this in part, I’m not allowed to put that many holes in my rental home, and I couldn’t afford to make every single corner/drawer/cord/table safe for the little one, who will just as likely trip over his own toes and end up with a banged head anyway. What I can do is be vigilant. And do some basic preparation.
I don’t worry overly much about keeping a spotless house. Crawling babies make good dust mops! But I do try to sweep up the crumbs and dropped food. Hey, I have school-age kids, so my house is NOT clean! I’ll need to do some preparation for my soon-to-be mobile baby. But I’m not freaking out about it. Honestly, unless you store toxic chemicals under the sink, furnish your home with unstable/fragile antique collectibles, or collect glass shards on a low shelf, your baby will be OK with the logical basics of home safety:
- Get a baby gate for the stairs.
- Make sure you have a play yard/playpen/safe place to confine him short-term so you can use the bathroom/answer the phone/make dinner.
- Move the cleaning fluids and medicines to an out of reach cabinet.
- Move anything heavy that could fall over onto a baby who pulls up.
- Make sure the book racks/bureaus are secured to a wall.
- Put the breakables out of reach.
- Locate and put away the choke-ables!
Mobile babies find all kinds of things to get into. So, make it safe for him to explore. I can’t stress enough that the BEST LINE OF DEFENSE is to be vigilant. When you are home with the baby, be nearby so that he can explore safely.
Is your baby going to bang his head on the table? Of course. Will he close his fingers in a drawer? Most likely. Do we want to deny him this experience? Umm… no. Babies learn from experience. Natural consequences teach valuable lessons. It sucks when your baby has a boo boo, yes. But covering your house in styrofoam and your baby in bubble wrap isn’t an option. He’s going to hurt himself at some point. Try to make that experience as minimal as you can, sure.
So, leave the pots and pans in their drawer/shelf. But move the glass covers. Leave the plastic mixing bowls within his reach, but move the porcelain/glass ones. These things quickly become THE BEST TOYS EVER. Let him find safe ways to explore. Give him a drawer where some big metal spoons, measuring cups, and other non-pointy cooking utensils live. Put the antique books on higher shelves, and HIS books on the lower shelves. Crawl around your own house and see what YOU would get into. And make it safe. You don’t need to spend a fortune. Just use your head.