A Baby in the House

There's a Baby in the House
By Marilyn Mackenzie

I was almost 32 years old when my son was born. My friends started having babies ten years before me, and I watched and learned from them. My spouse had a family from a former marriage, and I learned from his experience. Then, when the doctor confirmed that I was pregnant, I started reading books about the development of babies and about parenting.

One big debate - within my friends and with the experts in child rearing - was about whether to childproof a home or to begin teaching a child from the beginning what he or she could and could not touch. I decided that I did not want to constantly to follow my baby, then toddler, around the house. I did not want "No, no!" to be the words most spoken in our home. So, I did kid-proof the house.

I started in the kitchen. I took all the cleaning products out from under the sink and placed them in a cupboard that my child would have to climb to reach. Then I placed a lock on that cabinet. I didn't want any accidental poisonings.

I removed breakables in any of the cupboards or drawers that were low enough for my child to reach. Actually, I rearranged things so that those lower cupboards held plastic bowls that burped, pots and pans, and canned goods. Yes, rolling canned goods could have hurt him, but that was one chance I was willing to take.

When my son was old enough to walk, he loved our kitchen. I have pictures of him crawling in and out of the lower cabinets with a tape measure in his hand. I know he had seen his grandfather - my dad - using it, and wanted to copy him. He pulled the Tupperware bowls out and played with them. He discovered the pots and pans and banged them and their lids together to make lots of noise while he giggled.

I moved the waxed paper, plastic wrap and aluminum foil from a low drawer to a higher one. In their place, I put breads and rolls. Yes, once in a while my son smashed a loaf of bread. But he was never cut by the sharp edges of the plastic wrap.

While I washed dishes, my son sat on the floor with a small container of water, a rag and plastic bowls. He washed them just like his mommy washed the "real" dishes. He slopped water all over the floor. But I didn't mind. When he and I were finished with our dishwashing project, I just mopped up the water mess he had made there.

Anything dangerous from the bathroom - cleaning products or over-the-counter medicines - were placed in a locked cabinet in the hallway. Only toilet paper, paper towels, and baby toys had their home under the bathroom sink.

Knickknacks were placed on high shelves in the living and dining rooms. They looked great on those shelves, and I never cared that I didn't have any on the end tables or coffee table. I knew that one day my son would outgrow the desire to touch everything, and they could be moved then.

My son explored the house safely. Electrical cords were secured so that he could not pull them from the wall outlets. Outlets not being used were covered.

Our stove was the kind with controls at the back, out of reach. Our VCR and stereo were not accessible to our son. He could turn the television on and off, and the TV was always tuned to PBS.

There were two baskets in the living room. One held children's picture books. The other contained a sampling of my son's toys. (I rotated the toys that were in the living room with the ones in his bedroom.)

On the front storm door, only the top screen was used in the summer. That way, we could let the sun in, have some breeze from the top screen, and still keep our son safe. He watched out that door when he knew that his grandparents were due to visit.

Our house was a safe haven for all of us. I could relax and go about the things I needed to do without constantly watching my son. He could play freely or follow me around, whichever he preferred.

And, while we certainly did use the words, "No, no," they were used when there was something serious that we needed to teach our son. They were not used so often that he stopped hearing them. In fact, because we used those words so infrequently, when we did, he paid attention.

Would I do the same things again? You bet. In fact, if I have any grandkids, I plan on organizing and kid-proofing my home in just the same way.

About the Author

Marilyn Mackenzie has been writing about home, family, faith and nature for over 40 years. This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.BabyNameVote.Com/ which is a site for Baby Names.