Opus 131 - Childproofing for Twins 101

I am constantly working to get our house properly childproofed so Lissa and Joshua can safely play in many places. I think I've almost got it. I don't think I'll ever REALLY have it since kids are always amazing us with what they can find.

I know many of you will look at these pictures and think, "Oh my goodness, Emily. I think you've gone a little overboard. I've never had to do this much to my home!" A couple things to keep in mind... 1) Long before I had kids I have always been one of those safety conscious people. I always go by the book when it comes to safety (and germs for that matter). 2) Things are very different when you have two kids the exact same age. It's not like the older kid can tattle on the younger ("Mommy! The baby is getting into the dishwasher!"). Besides, think of how very smart your one year old was/is. Now think of putting two of those brains together! They always say two brains are smarter than one and, trust me, I believe it :)

So, without further adieu, I present to you Childproofing for Twins 101.

The Living Room

Notice: the gate keeping the kids away from the power button on the TV; the cushion on the door to the TV cabinet to keep the kids from banging the door against the wall too hard (a favorite pastime); you can barely see the bungee cord attaching the toy box to the gate so the kids don't accidentally pull the toy box over while trying to pull themselves up (that won't be needed once they can pull themselves up better)

Notice: the ropes tying the changing table to the staircase so they can't pull it over; the bungee cords holding the diaper genie (love the diaper genie, thanks MNJHS!) in place (yes, we can access it easily enough); the locked-top rubbermaid containers holding the kids' shoes and hats

I love our staircase gates. One of my favorite parts is the banister kit that makes it so you don't have to drill into your banister. We have the same gate at the top of the stairs as well.

Another great gate that keeps the kids out of the kitchen/dining area when we're not there or when I'm teaching lessons. The swinging door is a must for us.


The Kitchen

Notice: the lock on the oven; the locks on the drawers (on the right); the lock on the fridge. Three possible eventual problems: 1) The garbage can - having the lid seems to be enough to detract them for now, but that probably won't last. Since there's not another place to put it, we might have to get a lock for that too. 2) The stool. I need that stool to reach things in my kitchen (go ahead with the short jokes, they don't bother me - I got over that YEARS ago. Besides, my husband is taller than yours' - LOL!), but it will make it easier for the kids to get to places they shouldn't. So once they figure out how to climb on it I'll have to make space under the sink and keep it there. 3) Right now locking the dishwasher works fine. Eventually they'll figure out how to unlock it and we'll have to come up with another plan.

These cabinet locks are great. The only way to open them is with a super powerful magnet. We've tugged as hard as possible and haven't been able to open them without the magnet. Love it!
(You may have noticed that the oven drawer is not locked. I have put plastic bowls that they can play with down there - you have to let the kids play with SOME kitchen stuff, that's one of the fun things about being a kid!)

The next pictures I've already blogged about:

The cat door leading to the laundry room

The only bummer about the cat doors is that they have to be put on slightly off center because of the grooves in the door. The drill writer/marching band director in me just ignores it :)

The cat door leading to our room

The door viewer on the kids' door

I am still finishing up the work in Lissa and Joshua's room. I know, so sad that their room is last! I need to anchor their furniture to the wall, install the closet door locks (because of the lack of storage space in our house their closet stores a lot of stuff we can't have them getting into), cover the power strip, and install the gate at their door. Yes, another gate. I got that idea from Jon and Kate Plus 8. They were showing a flashback to when their kids were my kids' age and I noticed they had a gate on the kids' door. What a brilliant idea! Now I can let them play in their room while I'm cleaning the bathroom and not worry about them getting into the bathroom. Or I can let one kid play on the floor while I take the other downstairs, rather than making one wait in his/her crib (understandably not so fun). Or I could... you get the idea...