Can We Just Put Our Kids In A Bubble?

great post, thanks

Quite frankly, I’m not sure how I’ve made it through these nearly 10 years of parenting with not a one of my children breaking a bone (knock on wood). They’ve had so many accidents and near-misses, it’s scary! My youngest actually climbed over the baby gate and went tumbling down the stairs right in front of my eyes when she was just a toddler – I just couldn’t get to her in time. We can babyproof all we want, but accidents still happen.

At 9, 7, and 3 my kids like to engage in rough play with each other. I can’t watch; it makes me too nervous! I can’t watch when they climb trees or when they hang upside down from monkey bars, either. Needless to say, I do a lot of gasping and exclaiming. But so far, they’re all okay!

The bubble sounds good, go with that! Just do what you can. Keep the toxic cleaners locked up and the outlets covered. We’ve gone so far as to not bring in plastic toys for fear of lead, etc. But then there’s the need for a quick meal, and how do you tell a kid she can’t have a Happy Meal? I mean really? So do what you can, and be attentive, and everything will be ok…

So far we’ve been lucky with my 11 month old daughter. Other than two massive barricades to keep he from the stairs down and the TV, she’s pretty free to roam, and other than a handful of cat food from time to time isn’t too interested in stuff we wouldn’t want her to get into so we haven’t done a whole lot of baby proofing. Once she starts walking I’m guessing that may change….

Childproof? You can do that?

In our house we gave up a long time ago.

Why did we give up?

Read here: http://tinyurl.com/o9pvr4

Our kids would win Survivor – they can outwit, outlast, and whatever other out there is in there.

We rely on sheer grit, respect, and distraction because frankly, we’re not millionaires and can’t afford to re-furbish childproof items every day. And actually, the kids do quite well now. Even with the door chime and gate with TWO latches at their bedroom door. We do actually have a few cabinets (like with the cleaning fluids, etc) latched up with those loop latches you can get from Target. But beyond that, there’s not much we have child proofed. Oh, and our approach with the TV with the 16 month old is sheer distraction – his toys are stored in front of and on the bottom shelf of the entertainment center – so far so good!

I totally agree with the fact that parents still have to be vigilant about safety even when there are baby-proofing products in place. For us, it comes down to the question of ‘if something does happen, will we be able to feel like we did everything we could to prevent it?’ There is always a minute that a parent takes his/her eyes off a child and I like knowing there is another line of safety defense.

We don’t do a ton of baby-proofing beyond the basics (outlet covers, gates, etc). Hell, I didn’t even know you weren’t supposed to have furniture under windows. I don’t want to go too crazy b/c they are going to have to function in the real world one of these days, and I think creating a world that is too sterile will limit their functionality down the road.

I tend to think that parents today do go overboard when it comes to safety. But, we also don’t have cabinet locks and we have furniture near windows…some people might think out house is very dangerous but my wife and I keep a keen eye on the kids at all times. If we ever feel like we need some sort of protection we’ll do it…but we don’t protect everything upfront.

I think the best thing you can do is get the kids a puppy. They get exposed to all kinds of germy licks, scratches, and doggie poo. The kids have to learn to be kind and gentle, and that there are consequences from not acting in such a way. The kids learn responsibility and the need to put others needs in front of their own wants. The dog will provide some protection and loyality as he grows with the kids. Dogs can develop a 5th sense and can give you warnings of problems you would not have been aware of for hours if not days. Remember, it was Lassie that let the townspeople know that Jimmy was down the well. They might STILL be looking for poor soaking wet Tommy were it not for that brave dog. Yep! A dog is MUCH better than a bubble…besides a bubble is unreliable and prone to popping just as soon as you get to rely on it.

My wife is the same way. We have the gates where necessary, plugs everywhere (I’ve even replaced outlet covers with those ones that slide aside so you can still use the outlet), when our son did get a bottle it was in BPA free bottles and the like. We’ve even removed furniture from the main living area so he has more room to roam. Our house isn’t that big. We didn’t, however, do the toilet lid locks and all that other stuff. The way our house is set up, he can’t get to the bathrooms unless he figures out how to open one of the gates, or is with us when we are in our bedroom. The main thing I tried to do was not go overboard with buying products. I’ve removed temptations wherever possible, but the fact is I still have to live here to. I didn’t do much in the kitchen because (and this is my opinion) you still have to parent. The cabinet that has the cleaning supplies has a lock on it, but most of our lower cabinets that have nothing that will hurt him don’t. I don’t care if he brings out all the tuperware or bang on my pots and pans. He’s a kid.

My story’s just like Ciara’s. My oldest was fine, but the second required more child proofing than I can handle. I can’t wait until I can put it all away and have a “normal” house again.

i didn’t have to baby proof when my son was younger. he never really got into cabinets, sockets, drawers, etc. my girls were a little different. oldest like to get in kitchen drawers, cabinets in the island, so those plastic lock thingies were useful. other than that, i didn’t do too much w exception of outlet covers.