Holy Crap! It's Moving! [Help me baby-proof my shit]

Fallingman

Right, so we have a baby. (yay!) He's real cute, and I love him to pieces. And going to be an absolute terror (in a good way). He's been dying to get active for weeks, and its getting danerously close to figuring out the whole crawling thing. He also gravitates to anything of mine that is expensive. This is going to be fun...

So, my question is this, helpful H/A members, "How do I go about baby-proofing our house?" I get things like plug covers, corner protectors, gates on doorways etc, but what I'm wondering is whether there's anything I can realistically do to protect the media centre and pc in our living space. Other than, y'know, move it all. Do people really "fence off" parts of their living space? Does it even work?

So Specifically, here are the areas I'm thinking about"

Media Centre:
Basically a flat panel 40" TV on a low stand with an open face, housing my amp, decoder, xbox, wii, dvd player etc. I also have some surround speakers on stands which could tip, and a sub - but the sub is pretty sturdy. Basically it's a baby's dream, and my worst nightmare.

Desk:
iMac, router, external HD, phone/printer etc. Standard corner desk with a few drawers, and all the wires for the previously stated gear behind (and accessible to a crawling bubba).

Book Shelves:
Secured to the wall, but the books and DVD's that are at crawling level are not.

So, basically, I'm starting to think I'm boned. I might just have to move the desk, mount the TV and cable so that all the devices are elsewhere... and remove all books off the shelves below waist height...? What do you guys reckon?

Kistra

Books on shelves shouldn't be that big of an issue. DVDs are shinier and therefore at more risk. But he won't be able to eat them or open the cases to ruin them, so they can be a lower priority

Is there anyway you can put doors on the media center? How low is it - can he reach stuff on the top? Can you wall mount your TV (even if it is still standing on the media center, that way he won't be able to pull it over on top of himself. Yes you can fence off parts of the living room, but it will only last until he is capable of climbing over - but it will work until then and you will have different concerns at that point.

Does the desk have panels underneath that go from the desk surface to the floor or can you put them in? In that case you only have to block off the sides which isn't too hard to do with something that looks ornamental and is baby safe.

etdragon

At the very least I would anchor the TV to the wall behind the media center, even if it means drilling a hole in the center itself. My son constantly tries to play with our flatscreen and it's heavy enough to be a problem if he manages to pull it over.

The fencing off worked for another parent I know for a long time. Even if you go that route I would anchor the TV and maybe the media center itself if it's at all flimsy.

Books are a big deal for my kid but he ignores DVDs all together. He likes to flip through books. Anchor the expensive shit, cover buttons with plastic sheets or move the devices, and then wait and see. If your kid is interested in the books you deal with it. Likewise for the DVDs. For things like that I take a wait and see approach and if they are a problem I move them as necessary.

I know you mentioned it in your OP but honestly outlet covers, gates on stairs, very pointed covers covered, glass tabletops addressed, and any cabinet with something poisonous or dangerous locked down, are far more important than the expensive toys. My rule with my kid is if it could maim or hurt them the first time they play with it I address it immediately. Otherwise I wait and see if they even play with it in the first place.

Good luck. Once they move all your relaxation (or whatever you have left) is gone.

Blake T

In regards to your desks look at bundling your wire together with zipties, Then ziptie all that stuff to a leg, one at the base and one at the top.

This also helps hide the wires visually also.

Skoal Cat

I fenced off my TV center with great results, put simple gate locks on all my doors (eye and hook at the top of the frame), and for your shelves you could put in little mini curtains attached to dowels on the top and bottom so that you can slide the fabric aside, but he would be dismayed.

Djeet

Any LED-lit power button he can access he will press, repeatedly. Put them out of access, de-activate them, or cover them. When he's bigger consider your stove dials (mine are removed). With appliances that are raised above access, make sure he cannot grab and pull down wires. Re-consider any furniture that is "tippy".

Fallingman

Thanks guys, great advice - having looked at it, I think we might need to reassess the cabinet situation... Maybe something tall and sturdy to put everything out of reach, or else something with front panels...
And you're right, I can probably rewire round the desk to make the cords less dangerous, and maybe even tucked out of reach.

Whew. Babies.

Casual Eddy

this seemed like a good article on the subject

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/garden/childproofing-crawling-your-way-to-safety-the-pragmatist.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=child proofing&st=cse

jclast

You could try reverse-play yarding him away from breakables. Instead of making a circle around him with it, make a wall around your entertainment center or whatever.

illirica

The reverse play-yard worked well for us, too. We found if we put the baby in the play-yard, she would be very sad, but if we put the TV/entertainment center in the play-yard and let the baby crawl about, she was much happier (and, coincidentally, so were we).

Think about blockading rooms. We have one room where we just keep the door shut, so that the baby is never allowed in there. It's a good place for me to pay bills/etc without her "help," plus anything we don't want her getting at can be stored there temporarily - like suitcases half-packed and so on.

Be prepared to take everything off of the bottom and middle shelves of your bookcases. We just sort of shifted things as she got more able - took things off the bottom two shelves at first, then off the middle shelf a couple months later when she figured out how to stand and reach that one. We also have one bookshelf blockaded off with a partial play-yard tied around it with a bit of rope.

Cords are your nemesis. They are apparently quite delicious. Do your best to cover them up, and mostly just watch the baby like a hawk.