Baby proofing Grandma’s house

For kids spending time with their grandparents is great. They get extra attention and are often spoiled. But grandma’s house is not hazard free for toddlers, it probably contains similar safety hazards that your house contains, and may contain others such as more prescription medicine around the house. If your child spends a lot of time at grandma’s then you may want to consider a full-blown baby proofing effort, but if they are just visiting for a short time, less intrusive or temporary measures can be taken.

Grandparents often have to be educated about baby-proofing products that did exist not 20 or 30 years ago, and may be resistant to installing devices which they may deem to be inconvenient. But  most grandparents will  understand your desire to make their home safer for their precious grand-kids, and a lot of the products can be disabled when the grand kids are gone.

Checklist for baby proofing grandma’s house for a short visit:

• Move cleaning supplies and chemicals in any room out of reach. Product: XL Clean Guard
• Make sure medicine is moved out of reach and locked up. Product: Medi Guard 
• Move breakable knick-knacks, glasses, etc. out of reach
• Make sure exposed electrical cords and window blind cords are secured or removed
• Move small kitchen countertop appliances, knives, etc. out of reach
• Make sure they have the phone number for Poison Control if needed: 800-222-1222
• Cover open electrical outlets with outlet caps. Product : Outlet Protectors
• Move sharp cornered coffee tables or other furnishings out of the way

Checklist for more thorough baby-proofing of Grandma’s:

• Install a Safety Gate at stairways, decks, or other problem areas. There are gates which can be easily removed when not needed.
• Use a Door Top Lock to keep kids out of troubling rooms such as a bathroom. These have a on and off position for when not needed.
• Install cabinet latches at cabinet doors and drawers which contain hazardous items. Some locks can be disabled when the grandkids are gone.
• Cover up exposed plugged-in outlets and power strips with baby proof covers.
• Install hearth guard padding on the sharp edges of raised fireplace hearths.
• Install cushioning at sharp edged furniture such as at coffee tables.
• Install window locks so that windows cannot be opened more than 4 inches to prevent falls.
• Install door locks on entrance and exit doors so that the child cannot escape to the outside.
• Secure TV’s and large furniture to eliminate tip-over accidents.

This is just a small sampling of potential hazards in a particular home. There are babyproofing professionals in most urban areas who can evaluate your home for you if desired.  They can also install products for you, but most can be installed by yourself with little difficulty.

Baby safety gate mounting kit options

Installing a child safety gate or pet gate is not always easy, especially at the top of the stairs. Each house can have different mounting conditions  that can affect installation such as  hollow walls, banister posts, baseboards, baluster spindles, and more. Fortunately there are gate mounting kits available that can make it much easier to get your safety gates installed properly. Below are the merits of each available gate kit.

KidCo K100 Gate Mounting Kit:

The KidCo K100 Gate Mounting Kit is helpful for many mounting conditions and can save several trips to the lumber yard. This kit includes the materials and fasteners necessary to install the gate on wood banister’s, hollow walls, walls with baseboards, or wrought iron railings. The included strip of wood allows for gate hardware to be installed onto it instead of wood banisters or wrought iron railings.

KidCo K100 Gate Mounting Kit

KidCo K12 Hole Free Post Gate Kit:

The KidCo K12 Gate Mounting Kit doesn’t require drilling into staircase banister post woodwork for the installation of your safety gate. Simply attach top and bottom clamps to your post and then attach the included wood strip to the clamps. You can then attach your safety gate onto the wood strip. It works on both round and square posts.

KidCo K12 Gate Mounting Kit

Baluster Mount Safety Gate Installation Kit:

The GM6 Baluster Mount Safety Gate Installation Kit gives you the ability to mount a child safety gate between two small wood or metal balusters (spindles). It’s an ideal solution if you are installing a baby gate where you can’t attach your safety gate to a newel post or wall. Each kit comes with a wood attachment, top & bottom clamps and all hardware needed.

Baluster Mount Safety Gate Installation Kit