When my 7yr old son was a baby he was obsessed with the kitchen cabinets. Every day he would go over to them and grab a hold of the knob and pull the door open. The safety locks we had on the doors allowed the door to be open slightly. He would open and shut, open and shut, open and shut, that half inch of space until his little arm got tired.

One day I came into the kitchen and noticed that the door was missing. All of the opening and shutting had caused the hinges to give way. I only wish that I had a secret camera to have seen his expression when the door came off in his hand. The funny thing is that he didn’t take anything out of the cabinet. Instead he took the door away with him and I had to go search the house for it.

Most of us parents are familiar with the tiny plastic plugs that go into outlets, the doorway gates that turn homes into a track and field event, and the cabinet locks that turn our kitchens into Fort Knox. But what about the other things inside of our homes that pose a safety hazard.

Parent Wonder has a list of 101 Childproofing Tips for Parents. Most of them are very basic, but for a new parent who looks around their house and feels overwhelmed it might be a good place to start.

Good Housekeeping Magazine has an article listing the best and worst childproofing products. I really liked this list. Any parent knows the feeling of standing in the aisle at your local big box baby store with an entire row of products and having no idea which one to chose, or why a certain one was superior to another similar one. Good Housekeeping has taken the guesswork out. Print this list off and take it with you the next time you need some cabinet, oven, or toilet locks. Or even better, print it off and include it with your gift at the next baby shower you attend. The new parents will surely thank you.

Many new parents are turning to so-called childproofing professionals, who will come out to your home and asses your individual home and needs. Professionals like this one featured in this South Carolina newspaper.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 6:58 am and is filed under DIY, in the news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.