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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    Default Toddler proofing bedroom for toddler bed

    I don't want to have to do it, but I'm currently watching our 22 month old - who doesn't want to nap after sleeping in to 9:45 today - walking around in her crib and trying to pull herself out. She hasn't been successful yet but she's gotten high enough a couple times to be a little scary.

    So in thinking about what we would need to baby proof in her room to be comfortable installing the toddler rail.

    The one thing flummoxing me a little is the table lamp we have on the nightstand by her chair... Where we read a nighttime story and then turn off the light. What if anything can I do the secure that so she can't bring it crashing down on herself? Or do I need to get rid of it and if so how do we read our nighttime story??

    (PS Before finishing this post she got her body and half a leg up on the railing and I had to let her get away with no nap for fear of injury.)

  2. #2
    mikala is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Yeah, both of my kids were crib escapees by that age.

    I'd make sure all heavy furniture like dressers is anchored to the wall, blinds are either cordless or have a child safe design, outlets are covered. We put a baby gate at the door initially to prevent middle of the night wandering. We use a small IKEA LED lamp for bedtime stories.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    4,466

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    Ds is still in his crib (shockingly it is the only thing in the house he doesn't climb...) but we took the lamp out of his room after he almost knocked it over a couple of times while playing. We just use the overhead light to read stories and turn it off afterward.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    DS 2/14
    DD 8/17

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Central Coast, CA
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    My favorite child proofing device is the door monkey:
    http://smile.amazon.com/Door-Monkey-...ds=door+monkey

    So there is no escape from the room and causing mischief without the parent knowing! Other than that we had the plugs covered with the childproof face plates (not the socket plugs! Which can go in their mouth). Let me know if you need any links to understand what I mean. Do you have one of those things on the bottom of the door to stop it from hitting the wall? If so makes sure it's a child safe one and not one with the white end cap that can be pulled off to be a choking hazard. The child safe kind are one solid plastic piece. Make sure all heavy furniture like dressers are bolted to the wall. No dangling cords or pulls for blinds or curtains. No art or heavy decorations on the walls that could get grabbed. Do you have a closet in the room? A closet lock so they couldn't get into it. Do you have paper books in her bookshelf? As opposed to just the board book kind? I always put those on the highest shelf out of the way so they couldn't grab them and tear them.

    What kind of lamp is it? Something big and heavy? We always had little light ones that I never worried about hurting them when they were little but I did arrange the furniture so the cords were facing close to the wall and away from the child's space so they couldn't get pulled down unless actually grabbing the lamp. You could put in a wall light or get a lighter lamp. Hardware stores have wire covers (think long plastic piece) so if you out in a plug in wall light you could cover access to the cord.

    And probably most important a great camera! So you know what she's up to and if she's safe. Good luck! 2 years old can be mischievous!

  5. #5
    abh5e8 is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    We cover any outlets that are visible (ie. Not behind furniture) with a solid piece face plate. They are cheap at the hardware store.

    I bolt every piece of furniture to the wall. Lock closet. I would take out the lamp and use overhead light or a hanging lamp.

    No drapes, just cordless blinds.

    Toy basket goes in the closet at night. Just a few books and stuffed animals in a basket by the bed.

    I hang mirrors and photo frames and art with anchors and screws in kids rooms. Yes, I put holes in the frame and you can see the screws if you look closely, but even with my boys ages 5 and 7, they like to wrestle and shoot door hoops, and I don't want anything that could fall of the wall.
    Last edited by abh5e8; 04-10-2016 at 09:21 PM.
    loving my dh and our littles (dd ~ 11 yrs, ds ~ 9 yrs, ds ~ 7 yrs, dd ~ 5 yrs and baby brother ~ 20 mo)

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    The lamp's not especially heavy, although it's not light. It's a Just Born lamp we bought at BRU. It's not that it falling on her would hurt her, it's more about if she can get to it, she could break the bulb or damage the cord and be injured by glass or electricity. I think I found a solution on the lamp though, there's a dresser right next to the nightstand which is higher and more out of the way. I think it might be a safe place to put it for a while. I guess it's either that or remove it from the room.

    Another question... I've read you should lock the drawers so they can't use them to climb up the furniture. But all our drawers do not have any solid wood above them. At the front there's only wood that lines up evenly with the front of the drawer. So nothing to latch a drawer lock onto.

    Do you think I should lock the drawers? Did you? Are there any options other than sticky stamps that strap into the drawer wrong and side? I'm worried with those they'll leave damage when removed (although that's a price I guess I'll pay if I must).

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    With our first I put everything on lockdown so his drawers had the magnet locks which require a magnet key to open. It latched fine in the drawer but took a lot if work and complaining from DH. A complete pain when I wanted to open them! We didn't do it with #2 and sure enough she is using the bottom as stairs to reach her top drawer. When she started doing this (I think around 3) I taught her to get her stool out of the bathroom and use that instead when she wants to reach the top drawer or the top shelf of her bookshelf. Both are tied into the wall but I don't want her climbing. Will she ever be alone in her room to climb without you with her or watching on the camera? Would the drawers break if used as stairs? The dresser is secured to the wall? If it's secured and wouldn't break if it was climbed on and you watched her pretty closely I think you could get away with it. If she starts doing it you could show her there's nothing worth getting in the top (I made the mistake of putting pretty but delicate clothes in the top drawer which only drew her interest upwards!).

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    Quote Originally Posted by ExcitedMamma View Post
    With our first I put everything on lockdown so his drawers had the magnet locks which require a magnet key to open. It latched fine in the drawer but took a lot if work and complaining from DH. A complete pain when I wanted to open them! We didn't do it with #2 and sure enough she is using the bottom as stairs to reach her top drawer. When she started doing this (I think around 3) I taught her to get her stool out of the bathroom and use that instead when she wants to reach the top drawer or the top shelf of her bookshelf. Both are tied into the wall but I don't want her climbing. Will she ever be alone in her room to climb without you with her or watching on the camera? Would the drawers break if used as stairs? The dresser is secured to the wall? If it's secured and wouldn't break if it was climbed on and you watched her pretty closely I think you could get away with it. If she starts doing it you could show her there's nothing worth getting in the top (I made the mistake of putting pretty but delicate clothes in the top drawer which only drew her interest upwards!).
    Well, if we have to go to a toddler bed... yes, she will be alone unsupervised... only at night or early morning while we're sleeping, or if she wakes up quietly from a nap and we don't hear her... but that's plenty of time to get into trouble. Yes, the dressers are secured to the wall, but I imagine as she gets bigger they are at risk of breaking.

    I would love to use the magnet locks, but I can't there. Our dressers are constructed somewhat like this image:
    http://www.amanatool.com/connector/m...pg?w=265&h=205

    There is nothing above the drawer to put the lock onto (the piece of is that the real lock thing hooks onto). The only 'upper' portion is right above the drawer front itself, which is not useful once you close it. Same problem exists for the 'spring' loaded ones.

    The only thing I can see using is the sticky latches that are entirely outside the drawer... but 1) they don't look nearly as nice, and 2) they may damage the finish when eventually removed years later.

    Does anyone know of any other options?

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Hmmm...our magnet locks went in the inside of the drawer and connected to the underside of the drawer itself. I would assume you could put them on any drawer? Do you have a picture of the dresser itself? The great thing about the magnet locks is that the drawer doesn't open at all so there would be nothing to stand on at all. It's been years since I looked at child proofing stuff so there could be something better. I recommend you post in the Baby Bargains Lounge where you will get much more traffic and someone might have a better answer.

    Oh sticky latches, by that do you mean the sticky magnet locks? That might be what we had. I'll go see if I can find a link. We never took ours off so no idea on damage. Ours could be turned on or off so we could just click them off and not remove.

    Yep ours were the sticky kind which it sounds like you want to avoid.

    http://smile.amazon.com/Safety-1st-P...rch_detailpage
    Last edited by ExcitedMamma; 04-11-2016 at 12:05 PM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    I've attached a picture which explains the drawer configuration and why i can't use a magnetic or spring loaded lock. There's nowhere to put the 'latch' piece for the lock to hook onto...

    Drawer Configurations.JPG

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