How (Not) To Store Baby Books
Baby books seem to multiply the longer they sit on the shelf, or the floor, or the book bin, or wherever your toddler has left them. At first we had a modest number of baby books to choose from – now we have a plethora, which is great for our daughter. However, the storage issue seems to be getting the best of me.
I just bought this Benno DVD tower from Ikea to handle the overload, thinking that it would fit right next to our current bookshelves and all those little cubby holes would be perfect for the small baby books. And the shallowness would work perfectly, too.
Well, in theory, yes. In theory, it works perfectly. In practice, however, there are some VERY BIG drawbacks.
First, it’s tall and not bottom weighted so it teeters. If adults were using it then I’d be OK with it, but little hands like to grab hold and pull and that could be disastrous! Even when shoved next to the big bookshelf it teeters.
Now, I can clamp it or use brackets or even earthquake straps to stabilize it, yes. More than likely that is what we’ll do…but just keep that in mind if you’re planning on going this route. It’s best to plan than to be surprised.
Then, there’s the little bookshelves. Yes, they are the perfect size for little books, but the shelves simply rest on top of little metal plugs – again, very easy and tempting for a toddler to pull on and disassemble. And those metal plugs, once out of the holes they are meant to rest in are perfect choking hazards.
Lastly, the shelves are shallow…perfect for books, not so perfect for placement. Do you push it back to rest against the wall so that it won’t easily tip and can be secured with straps? Do you pull it forward and shove something behind it so it can’t slide back? Do you screw it (or clamp it) directly to the other shelf or wall it’s sitting next to? All good things to think about (I’ve learned through hindsight) when going down this road.
So now it’s back to putting tiny books on big shelves or in bins or simply letting them rest on the floor…that is until I find the perfect solution. For now, the DVD shelf sits in our living room unused but like a looming crushing hazard to our toddler…
Oh and lest I forget…I owe this to my husband…you were right. I was wrong. I admit it, I was wrong.
