Who makes the best Baby Gates?

There are a lot of Baby Gates on the market from a multitude of different manufacturers. If you are shopping for one, it may be confusing sorting out which company offers the best quality gates. The simple answer is KidCo. They offer the highest quality, best rated, and largest selection of baby gates and extensions in the industry.

KidCo offers pressure gates, walk-thru gates, stairway gates, fireplace gates, play dens, configurable gates, and extra wide gates in an array of sizes and finishes. Most of their gates are made from sturdy metal with a choice of color, but they also offer finished wood gates for various models. All of their gates are adjustable and have optional extensions to custom fit the gate to the opening size.

KidCo gates are a little more expensive than most of the competition, but they are made better and are more durable. They are simply a better value. There are some good gates from other manufacturers but they can’t match the breadth and completeness of the KidCo line of baby gates.

Toxic Chemicals in Baby Products

Unfortunately not all products marketed for children and babies are completely safe for their use. Many may contain toxic chemicals that may have detrimental health impacts for children exposed during critical stages of development.

Toxic flame retardants (or PBDEs) are set of chemicals used to slow the spread of fire in a wide set of consumer products. Levels of these chemicals found in the breast milk of American women and some fetuses are approaching levels shown to impair learning and cause behavior problems in lab mice.

Phthalates are a family of chemicals used in many plastic children’s products to improve flexibility.  Adults and children are exposed to phthalates through everyday contact with these products. These chemicals have been linked to premature birth, reproductive defects, and early onset puberty.

Many Baby Products Tested Contain Toxic Chemicals

When seven infant sleep aids and other products were tested for toxic flame retardants three of those tested positive for PBDEs in the foam material. The tests found multiple PBDEs in the foam of: First Year’s Air Flow Sleep Positioner, the Leachco Sleep n’ Secure 3-in-1 Infant Sleep Positioner, and the PeeWees Disposable Crib Mattress Pads.

When 18 bath books, teethers, bath toys, and others were tested for phthalates, 15 of these tested positive for phthalates.

These tests show that some baby products may in fact contain toxic chemicals. Unfortunately, since manufacturers are not required to label their products for these chemicals, parents have no way of knowing whether or not a product poses a hidden hazard.                                                                         

Read on…

Parent Recommendations

In the absence of good government regulations, but armed with the knowledge that some chemicals are a cause for concern, parents can take a few simple steps to limit their child’s exposure to these.

At the store, parents should select toys, baby dishware, and sleep aids made of materials that are less likely to contain toxic chemicals.

At home, parents should avoid washing plastic dishware with harsh dishwashing soap and hot water, which may allow chemicals to leach out of the plastic.

Products to avoid:

• Food containers with polycarbonate or PVC plastic
• Canned foods
• Foods wrapped in plastic
• Polycarbonate plastic baby bottles

Choosing safer products:

• Look for PVC Free labels on toys
• Choose wood toys
• Opt for glass: for baby bottles, and food containers
• Use ceramic, metal, or enamel plates and utensils

If you use plastic products:

• Don’t let children put plastic toys in their mouths
• Never heat food or beverages in plasic containers
• Don’t let milk sit in plastic baby bottles for long periods
• Don’t use harsh detergents or very hot water when washing plastic baby bottles. Never put in dishwasher.
• Throw away plastic bottles that look scratched or hazy

Find out more….

New Cabinet Lock from KidCo

Trusted manufacturer KidCo has recently released a new child safety cabinet lock. It is called the Adhesive Mount Magnet Lock. It is the only magnetic lock on the market that installs without tools or drilling. It is meant to compete with the Tot Lok by Safety 1st which requires drilling and countersinking. KidCo is one of the best manufacturers in child safety products and produces the best Baby Gates on the market. The Adhesive Mount Magnet Lock should be a good addition to their product line.done

Poison Plants

The plants listed here are not safe for children. Please eliminate these plants from your home, or segregate them in a room that is inaccessible to your child. Moving plants up and out of reach may not be enough because stems, flowers, or leaves may fall to the floor within baby’s reach. Keep children away from outdoor poisonous plants with garden fencing, etc. and teach your child the dangers of eating unknown berries. Contact the Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222 for more information.

Aconite Anemone Apple seeds (in large quantities) Autumn crocus Avocado leaves Azalea Bird of paradise pods Black locust trees Black nightshade Bloodroot Buttercups Caladium Calla lily Castor bean Christmas pepper Castor bean seek Catnip plant Cherry plants Common privet Daffodil bulbs Deadly nightshade Delphinium Diefenbachia (dumb cane) English ivy Foxglove Fruit pits from any tree fruits Holly berries Horse chestnuts Hyacinth bulbs Hydrangea Iris Ivy:  Boston, English, and others Jack-in-the-pulpit Jerusalem cherry Jonquil Lantana

Larkspur Laurel Lily of the valley Mayapple Mistletoe berries Monkshood Morning glory Mountain laurel Mushrooms (most varieties) Narcissus bulbs Nephthysis Nicotiana Oak leaves and acorns Oleander Philodendron Poinsettia Poison hemlock Poison ivy Poison oak Pokeweed Potato vines, sprouts, stems Pothos Privet leaves and berries Ranunculus Rhododendron Rhubarb leaves Rosary peas Sweet pea Thornapple (jimson weed) Tobacco Tomato plant leaves Tulip Wild black cherry trees Wisteria Yellow jasmine Yew

Baby Proofing Introduction

Having a baby changes every aspect of your life.  This will be evident not only in your lifestyle but also in your home.  In addition to making preparations for nursery design and furnishings, you will have to take measures to ensure that your home is as safe as possible.  The natural curiosity of children will lead them to explore everything within their reach.  To enable a child to explore without compromising safety, parents should childproof their homes by the time their child is crawling.As a designer and father of two kids, I know that most homes are not designed with small children in mind and, consequently, expose children to many hazards in their daily life.  All homes have common hazard areas such as stairs, bathrooms, laundry rooms, electrical outlets and kitchens. In addition, the distinct features of your home can pose a safety risk for children.  Some examples include: fireplaces, stair and deck railings, laundry chutes, and low windows.Realistically, you cannot watch your child every second of every day to insure his or her safety, nor is it practical or healthy to say ‘NO’ all the time.  Childproofing creates a safe environment in which your child can play and explore, and it also provides you with some peace of mind. Fortunately for parents, there are home safety products on the market to address almost every hazard within the home: cabinet locks, baby gates, electrical outlet covers, toilet locks, hearth pads, corner protectors, and many others.

The goal of childproofing your home is not to turn your home into a prison-like setting that completely inhibits a child’s ability to explore and develop.  Rather, childproofing should balance such factors as safety, aesthetics, cost, child supervision level, and livability.

Of course the hazards a child is exposed to will vary with their stages of development.  A passive three month old is exposed to many less hazards than an active eighteen month old.  The following is a list of potential hazards based on age:

Up to four months:

• Falls from furniture
• Bathing accidents
• Choking on food
• Crib suffocation

Between five and seven months:

• Falls from stairs
• Electrical shocks
• Poisoning
• Choking on small objects
• Water accidents

Between eight and twelve months:

• All the above
• Climbing dressers and bookcases which can topple
• Bumping into the corners of furniture or countertops
• Gaining access to hazards in cabinets
• Grabbing items such as a stove kettle which can burn

Between one year and two years:

• All the above
• Access to restricted areas such as basements, garages, swimming pools, decks/balconies, and driveways

Tot Lok Installation

A word of caution if you are installing Tot Loks to baby proof your cabinets. Tot Loks are the magnetic cabinet latches by Safety 1st which have a locking mechanism opened by a magnetic key. They lock automatically, and can be deactivated when needed. The lock portion must be partially countersunk into the cabinet door which they are child proofing. Before countersinking it is important to properly align the lock with the catch before drilling. It is also important to have the proper size drill as noted in the installation instructions. But the most important thing to remember is that is easy to drill through the face of the cabinet. I did this on a number of occasions when I was child-proofing homes. How embarrassing and unprofessional it felt when this occurred. I had to patch the cabinet and profusely apologize to the homeowner. To prevent drilling through the face it is essential that you use a depth control device on your drill bit. This is a device that attaches to your drill bit and will control the depth of drilling. Included in the Tot Lok package are plastic sleeves that will slide over your drill bit and leave only the bottom end exposed. Be sure to leave only the recommended distance of bit exposed. The sleeves will impede the bit advancement and insure that the bit will not penetrate through the cabinet face. You may have to adjust for the thickness of your cabinet doors, as thinner doors will need less drilling and thicker doors may need a little more drilling. You can test if the proper depth is achieved by holding an unattached lock and magnet to the drilled hole and placing the magnetic key on the outside of the cabinet. If the magnetic piece moves towards the magnetic key you know the latch will work properly. If you take the proper care you will install all of your Tot Loks with no damage to the face of your nice cabinets.

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