After dutifully childproofing our house before I really knew anything about anything, I realized today that I may still have some work to do. This was brought on by a lovely game of hide and seek with my daughter who ran in to our closet to hide behind the dry cleaner bag dangling down from around my husband’s dress shirts. Yes, plastic. She actually tried to wrap her little head in plastic.
Clearly, I have some things to attend to.
So, I thought, hey, maybe I’m not alone in this (please say I’m not alone!?!) and a little household hazard update may be just the thing. Here are 5 common hazards for your baby that may be lurking in your house (yes, this is me spreading the love):
1. Plastic dry cleaner bags (see above bad mommy story)
2. Too hot water heater. Now this one kills me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hot water to wash my dishes. The hotter the better. If it scalds my hands and removes a layer of skin then it MUST be cleaning my dishes well, right? Well, I think this is one I’m just going to have to get over…especially now that my little one’s hands are more adventurous, dexterous and have a longer reach. Did I mention she loves to play the *wash you hands* game…by herself?
3. Pills. This may seem (and probably is) obvious, but after my long recovery with a broken hand, I inadvertently found some pain pills within reach of a toddler the other day. (Boy, this is full of bad mommy examples – I should really think twice about sending this out into the ether…) Needless to say the bottle had a “childproof” cap on it, but COME ON! Are those things truly childproof? I certainly don’t want to find out the hard way.
4. Rusty Grandparents. Now, I love, with all of my heart, Sophie’s grandparents and welcome/rely on any and all help they are willing to give, so this one is more just a general reminder…Even though they raised you and your husband, a lot of time has passed in between then and now. Best to have a good old fashioned sit down (what we Southerners affectionately call a “come to Jesus” talk) first, before any thing happens. Go over all rules and concerns, even if you and they both think they already know everything there is to know about babies. Like dipping the pacifier in honey (hey, I’m not naming names, I’m just saying)!
5. Tub acrobatics. Now that standing and running are favored, keeping the little one seated in the tub can be harder and harder. We’ve told Sophie to sit down in the tub so often that she thinks we’re playing the sit down game…we say it loud, she says it loud. We say “SIT DOWN” louder and more forcefully, and she, at not yet two years of age, drops her little toddler voice as low as it can go and says, “SEET DOOOWN SOSI!”
Of course there are myriad hazards to watch out for and child proof for. A good list is at BabyCenter.com or, really just google it and you’ll find more info that you ever wanted. This is just my own gentle reminder (to myself, at least).
photo credit: maessive
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