When your kids are tiny, it’s natural to want to protect them from everything. And they’re so incredibly curious, it’s almost like they’re determined to hurt themselves in one way or another.
When my eldest daughter was just starting to move around on her own, I spent an absolute fortune buying all the things the baby shop people told me I needed because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to my baby. #sucker
Now I know there are lots of genius and affordable ways you can childproof your home without buying expensive products. Here are 15 of my favourites.
- Buy a cheap wooden playpen and, instead of putting your baby in it, put it around things you don’t want your baby to get to, such as your TV and stereo.
- Slice through a pool noodle length-wise and place it over the edges of drawers and cupboard doors that could jam tiny fingers. You can cut the noodle into shorter sections too depending on the size of the drawer or door. You can also place pool noodles over the edges of tables or anything your child is like to run into.
- Cut a small wedge out of a tennis ball and place it on sharp corners of furniture or benches to prevent injuries.
- Keep a laundry basket in your bath tub so that your baby won’t fall over in the bath, and the bath toys won’t float away.
- If you need to cover electrical outlets and you don’t have any safety plugs to hand, simply cover the outlet with band-aids and rip them off when you need access. This option is great for travel or to have on hand when you’re visiting friends.
- To baby proof cabinet doors, use rubber bracelets, thick hair bands or an upside-down coat hanger. Or for something more sturdy, you can buy a cheap dog collar from the supermarket and place around the two handles to keep them together. The size will be adjustable so you know it will fit perfectly.
- You can also secure cabinet doors by placing adhesive Velcro strips around the edges. You’ll still be able to open the doors easily, but the Velcro will make it much tougher for tiny hands.
- Prevent doors from closing with a rubber band. Loop a band around a door’s inside and outside knobs, twisting it to make an ‘X’ in the middle that presses over the latch. Once you’ve finished, hang the rubber band on the knob for next time.
- Use tension rods (usually used for hanging curtains without having to drill into the wall) to create a barrier to fence off parts of your home, such as the kitchen or home office. Place three or four, spaced out vertically, firmly against the walls.
- Keep surge protectors and power boards away from curious fingers by placing them in a plastic container with a lid, and cutting a hole in one end to allow for the cords.
- Put bright stickers on glass doors down low at your child’s eye level to prevent them from walking into the glass.
- Stretch inner tubes across your book shelves and nail them in place to stop little hands from pulling all your books out.
- Secure two stick-on picture hooks to your fridge (one on the door and one on the fridge itself) and secure them together with a rubber bracelet or thick hair band to stop hungry visitors from helping themselves.
- A hair tie is also useful to stop your toilet paper from unravelling like magic. Simply place the tie over the roll when you’re done and it still stay put until your next visit.
- If you have a climber, sew a piece of fabric between the legs of their onesie that is long enough to allow them to stride naturally, but not long enough for them to swing their leg up over the side of their cot, or over a gate.
Do you have any great tips to add in the comments below?
