Saturday, January 5, 2013

Baby Proof vs. Bubble Wrap

Now that Emily is (very) mobile and starting to get into/explore everything, the issue of "baby proofing" has come up.  I have done a little bit here and there to prepare:
  • Pushed a couple of coffee tables up against walls rather than leaving them in the middle of the our living spaces;
  • Put plugs in the outlets that she finds of interest;
  • Hid/secured wires that she could grab/pull on/chew;
  • Put up a baby gate between her "free-roam" space and the rest of the house;
  • Moved all small/heavy/hard objects up high/out of her way;
  • Watch her like a hawk every time she's near the cat.... etc.,
I honestly feel like these things are satisfactory.  I'm sure that I'll continue finding things that need to be moved/hidden/etc. (will be putting latches on the cleaning supply cupboard soon), but I do not plan to bubble wrap my child or my house.  She is GOING to get hurt.  It's part of being a kid.  Fingers WILL get smooshed in doors, heads WILL get banged on floors, the cat WILL scratch her at some point... these things happen, and, I believe will actually be good lessons for her... she'll learn not to grab the cat's tail, not to stick her fingers there, and to catch herself before her head hits the ground.  She'll learn that getting hurt is NOT the end of the world, and she'll gain the confidence to learn from her mistakes and try again... to problem solve... to find another way to get what she wants/needs.

Many baby-proofing items have been brought to my attention recently, and I have to wonder, "Really"?  For example:

Thudguard baby helmet

 I wince every time Emily hits her head on our floors as she learns to crawl/stand/walk/maneuver... but I am not about to wrestler her into wearing one of these (or spend $50 to do so!).  And I'll tell you, she is falling less, her reflexes are getting better and her crying/panicking when she falls are getting less end-of-the-world-ish.  She's learning!

1 comment:

Lauren said...

And then you have my two year old that is the biggest klutz I have ever seen. He falls constantly and at least once a week he runs into a wall. I swear in a previous life he was a cat that had its whiskers cut off.