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We recently moved into a new home with our daughter who turned 3 in January. Do you think we still need to put the little plastic inserts into the electrical outlets? My husband thinks it was more of an issue when she was a crawling infant & eye level with the outlets. I think now that she is more active and exploring more (without constant supervision) we still need to use the covers. Thoughts? Also, what other child-proofing should we be doing at this age? Thanks in advance!
We don't know your child. They might not be curious about electrical outlets. Or they might be curious about those kinds of things. They probably won't try to stick their fingers in them (I don't think they can hurt themselves that way in the first place) but they might want to plug in electrical things into wall sockets. or they might try sticking forks into them.
You aren't going to hurt anything by using the outlets covers. They are simple to remove should you need to plug something in.
On the other hand, the chance that they'll be injured by outlets at 3.5 is small, and there are more important safety concerns to worry about at that age.
Outlet covers are cheap and easy...and the ones that are on the perimeter of the house even help as insulation to cut down on drafts! Don't be so fast to give up all this stuff.
We recently moved into a new home with our daughter who turned 3 in January. Do you think we still need to put the little plastic inserts into the electrical outlets? My husband thinks it was more of an issue when she was a crawling infant & eye level with the outlets. I think now that she is more active and exploring more (without constant supervision) we still need to use the covers. Thoughts? Also, what other child-proofing should we be doing at this age? Thanks in advance!
I sometimes wonder how I survived being a child. Back in my day, nobody knew what 'baby proofing' was - let alone did it. Heck I drank out of the outside hose in the summer time. I rode my bike without a helmet - I rode a skateboard without one too... I ran with a stick in my hand and didn't poke my eye out - I fell in the house and hit my head on the corner of the table (that wasn't made of particle board).
I climbed trees, disrupted bee hives, and did a lot more 'dangerous' stuff but I still survived.. I'm wondering how on earth THAT happened....
Semi-OT... When i was getting/had my FosterCare Licence one of the things on the check-list the social worker had verify on Home Safety Inspections was covered Outlets.
I was fostering Middle & HS aged boys.
I would look at her and say @ 11-18yo I would hope they know not to put a fork into outlet.
I sometimes wonder how I survived being a child. Back in my day, nobody knew what 'baby proofing' was - let alone did it. Heck I drank out of the outside hose in the summer time. I rode my bike without a helmet - I rode a skateboard without one too... I ran with a stick in my hand and didn't poke my eye out - I fell in the house and hit my head on the corner of the table (that wasn't made of particle board).
I climbed trees, disrupted bee hives, and did a lot more 'dangerous' stuff but I still survived.. I'm wondering how on earth THAT happened....
Same here! We did all that and much worse back in the late 70's/early 80's but even back then, we DID have outlet covers.
I sometimes wonder how I survived being a child. Back in my day, nobody knew what 'baby proofing' was - let alone did it. Heck I drank out of the outside hose in the summer time. I rode my bike without a helmet - I rode a skateboard without one too... I ran with a stick in my hand and didn't poke my eye out - I fell in the house and hit my head on the corner of the table (that wasn't made of particle board).
I climbed trees, disrupted bee hives, and did a lot more 'dangerous' stuff but I still survived.. I'm wondering how on earth THAT happened....
But, the point is that some children did die. In fact, many more children did die or were injured.
I survived unscathed too, but I knew others that did not.
My 9 year old cousin, drowned in a stream, in front of all of his siblings when they were walking home from school. Someone threw his notebook in the water (as a joke) and he jumped in to get it and no one knew how to swim.
Another cousin suffered permanent brain damage after hiding in an old refrigerator while playing Hide & Go Seek with his siblings & kids in the neighborhood.
A neighbor (age ten) was paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a tree.
Another neighbor (about 12) drowned in a stream while swimming with his buddies.
Are some parents too over protective? Heck, yes! But, there should be a happy medium.
When we bought out house, a lot of the receptacles were painted over, so I needed to change them out anyway. I installed the tamper proof variety everywhere.
I've had kindergarten students stick paper clips in the outlet. Yes, they got shocked and there were scorch marks on the wall. Kids are kooky sometimes.
It just depends on your child. My child wouldn't have needed the covers at age 3, but some kids might.
But, the point is that some children did die. In fact, many more children did die or were injured.
I survived unscathed too, but I knew others that did not.
My 9 year old cousin, drowned in a stream, in front of all of his siblings when they were walking home from school. Someone threw his notebook in the water (as a joke) and he jumped in to get it and no one knew how to swim.
Another cousin suffered permanent brain damage after hiding in an old refrigerator while playing Hide & Go Seek with his siblings & kids in the neighborhood.
A neighbor (age ten) was paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a tree.
Another neighbor (about 12) drowned in a stream while swimming with his buddies.
Are some parents too over protective? Heck, yes! But, there should be a happy medium.
Exactly. I "love" all those condescending posts about the good old days...point is kids who didn't survive their childhood aren't on here writing about it. It's easy to wave it off as "$hit happens' - until it's your child that it happens to
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