Baby proofing your home

When my children were born, I worried about a lot of things. It wasn’t until they started to crawl that I thought about baby proofing. My mother said you should never baby proof a house, that children should learn what they can and cannot touch. I agree with her to a point. However, I had a very active second child and I got really tired of getting up constantly to take things out of his hands. I think safety plugs in outlets are a great idea and locks on cupboards too. However, how far do you go? My youngest son would get up after I went to bed, turn on all the lights, open the fridge, turn on the TV, and if I hadn’t put a latch on the front door taller than he could reach with a chair, he would have been gone in a heart beat. He flushed weird things down the toilet, locked a cat in the freezer, ruined a good pair of boots by filling them with water, and tried to iron the carpet. All of this before the age of 2. I thought it was wonderful that he was walking at 8 months until I realized he wasn’t going to stop. My sister bought those gates to put across the bottom of her daughters door. She was just as active as my Brad. I think that is a wonderful idea. For all of those mothers out there that are actively anticipating their children’s first step, I say to you, wait…don’t rush it. Enjoy your freedom of leaving them in one place and being able to find them when you go back. I think the bottom line on baby proofing is, it all depends on the child. Some kids have way more energy than others. I would always cover up the plugs and cords but rearranging your house might be a little too much. Children really do need to learn the meaning of the word “No”. Even though you will get really tired of saying it.