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9 things you need in the toddler stage of parenting: a curated list of items you might not have realized you’d need.
First of all I’m going to try to make this post short and sweet! but for those of you who like to read quickly and move on. I’ve put each item in the title but the details and reasons why to follow! Now that I have a almost 2.5 year old and a 18 month old I’ve come to realize that, I will continually be buying things to keep them safe or entertained. This post is dedicated to safety measures.
1.) Child Safety Strap: These are essential and extremely helpful for keeping little hands from opening door or drawers they aren’t meant to get into. We currently are in an apartment and on the third floor (CRAZY!!! I know), the space is beautiful but my only reservation was the balcony. So we made a point to make sure access to the balcony was super secure, with a Child Safety Strap in place at the very top of the door. We also chose to use these on the dresser drawers located in our children’s rather large closet which we also use as a playroom when the doors remain open. Toddlers are always curious so despite having furniture straps on the drawers as an extra pre-caution we placed these there as well to keep the littles from opening the drawers and pinching fingers.
2.) Door Pinch Guards: Speaking of pinching fingers, these are a life saver for me, considering we have two toddlers now that are 14 months apart. They are at different stages of discovering and curiosity, my oldest isn’t very intrigued by a door opening and closing anymore but my youngest most definitely is. Originally when I saw these door pinch guards I thought I could just cut a pool noodle…I’m here to tell you. The Door Pinch Guards are much sturdier and are made well. We place the guards somewhere in the middle between the top of the door and where the doors handle would be, that way our toddlers can’t reach it and pull it off. These have personally helped us not have to worry so much about our kids fingers getting slammed in a door and also reduces the door-slamming phase that my youngest toddler is currently embracing!
3.) Magnetic Cabinet Locks: LIFESAVER!!! Like I said before Toddlers are CURIOUS to the max, for them nothing is off limits and the truth is even if you are a parent to one toddler; you can’t guarantee you will be next to them every moment of every day. These give me peace of mind for my kitchen drawers and lower cabinets, bathroom drawers and our dresser drawers. This is another preventative measure for protecting fingers but also an aesthetically pleasing way of doing so. These Magnetic Cabinet Locks are hidden inside of the cabinet and you use a magnet “lock” that comes with them to unlock the cabinets and doors as needed. Love them because they work and they don’t make my home look “child-proof” although it is.
4.) Baby Proof Oven Knobs: If you happen to have an older stove or a stove that has the knobs right in front and above the oven door. Please don’t walk but RUN and get some baby proof oven knobs. You might not think they would find any interest in such a dangerous piece of equipment but like I said before! In their little minds nothing is off limits, everything is as my oldest says an “Adventure”. The plus is it does come with a latch to connect the oven door to the stove top ledge to prevent the oven door from opening. Which was a definite bonus but I will always be honest, I might have not installed it correctly or the heat from my oven got to it and made the sticky backing slide off. I hope your little(s) wouldn’t attempt to open or hang from the oven door but the additional oven lock is nice to have. Also keep in mind it’s important to just remind your little ones that the stove/oven is a danger zone, it’s “HOT” or “Dangerous” are the words we have used to keep our kids away if and when they are in the kitchen with us.
5.) Outlet Covers : What kid doesn’t try to stick their little fingers into the socket? Both of mine would have if I hadn’t put these in after realizing my oldest was able to get the basic outlet covers out and put them in her mouth. We like these ones a lot because the covers are essentially locked into the socket opposed to just pushed in. A very bored toddler who has nothing but time on their hands can easily figure out how to remove push in outlet covers and even worse end up placing them in there mouth. The ones that we switched to are pushed in, and the little flap latches to secure it in place.
6.) Furniture Straps: Ever had your toddler try to climb the tv console? or open all of the dresser drawers? or even try to climb into a dresser drawer :::insert face palm:::. Two of the three scenarios I have mentioned have happened to me, but thankfully we have had our furniture secured with these furniture straps. We all have grown up in different backgrounds and it may seem unnecessary to take such measures but my motto is “better safe than sorry”. Here you can read about a report of “tip-over” incidences involving children and how to prevent it, by anchoring it through the use of furniture straps.
7.) Retractable Safety Gate: I love me a retractable safety gate for mainly one reason, Okay! Well two! Safety & When my kids are asleep, I don’t want to have to keep opening a gate. This has allowed us to block off access to our kitchen and deny access, I mean can mama cook dinner in peace please! The retractable gate is a sturdy mesh that gives you the option to open and close as you please and when its open the only visible part of the gate is the rolled/retracted piece on one portion of the wall. When pulled out and attached to the opposite side wall hook you have the option to lock it so the sturdy mesh can’t be stretched any further, denying access to anyone who wishes to pass muahahaha.
8.) Stationary Baby Safety Gate: This gate we used for our entry way, my kids love doors but know what they have both loved more? Shoes! Yup shoes. I think they are and have always been super interested in them because we have a shoe free home. I’m not here to promote shoe free homes but then again, I’ll save it for another post. This gate was placed about 10 feet from our front door. Upon walking through our front door, you would find an entry table to your right with a mirror, and an entry bench on the left with a mat for shoes to be placed before entering through the gate. This gate was great for cutting off access to the shoes but now that I think about it, even better for keeping them away from accessing the front door or playing with the locks.
9.) Baby Monitor (Wifi-free) along with the Wide Angle Lens : Still love this, still using it. I have nothing against cameras that use wifi, honestly considering getting one for when there is a sitter so that I can see what’s going on if I’m not at home. This monitor is for those that have concerns about being hacked, considering that once upon a time there were many reports of strangers accessing a homes wifi and also accessing the cameras including the ones in babies or kids rooms. We really like this camera as we can see our kids clearly, and if necessary we can speak to them through the monitor until we can physically get to them. It also has active noise reduction so you don’t hear extra noise (such as the fan or white noise machine), you only will hear your child, which we like. We can sleep peacefully through the night knowing we aren’t going to be woken up by the distant bark of a neighbor but we will hear our child’s cough or cry. Also love that the lenses are interchangable and the wide angle lens allows us to see a wider scope.
I hope this list is one that truly helps you to make your home a safer and more peaceful place.
With Love,
XX Classically Faith
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