Child Proofing, things you really don't think about

Monday's topic at the new mom's support group was child proofing. I had always thought that we were doing a pretty good job of preparing our house until I heard everything you need to consider. It really is amazing the things you would think are common sense in child proofing, but really some of the simple things slip your mind. For instance one knows that you should put a child safety gate by the stairs at the top and the bottom, only I didn't realize, but it makes sense, that the gate shouldn't be placed at the top of the stairs but before the stairs! Of course the child is going to go stand at the gate or shake it even and when it comes loss down they go. Common sense one would think, but that is where we were going to place the gate until this was brought to our attention. Also, cleaning supplies under the sink. I think almost everyone keeps their cleaners and dishwasher soap here, but even if there is a child lock on the cabinet kids can still get into it and try to eat it! Outlet covers, I never would have thought that a child would actually sit there and try to pluck them out, but apparently they do, so those aren't a "for sure" thing. Shelves and other media paraphernalia need to be screwed to the wall. I was so glad this was brought up because we have two really big bookcases that go in our living room that probably would topple over really easily if one of the girls tried to pull up with it, so these will be screwed down once we move. Finally, table cloths. I have a ton of these that I use all the time, and I didn't even think about the girls going and pulling on them, so holidays only now! I think for safety purposes, and it will make cleaning easier, once we move we will be taking the minimalist approach to decorating at least for a couple of years to make sure the girls stay safe. I know that even if we are ultra careful they are going to get into things because that is what little ones do, but we will try to help them stay out of trouble by not putting trouble at their level.