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Selected Q & A on baby proofing

Stairs & Baby Gates
Furniture
Cabinet and Drawer Latches
Other

Stairs & Baby Gates

Question

We want to install a baby gate of the top of our stairs, but there are so many different types and it's hard to decide. The top of our stairs is a wall to banister area and the wall and banister side is offset - not in line. What do you recommend?.

Answer

First of all we recommend you read our "safety product guide" on baby gates. The guide covers different areas for gates, explains what baby gates work for certain areas and how to install them.

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The scenario you mention requires a permanently mounted baby gate, since it's on the top of the stairs. It's best to install a strong steel or wooden baby gate. You have banisters on one side, so we recommend you install a banister kit (long piece of wood with ties) or banister clamps before even installing the baby gate. Since your baby gate needs to be mounted in an angle, the gates that are most likely going to work for you would be Kidco's Angle Mount Bab Gates - such as G22 or G32, Cardinal's Stairway Special - SS-30A, or Kiddy Guard the rectractable baby gate. Once you have selected the baby gate, make sure you also order the banister kit or clamps from the same supplier through our website. Good luck with the installation and use our video and instructions to make it easier!

Question

I have a 3 year old and a 10 month old baby that constantly want's to play with her older brothers small toys. How do I prevent her from getting to the small items and potentially choke on them?!

Answer

With small children and older siblings in the house it's a constant challenge to keep their toys seperate! Nevertheless that is the only solution. The solution is to have an area for small toys only, that is inaccessible for the baby, but accessible for an older child. It would typically be the older child's own room (Pressure Bbay Gate in the doorway), a dedicated playroom or a gated off corner in the play- or living room (Configure Gate recommended). Select a baby gate that can be opened by a +3 year old, teach older siblings how to make sure the baby gate is always closed and be stringent about it! Kidco has a good selection of gates for this purpose.

Question

Hi, i have an 8 month old and 2 older siblings who are 4 and seven. The 4 year old is a little younger for his age and im worried about pruchasing a baby gate for staircases which is to difficult for them to open and close. Which baby gate is best for staircases and is not difficult for older sibling to open and close? Muchj Thanks Tara

Answer

You know, children’s ability to open latches and baby gates varies quite a bit. We sometimes have 14 months old children that can open cabinet latches and even 2 year old’s that open good baby gates! So every child is different, but in our experience some baby gates are very difficult to open and some are easier. I will list some baby gates in the following (you can see them all on the website and also video clips on how they are installed and opened) that are difficult to open and some that are easier to open. I will assume that they are mounted (not pressure) since you are using them for stairs.

Difficult baby gates to open would be: KiddyGuard (retractable baby gate), all Cardinal (except for pressure baby gate) and Mommy’s Helper Baby Gates.

Easier gates to open would be: Safeway baby gate (G20) by Kidco, Configure Baby Gate by Kidco, perhaps also the Angle Mount Baby Gates (G22 and G32) by Kidco – although harder than G20. Also Evenflo’s furniture quality baby gates are easier to open (they can pretty much just be lifted and will swing open).

Check those baby gates – see how they are installed and opened/closed. It will give an idea as to how easy they operate!

Question

Our baby is just starting to crawl but we also have two cats that will have a very hard time jumping over any baby gates we put up to block the baby's way. Is there a way short of being at the beck and call of my cats wanting in and out of each room that will let my cats roam from room to room but not my baby?

Answer

You can build an opening at the side of the baby gate. Check our installation videos – ex. here:

http://www.safetynook.com/SafetyGates/Safeway-Gate/

Click on the installation videos at the top and you will see how we have installed this baby gate in our own home with a cat opening (build out of wood kits). We have 4 Siamese cats. Try to make room at the side of the baby gate (3,5-4 inches) and this you can often accomplish with a piece of wood vertically and then 2 small pieces top and perhaps bottom.

Often you can also install a baby gate approximately 3,5" from the floor level. The baby can not crawl under or get stuck, but most cats will be able to pass through.

Some pressure baby gates, such as the Kidco Center Gateway has removable bars and you can remove just one side bar (make sure the opening is less than 4 inches though) and then have room for your cat to go through. Check here:

http://www.safetynook.com/SafetyGates/Center-Gateway/

Question

I have a very active son who loves to put his little hands in small places, we live in an apartment with old baseboard heaters that are the length of the walls in almost every room. Is there any safety product out there that we could use to keep little hands out of the heaters? If, so where can you get them? Thanks, Analisa

Answer

Avoid putting any cover on the heater. A gate structure is your best bet in order to keep your child protected. We recommend the Kidco configure baby gate for this purpose. That way you can block your child’s access all together and in return keeping him safe.

http://www.safetynook.com/SafetyGates/Configuregate/ is a link to the baby gate we recommend.

Question

At the top of our stairs, we have a wall on one side, and a rounded railing bannister on the other that starts out wide on the bottom and tapers at the top. Every video that you have shows a baby gate being installed on two flat surfaces, so we don't know which gate is ideal for us. We need help!

Answer

Almost all regular baby gates will work onto wood banisters, posts and metal rails. The key is not the baby gate itself, but a convenient banister kit that attaches to the post or metal rail without having to be drilled in! Before installing the baby gate, you can use banister installation kits for regular wooden posts, or wrought iron kits or clamps for metal banisters and rails. View the kits via the links below. They work for most baby gates, but they work especially well for Kidco and Cardinal baby gates!

http://www.safetynook.com/SafetyGates/Wrought-Iron-Kit/ http://www.safetynook.com/SafetyGates/Banister-Installation-Kit/

Question

My toddler, 2 years old, sleeps in a toddler bed at night. She is big enough to open her bedroom door and come out of her room if she wants. My Mother-in-law is concerned that she will wander around the house at night unattended and wants to lock her in her room at night. Do you feel that this is safe? She sleeps well and doesn't wake up and wander around very often. I'm concerned that she will be more unsafe if she needed to get out of her room and couldn't. I just need some help making sense of this one. Thanks, Leah

Answer

The best way to keep a child safe in their room at night is to put a pressure baby gate in the doorway. This way, they can open the door in case of an emergency and you will be able to hear them, The pressure baby gates that we recommend are:

http://www.safetynook.com/SafetyGates/Gateway/ and http://www.safetynook.com/SafetyGates/Pressure-Gate/.

Furniture

Question

I have a 19 month old that won't stop climbing onto kitchen chairs and the taller bar stool chairs that are at the kitchen island. I am very concerned about him pulling the chairs down on himself while he climbs. Are there any products available for this problem?

Answer

No, there are really no products to prevent chairs from falling, but through the years we have seen different solutions in homes with children. Some ideas to consider:

Sometimes bar stools can be attached under the counter top (kitchen island). If there is plywood under the counter top, you can attach chains (or straps) with a screw right into the plywood. Secure the chain (or strap) to the bar stool with e.g. a hook (cabin hook or similar).

Some parents secure the chairs under the dining table just by strapping them together (opposite chairs together) underneath the table. You can get bungee cords from the hardwood store for this purpose.

You can also put the chairs against the wall when not in use. Children typically climb from the back and the chair tips over. Face the back of the chair against the wall.

Good Luck!

Question

I am thinking of strapping some of our furniture in the house to the walls. Do I need to strap absolutely everything? What do you recommend?!

Answer

In principle you need to strap (or mount) all items against the walls, such as book shelves, dressers, TV's etc - especially in areas known for earth quakes. We have seen serious injuries (such as broken arms) from simple little side tables (for children's rooms) falling down. In reality most parents don't really want to strap absolutely every piece of furniture in the house. We recommend that you focus on areas where the child spend most of it's time - such as nursery or child's bedroom, playroom and family and main living areas.

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Children are curious and they do the unexpected! Besides climbing on book shelves, it's very common that children open all the drawers up in dressers and bed side tables, then pull on them, whereas the whole piece of furniture often falls on top of the child. Pulling a heavy TV that slides easily and moving similar equipment is also quite common. So make sure you strap all these obvious items to the walls or Base, in those areas of your house where the child spend most of it's time. We have a large selecting of straps - incl. TV and Hardware equipment straps on the website. Also, before buying any straps, rad our "Safety Product Guide" on Appliance and Wall Mounts.

Drawer and Cabinet Latches

Question

I am looking for a product with which to lock my bathroom medicine cabinets. I have trifold cabinets. (They have 3 hinged places so they can open on each side and also in the middle). The doors are mirrors framed in oak. I believe the actual cabinets are wood veneer. They are about 3.5 inches in depth. Thank you for your help! Tiffany

Answer

Hi there Tiffany – based on your description, I think a Kidco adjustable locking strap - cabinet latch - will do the work. You might need 3 adjustable locking straps (one on each side and one in the middle). They are adhesive and would attach to the mirror as well as the wood finish. Eventually they can be removed without leaving any marks!

Question

My 12 month old is opening the oven door in our Kitchen. How can I lock the door without drilling in the surface?

Answer

There are a couple of solutions you can consider. The easy solution is to mount a locking strap to the door and frame - such as the Kidco Adjustable Locking Strap - cabinet latch. This strap is adhesive and do not make any permanent damage to the surface.

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The other, and stronger, solution is to create a chain lock. You would need some kind of handle on the oven door (most ovens have this), where small piece of chain can wrap around. You would also need to have access to the plywood under the counter top. If this is the case, you simply mount one end of the chain with a screw under the counter top and next to the oven. The other end of the chain wraps around the oven door handle and can be secured with a simple little lock, such as a cabin hook. You can find these simple items in a hardware store. Make sure the piece of chain is long enough to fit under the counter top and go around the oven handle, and make it really tight to prevent pinched fingers in the oven door!

Question

Is there any child safety product for glass magnetic doors on a tv stand. I have two doors next to each other that my 14 month old either pushes them to unhook the magnet, or she sticks her finger in the small opening between the two doors to open them. I closed them with Velcro, and thought that it would work, however she quickly figured it out and now thinks it is a game. I need to find something that would hold up to multiple openings per day, by a parent.

Answer

There sure is. Check the appliance and wall mount category on the website. There is a product, “adjustable locking strap”, which work great for the kind of glass doors you mention. It comes in black and adheres to the front (can be removed without damaging the glass). The adjustable locking strap - cabinet latch - is what we normally install for those type of cabinet doors, mirror doors, appliances and similar.

http://www.safetynook.com/ApplianceWallMounts/Adjustable-Locking-Strap/

Alternatively, you can perhaps use inside adhesive latches. That’s another good solution, but perhaps harder to fit. Check them here:

http://www.safetynook.com/CabinetDrawerLatches/Adhesive-Latch/

Good luck with securing the doors!

Other

Question

is there any child saftey products for heat vents (on the floor) so items of any kind cant get thrown down there and the child can not get hurt by it? if so please tell me where to find this.

Answer

No, there is no child safety product for floor heating vents, but we have couple of ideas that might work for you. Some hardware stores carry a plastic deflector for vents. You basically place it on top of the vent and it will direct the hot air in a certain direction. If you place those directors facing the wall side (so that the opening is towards the wall away from the room), it will be difficult for the child to get to the vent. It’s difficult to mount the deflector securely though, bit it can be attached with Velcro or drilled into the vent.

Another, and probably better, solution is to place a piece of fine metal netting (such as chicken wire) in the channel under the vent. Lift the vent up and place a piece of metal netting right under it (might have to nail or screw it in). The netting will catch any objects (such as toys) going through the vent!

Question

For my son's 3rd birthday, he received a homemade wooden toybox with his name on it. Beautiful, yet dangerous. It opens from the top and I am afraid that he will slam it shut and smash his or his sister's (18mos.) fingers. What can I buy to either slow down the way it closes or just keep it propped open so it cannot be closed? I have been to hardware stores and I cannot find anything. Thank you, Kelly Acero

Answer

I have experienced this problem quite a few times in the past. I have some ideas for you and also wanted to make sure that the toy box is not “airtight”. The most important safety concern is not actually the pinched finger, but the suffocation hazard. Now, you want to make sure that if one of your children should ever climb into the toy box (assuming it’s big enough), they can breathe! Make sure it’s not tight between the lid and the box – there needs to be a cutout to allow air into the box at any time (even when closed). If there is no cutout, I recommend perhaps drilling a few small holes on the back or at the top.

As for the pinching there are some ideas to consider. Box braces are almost impossible to find in any hardware store. The manufacturer might have them – have you checked? Some manufacturers actually install these metal braces on the chest and it slows down the lid considerable when closing.

In most hardware stores you can find metal braces that can be locked in an open position though. I know Stanley makes them, they are black metal (try Home Depot).

Another idea is to mount a little piece of wood on the inside – just so that it is exposed maybe an inch from the box edge. If you mount a piece of wood with one single screw, you can even twist it so that it allows the lid to close 100% in one position and in another position it will block the lid from closing – thus pinching the fingers. A simple piece of perhaps ¾ by 2 inches would work.

You can always put finger pinch guards on the edge of the box when the lid is open. Check our website under the category “window and door locks” - we have to different finger pinch guards, whereas the Kidco finger guard on page 2 would be the best. It’s hard rubber and fits onto pretty narrow edges (not just heavy doors).

Hopefully some of these ideas will work for you. Good luck!

Question

We have a gas fireplace without a hearth (it is rarely used and more for aesthetics). However, the glass doors are still a hazard for pinched fingers. We have placed a bow type lock on the handles but it isn't tight enough to keep the beveled doors from opening slightly. Is there another solution besides a large surrounding gate? Thanks!

Answer

There often is, but it’s not a standard product. We sometimes mount dual wood pieces (just two parallel thin wooden pieces – say 1 x 1 inch or similar). What we can often do, is to place a piece of wood underneath the handles, then place a similar piece on top of the handles and put a couple of screws in at each end – fixing them together. Each piece would overlap both handles (on above and one underneath). If you need to, frequently, use the fireplace it would take more work. I would suggest a bolt installed at each end, that could easily be tightened on and off!

Question

Hi, I have twin 2 1/2 year olds and they can both unclip their harness clip on their carseat. I have searched online for hours and havn't come up with anything that is childproof in that area. Any suggestions? Thanks, Lisa

Answer

It is best to contact the manufacturer of your individual car and your individual car seat since all car seats are built differently. Please be aware that it may cause a safety concern should you get in an accident and the straps are not easily detachable. We deal with in home safety mainly but this question is a very popular one. You are not alone! Good luck with your search.

Question

I have a 30 gallon aquarium on a pier and beam foundation. Is there any kind of brackets or braces that can make it safer for the Grand Kids?

Answer

Yes, we recommend the Quakehold brackets – they are very strong and great for all kinds of surfaces – glass, metal and wood. No drilling required into metal or glass. You can find them here:

http://www.safetynook.com/ApplianceWallMounts/Furniture-Strap-2-pack/

Question

help - I need to protect my son from the central vacuum outlets - he loves to open them - any suggestions?

Answer

Yes, there are no standard products for those central vacuum outlets. They are not a safety concern though, but it can be frustrating that toys and other small objects disappear into them! Now, they typically always have a lid to cover the intake. So, the solution is to secure the lid somehow. If the outlets are not being used the lids can simply be taped on – we often see than parents tape the lids with clear packaging tape or duct tape, or screw the lid in – or replace the lid with a hard cover plate. Alternatively (and if the outlets are being used), a strap might be a good idea – such as:

http://www.safetynook.com/ApplianceWallMounts/Adjustable-Locking-Strap/

The adjustable locking strap - cabinet latch - is adhesive and can be mounted onto the lid and then onto the baseboard or wall. If mounted onto the wall, perhaps 2 tiny little screws with anchors into the wall, is the best solution. With the straps on, the lids can be opened and closed frequently.