Parenting Tips for Toddlers - Tips to Keep Your Toddler Happy and Safe

... obviously, when parents think about what is best for a toddler, they think safety. Toddlers are at that stage in child development where their curiosity and desire to explore the world compels them to get into everything. While this can be exasperating for parents, consider the flip side ... what if your child showed no interest in the world?

Feeling lucky now? This article will help you create safe spaces in which your child can explore the world. The trick is to encourage your child's curiosity while preventing danger.

Parenting Tips for Toddlers - Make Your House a Safe, Happy Place for Your Toddler to Explore

Below is a checklist of standard toddler safety items. Click on the links to see a photo of the product. Rather than purchase items one at a time, it's best to get everything you need right now and take the time to install everything at once, so your house will be toddler-proof.

• KidCo Sliding Cabinet Lock
• KidCo Sliding Door Locks
• KidCo Soft Corner Protectors White
• Gerber Children's Products Drawer Latches (4-Pack)
• KidCo Finger Guards
• Safety 1st Essentials Child Proofing Kit

Parenting Tips for Toddlers - Additional Safety Items

Beyond the items listed above, you may also need things that work for your particular home and situation. For instance, if you have a wood stove that use to heat your home during the winter, then you should seriously consider a hearth gate. There is nothing worse than being a burn victim and I wince to think of the beautiful, perfect skin of a toddler being marred by a fire in a fireplace or falling against a roaring wood stove. The hearth gate below is a great solution:

KidCo HearthGate Accommodates areas up to 10' (80") wide. You can also purchase one 8" or one 24" extension (sold separately) to increase the total width to 88" or 122" respectively. Now your heart doesn't have to skip a beat when your child wanders near the fireplace or grill. This wall-mounted hearth gate offers a protective barrier where you need it most, even if your layout doesn't have mounting points straight across from each other, as many gates require. HearthGate

Another important thing to consider is containing your child within an area which you have made safe. This give toddlers the freedom to move around, rather than keep them inside a playpen, something my toddlers never liked.

KidCo ConfigureGate Accommodates openings 6' (72") wide. You can also purchase one 8" or one 24" extension (sold separately) to increase the total width to 80" or 96" respectively. With interlocking sections that can be connected at virtually any angle, this customizable gate system lets you create a safe barrier in an irregular area of your home. It's the perfect solution for layouts that don't have mounting points straight across from each other, as many gates require. ConfigureGate

Parenting Tips for Toddlers: Using childproofing products is a way to encourage your child's curiosity and joy of discovering while keeping him safe.

Finally, you might want to consider a safety gate that is designed to allow you to open it even when your hands are full.

The First Years Hands-Free Gate Designed to be an obstacle to your baby but not to you, this safety gate opens with a push of your foot and knee, leaving one hand free to carry your baby, the other free for laundry, toys, bottles you name it. Hands-Free Gate

About the author: Laura Ramirez is the author of the award-winning parenting book Keepers of the Children which teaches parents how to raise children to become progressively aware of what their strengths are, so they can grow into adults who lead meaningful and productive lives.

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Parenting Tips for Toddlers - Parenting Tips

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