Baby Proofing Your House: What to Do Before They Crawl
Babies start crawling anywhere from 6 to 10 months, and when they do, everything changes. Your home goes from a safe cocoon to an obstacle course full of things they want to touch, eat, pull, and climb. Baby proof before they're mobile, not after. Playing catch-up while your baby speed-crawls toward an outlet is not fun.
Living Room
**Outlets:** Cover every outlet within 3 feet of the floor. Plug covers work fine. Sliding plate covers are better because they don't create a choking hazard (unlike the small plastic plug-in covers that pop out).
**Furniture corners:** Soft corner guards on coffee tables and TV stands. Babies pull up to stand using furniture and their heads are at exactly table-corner height. Foam corner guards are cheap and peel off cleanly when you're done with them.
**TV:** Mount it to the wall or anchor it. Flat-screen TVs tip over with surprisingly little force and these accidents can be serious.
**Cords:** Bundle and hide all cords. Cord covers that stick to baseboards work well. Babies love pulling cords and they love putting them in their mouths. Both are dangerous.
Kitchen
**Cabinet locks:** Install them on every lower cabinet. Even the ones with boring stuff like pots and pans, because a toddler will pull out every pot you own and scatter them across the kitchen floor. Magnetic locks are the most parent-friendly option since they don't require drilling.
**Stove:** Stove knob covers prevent kids from turning on burners. A stove guard across the front prevents reaching up to grab pot handles. Get both.
**Trash can:** Move it inside a locked cabinet or get a locking trash can. Babies think trash cans are treasure chests.
Bathroom
**Toilet lock.** Yes, really. Babies are fascinated by toilets and the drowning risk is real. A simple toilet lid lock costs $8. Also keep the bathroom door closed with a door handle cover or hook-and-eye latch up high.
**Medicine and cleaning supplies:** Move everything to a high cabinet or install locks on the under-sink cabinet. This includes things you wouldn't think of as dangerous, like mouthwash and hand sanitizer.
Stairs
**Gates at top and bottom.** Hardware-mounted gates (screwed into the wall) at the top of stairs. Pressure-mounted gates are fine at the bottom. Never use a pressure-mounted gate at the top of stairs because it can be pushed over.
General Rules
Get on your hands and knees and crawl through each room. You'll see hazards you never noticed from standing height. Small objects on the floor, dangling cords, wobbly furniture. Anything smaller than a toilet paper roll is a choking hazard for a baby.
Do this before 6 months. You'll be glad you did when crawling starts, because it starts suddenly and babies are faster than you expect.