Childproof Toddler Room: 5 Useful Tips

Toddlers are adventurous, curious, quick witted, active little humans ready to learn and explore their world. They keep us on our toes and are surprisingly fast at getting into risky situations in a blink of an eye. Like many parents I want to keep my Boys safe from EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. But I know this is unrealistic and I’m sure to some degree unhealthy. The reality is, toddlers will be toddlers!

Although seeing Elias and Tommy climbing and jumping off furniture stresses the crap out of me; I love watching them use their imaginations and explore their surroundings. Having said that, it is important for me to provide them with a safe environment. One that does not restrict their creativity. The following 5 tips are subtle modifications that will help deliver a childproof toddler room.

Secure Doors And Windows

Secure doors by using a door stopper to protect your toddler’s little fingers and hands from door slams and to prevent them from locking themselves in a room. My toddlers have been victims to both of these situations and as you can image neither were fun! We’ve installed a wireless security alarm on their windows that will sound off whenever the windows are opened. I like this particular system because the sound can be set to a chime or alarm setting.

Cover Outlets

Outlet covers are a must for a childproof toddler room. Outlets are an invitation for keys, Play-Doh, coins and other small objects and toys. Two very functional favorites of mine are outlet plugs for unused outlets and full outlet covers for outlets in use. Both of these have worked well with keeping my little ones away from exploring outlets.

Secure Furniture

My little dare devils love love love to climb EVERYTHING!!! Fastening and securing furniture to  walls will help prevent  furniture from falling over if  your little decides to climb it. Also important is protecting sharp edges. Toddlers are always running around and can become easily distracted. Bumping into the corner of a dresser or bookshelf  isn’t a far fetched possibility.

Bed Rails

Once your toddler is ready to transition to a big kid bed, a bed rail will help keep your little one from rolling off the bed while they sleep. Unfortunately it doesn’t stop them from falling off the bed if they’re jumping on it! We initially purchased a pull out bed rail which tucked away while not in use, however, I would rarely tuck it away. Consequently, my boys would use it as leverage to pull themselves onto their beds. With all the climbing and tugging, the rails bent and the mesh ripped in a short period of time. We recently replaced the pull out bed rail with a toddler bed rail bumper and I’m really happy with the switch. The bumper looks a whole lot nicer than the rail did and it is less of a climbing hazard. Additionally, the bumper tucks away nicely under the fitted sheet and the non slid grip keeps it from sliding around.

Monitors

Having a baby monitor made all the difference with truly helping me feel comfortable leaving Elias and Tommy alone in their room. Especially when it came to transitioning the boys to their own room. I had been avoiding this  for several months until Jose bought me this Infant Optics Video Baby Monitor. I’m able to watch and listen to them sleep and play as much as I want. This specific monitor has a two way talk which I’ve found to be a very useful feature.

These are only 5 simple tips on what we as parents can do to provide our little ones with a childproof toddler room. However equally important, if not more important are the ongoing conversations we have with our toddlers about safety. While I shamefully admit I’m not the best at this, I try and explain to Elias and Tommy the reason(s) why I redirect some of their playtime behaviors. To them, climbing furniture, and exploring their surroundings is all part of having fun. Telling a 2 and 3 year old to stop having fun is naturally accompanied by a very confused and defiant “WHY?”. Although the easy response and to be honest the response I grew up hearing is “because I said so”, I am well aware that this explanation will not help them connect and understand the concept of playing safely.

Parenting is such a roller coaster of emotions…don’t get me wrong, its beautiful and I love it, but I’m not a huge fan of not having control over everything that happens to little ones! I know cannot be alone on feeling like this.

I’d love to hear what you have done to make your child’s room, or any other room for that matter a toddler friendly environment in your home.

Until Next Time…Much Love!!!