I was just looking online for a baby gate to keep the dog and the baby seperate. I found a zillion different baby gate styles (pressure mounted, wall mounted, extra tall, hands free, mesh, telescoping, foot pedal,etc) and then a zillion more 'suggestions' for baby proofing: cabninet locks, window locks,oven locks,fridge locks, cord winder-uppers, plug covers, furniture anchors, locks with alarms, and on and on...
I don't remember if we had any of this stuff when I was little, but I would bet we had none of it! I clearly remember jumping off my dresser, getting bitten by the dog, and once we even stuffed my cousin into the fold away bed in the couch and closed her up in it.
How much of this stuff do I need? Are these stores playing on my fears to get to my wallet or is this stuff all essential? And how did we all survive before this stuff?
Concussions, lacerations, knocked out teeth, ear surgery & counseling: even more money
Surviving childhood in spite of my best efforts: Priceless :selfbonk:
Y'know, we made it this far as a race, don't you think people have gotten a little too hysterical over safety? Kids will be kids. When people are afraid to let their kids play outside because they might get hurt (not for the more obvious reasons) tells me we have gone too far.
I have cabinet locks, but he's figured them out. I do use outlet covers though, especially since DH used to let DS play with his real keys. The only other thing I childproofed was the door that leads outside to our pool. DS can open the door, lock and unlock it so I put one of the slide locks at the top of it. All the childproofing in the world wouldn't stop him, he gets hurt on his own toys more than any child I've ever seen!
LOL glad I'm not the only one whose parents threw caution to the wind. I forgot all about the seatbelt things. I remember in the seventies the seatbelts had these big heavy metal buckles and we would whack each other with them instead of buckling up.
The worst childhood injury I got could not have been prevented by any safety device that I can think of. I was 5, and I stepped on the ground nest of yellow jacket wasps. They swarmed around me, flew in my mouth as I screamed, down my pants, everywhere. I was stung 200 times!
What were your worst childhood injuries and could they have been prevented by a safety device??
My son is 2 and he has figured out every gate, latch, or lock we've put up. I guess it slowed him down though. Maybe. We just watch him, and keep the REALLY dangerous stuf out of reach-knives, cleaning products. Now he tries to climb the cabinets and dressers to see what's up there.
I think all that you can do is protect them the best that you can. But we all have seen those freak accidents that no one could have predicted.That's what scares me the most.
There will be a time when I can not protect my son, as hard as I try, and I can only hope that I taught him well enough to take care of himself. And put the rest in God's hands.
My parents put me on a motercycle and rode on the highways with me between them. I was 1 or 2 at the time. That's scary.
I was also left alone to care for my brother by the age of 10, when the 'rents were at work. They didn't think they had a choice, I guess. And now, I know people who won't leave their 16-year-old alone for 3 hours.
I remember lying on the ledge between the back seat and the rear glass. My brother & I would also play "bridge" - we'd have our heads on the back seat and our feet on the headrest of the front seats, suspending ourselves over the backseat. I can also remember riding in the back of a pickup truck. Yikes! :uhoh21:
I did all those things too. My Dad always let me do them my Mom, not so much.
When my Grandparents babysat me and my cousin we'd wait by the gate for my Grandpa to drive through, jump on the back bumper while holding on to the tailgate down the long driveway.
I was the only girl surrounded by boy cousins so I grew up rough. Mom claims to have come to my Aunt's house to pick me up and I walked into the living room with my bottom lip busted wide open driniking milk. I had attempted to jump a chain link fence, my pants caught on and slammed my face on the ground. Mom swears the way it healed is the only reason I have such a big, pouty, bottom lip.
mine is 5 now, and i had baby gates for the kitchen and her room, and the plastic door knob things that kept the kid from being able to open certain doors. also plug protectors. They worked, and the baby gates were a god send for when i needed to clean or run to the bathroom. I had friends who didn't believe in the door knob things and gates, but i felt that safety was paramount, and while it is important to teach kids to listen, you still need to protect the stubborn ones. I had several friends whose kids went into the ER for swallowing pills, and eating cleaners and such and getting hurt on kitchen and bathroom appliances. Mine didn't. I don't think everything you see in "BabysRus" is necessary, but we all lead such busy lives now, that a little extra protection is nice.
Talk about price of hospital care- Cleaning out my gramps house I found the itemized bill from when my mom was born in Jan of 1939. The price will make you choke!
Including a 7 day hospital stay for both mom and baby, the grand total was, gulp, $34.00!!! Imagine that!!
Also about pups and dogs shewing- a little hot sauce rubbed on wood & metal or sprinkles of hot pepper flakes on carpet, etc cures the chewies!
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Spatialized
1 Article; 301 Posts
Broken Humerus, 1st grade: lots of money
Broken ulna/radius, 3rd grade: more money
Concussions, lacerations, knocked out teeth, ear surgery & counseling: even more money
Surviving childhood in spite of my best efforts: Priceless :selfbonk:
Y'know, we made it this far as a race, don't you think people have gotten a little too hysterical over safety? Kids will be kids. When people are afraid to let their kids play outside because they might get hurt (not for the more obvious reasons) tells me we have gone too far.
But what do I know, I'm not a parent, yet...
Tom