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Motherhood, Giveaways and Product Reviews

Professional Childproofing With Safety 1st Squad *Giveaway*

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This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by.  The winner is Chrysa!  Congrats!

Up until about a week or so ago, I thought our home was relatively safe for our children.  We have gates on the stairs and in my son’s room, cabinet locks, and outlet covers.  Many of our kitchen appliances have built-in safety features (i.e. an oven and dishwasher lock) and most of our furniture is secured to the wall.  However, after a visit from Child Safety Expert and Professional Childproofer Kimberlee Mitchell, I learned that there is much more we can do to keep both of our children safe.

The number one cause of death for children, ages 1-4, is unintentional injury.  I hope you’re as shocked as I was upon reading this statistic. I think that I am pretty good about watching my children, but with two, I can’t be everywhere, all the time.  I want to emphasize that nothing takes the place of supervision.  However, there are many things I, as a parent, can do to make sure that the places where my children play are safe.

Safety 1st, a leading childproofing product manufacturer, teamed up with California-based Boo Boo Busters last year to create a premier professional childproofing service called The Safety 1st Squad.  This team of professional home childproofers assists in making your home a safer place for your children.  A member of the team comes to your home to analyze potential hazards (obvious and hidden), recommend, sell, and install specific child safety devices for each hazard.  The Safety 1st Squad will also educate parents on how to expect the unexpected and make behavioral changes to keep children safe.

A little over a week ago, Kimberlee Mitchell came to our home to analyze potential hazards in our home.  After a brief introduction and a briefing on what to expect, Kimberlee went through our house, room by room, identifying hazards I never thought about.  She was thorough and went so far as to anticipate potential hazards that both my son could face as he gets a bit older, and those that our daughter could face once she starts becoming mobile.  Kimberlee spent time educating my husband and I and recommended both traditional and professional products that would work to keep our children safe.

As a mom to a toddler, I’ve had my share of “mishaps,” none of which have resulted in anything but a minor trip to the doctor.  However, Kimberlee pointed out some hazards that I definitely want to be sure to address.  Specifically, we have a ledge upstairs that could be very dangerous (I talk more about it on the video, about half-way through).  Kimberlee’s analysis was thorough and she educated us along the way.  This is something I wish I had done when I was pregnant (or at the very least before we moved into the house), so I didn’t have to worry about doing it with a toddler running around.  Here is a video I made of Kimberlee and I going through the house, to give you an idea of what you can expect from a Safety 1st Squad consultation:


The Safety 1st Squad offers two levels of products (traditional and professional) for families in all income brackets.  Services include Consultation & Installation, Consultation and Product for parents to install and a Petproofing service.  Personally, I don’t know that I want to install some of the more difficult safety products.  However, doing so is a cost-effective way to childproof and definitely something to consider if you think that your budget doesn’t allow for professional installation.

I walked away with a profound amount of education.  Here are four general childproofing tips Kimberlee shared with me:

1.  Get Ahead of the Curve:  Childproof During Pregnancy

Most babies start to crawl at 6 months.  As a parent, it’s my job to be one step ahead to ensure my children have a safe environment to explore and play.  While I did not childproof during pregnancy, I would highly recommend it.  It’s one less thing to worry about.

2.  A Powerful One-Two Combo:  Childproofing and Discipline

As a parent, it’s important to teach children what is safe and dangerous.  Childproofing and discipline should overlap.

3.  Lengthen the Life of Your Childproofing

We have a gate we use on my son’s door when he’s asleep so that he doesn’t wander around the house, should he wake up before we do.  A few weeks ago, I heard a thud about half past dark.  I ran to my son’s room.  He had climbed over the gate and was sitting there looking up at me.  Kimberlee suggests that you operate all child safety devices with your back to your child to lengthen the life of your childproofing.  I have no idea how my son learned to crawl over that gate, but no longer can we count on that gate to keep him in his room.  One other point I should mention…safety devices are designed to slow children down.  Babies and toddlers can figure out how to open levered door handles and climb over gates.

4.  Have Off Limit Rooms

We have two Off Limit Rooms in our home…the garage and the spare bedroom (although the bathrooms are off limits most of the time).  These rooms should be secured with door locks and be off limits.  Other rooms that you could be considered Off Limits include the laundry room, loft, terrace, an older sibling’s room, office, gym, utility room, craft room, and rooms under construction.

Even if you’ve childproofed your home, I recommend having an expert come in.  As I mentioned above, we thought we had the house completely safe.  It was the knowledge about the hidden dangers that I truly appreciated.  For more information about the Safety 1st Squad or tips on childproofing your home, just visit their site.

Win It! One of you will win $100 worth of safety products, courtesy of Safety 1st.  Simply visit the website.  Then come back and leave me a comment with something you learned on the site (there is a ton of information!).  Comments will close on April 5, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!

I did not receive compensation for this post.  I received a childproofing consultation to facilitate this experience.

Caryn Bailey
Latest posts by Caryn Bailey (see all)
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116 Responses to Professional Childproofing With Safety 1st Squad *Giveaway*

  1. I learned that you shouldn’t let your child play with pots and pans, because he might see one on the stove and think it’s OK to grab.

    Reply

  5. Wow I learned: Never let child play with pots and pans as it sends the wrong message that these are toys. When the child later sees the same pots and pans on the stovetop he will want to grab his familiar “toy.” – I let my kids do this all the time, I didn’t think about it this way but it makes sense!

    Reply

  9. My baby girl is 3 months old now and this is something that we need to start doing! I learned that you need to establish Off-Limits rooms and restrict especially hazardous or non-child friendly areas. The cheapest way to childproof a room is to lock it. These areas include the laundry room, bathrooms, garage, guest rooms, office, gym, craft room, and any terrace or loft area.

    Reply

  11. I learned that Spices and seasonings can be dangerous, including salt for its iodine, as well as vanilla and cooking wine for their alcohol. These should be keep out of reach

    Reply

  13. I like your suggestions about getting started before the baby arrives, and having “off limits” room/s in the house!! Fantastic and wise suggestions.

    Reply

  14. I learned this: Choking on small items can be prevented by checking the couch cushions daily, sweeping the floor and being vigilant.

    Drowning can be prevented by never leaving a child alone in the bath tub, keeping arm’s reach supervision on children in pools, locking toilets, installing spa and pool gates/covers, and making sure receptacles in the yard are dumped out after rains.

    Burns can be avoided by lowering your water heater down to 120° Fahrenheit, installing hearth gates, and gating off the kitchen area.

    Reply

  18. I’ve tried five times to sign up for your email. The email burner doesn’t work! Pls, from your end, if you can sign me up, I’d be so grateful.

    Reply

  19. Purchasing a special crib mattress that circulates air around baby. This helps prevent the “rebreathing” of carbon dioxide, which is believed to be a leading cause of SIDS.

    Reply

  27. I learned that many hazards are hidden and not common knowledge for new parents and are overlooked! Thanks for the chance.

    Reply

  31. Gates are recommended for use with children under 2 years of age. Gates should never be used with a child able to climb over or dislodge/open the gate of enclosure. We use gates to separate dogs and cats in our house.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    Reply

  33. I learned that since the launch of the national Back To Sleep Campaign in 1994, SIDS deaths in the USA have declined by 50%.

    Reply

  34. I learned that you should take the bolts off at the base of your toilet since they are a choking hazard. This thought never occured to me. Thanks for the chance.

    Reply

  39. The one product that interest me is the “railnet”. Having a deck and realizing the potential danger for a child is a concern. This product is
    definitely one to consider for summer.

    Reply

  42. I just emailed {from the buttons below} about this giveaway plus that I know she’ll be impressed with the site.

    Reply

  44. I learned that you shouldn’t allow your child to play with pots and pans as it sends the wrong message, never thought about that until now!

    Reply

  48. Placing decals at eye-level for a toddler on sliding glass doors is something I hadn’t thought of–possibly because with the animals, my doors are almost never clean enough to ‘disappear’–they make a natural mark on them with their noses and paws!

    Reply

  51. Thanks for this amazing post especially when I have a small child running around. We had been thinking for a while to install new door furniture and also add new door handles to our doors to avoid our kids playing peek-a-boo
    Your post reminded me of an incidence when I woke up early one morning and was busy preparing for work and I heard a noise upstairs. On reaching the top of my stair ( which i have secured using childproof door, a wonderful door furniture) i saw my 2 year old son dragging his day care bag and sleep walking. This gave me a shock as the absence of door furniture would have made him stumble down and hurt himself.
    I would also soon get an evaluation done and see what other precautions I need to take to make my home more secure.

    Reply

  52. I learned that they also carry a wide selection of pet safety products too! Thanks for the chance!
    Kelly Deaton – secrets_girl23(at)yahoo(dot)com (aka) dkad23(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  53. I’m an email subscriber.
    Kelly Deaton – secrets_girl23(at)yahoo(dot)com (aka) dkad23(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  56. I just sent a Ymessage {via link below} and sent you a copy as proff. This went to TWO friends of mine.

    Reply

  58. I just Y Yahoo mailed {from button at bottom of the page] to two more friends of mine. I sent you a copy as proof.

    Reply

  64. Never let child play with pots and pans as it sends the wrong message that these are toys. When the child later sees the same pots and pans on the stovetop he will want to grab his familiar “toy.”

    Reply

  75. I learned that you should remove the bolt caps from the toilet base since they are a choking hazard. I totally would have overlooked that. They have great tips!

    Reply

  76. i learned that you should not use small or breakable refrigerator magnets as they are choking hazards.

    Reply

  77. This tip is really interesting: Consider purchasing a special crib mattress that circulates air around baby. This helps prevent the “rebreathing” of carbon dioxide, which is believed to be a leading cause of SIDS.
    I did not know that about SIDS nor did I know that they make crib mattresses that do that. good to know!

    Reply

  80. Wow-I never thought of the pots and pan thing. Guess you learn something new all the time. I was excited about only having to child-proof 2 cabinets. Now it is back up to 3 after that.

    Reply

  85. I learned “Never let child play with pots and pans as it sends the wrong message that these are toys. When the child later sees the same pots and pans on the stovetop he will want to grab his familiar “toy.” I never thought of that!

    Reply

  86. I learned that children should not have unsupervised access to decks. Beware of your child stacking toys/object to see over railing.

    Reply

  87. There’s lots of stuff on their site that I wouldn’t even think about…

    I learned that the bolt caps on the toilets are choking hazards.

    Reply

  94. •Install magnetic child safety locks on all accessible drawers and cabinets that contain toxic items

    Reply

  96. I learned to not hang dish towels on oven door as a baby can pull on the towel and bring the door down onto himself.

    Reply

  98. I learned you can use a safety gate at the top of the stairs if it has hardware to connect to the door frame. You cannot use a pressure mounted gate at the top of the stairs.

    Reply

  103. I learned to use locks (suction cups are best) on sliding closet doors until baby can open and close without pinching fingers or slamming which may cause glass doors to crack.
    lisalmg25 at gmail dot com

    Reply

  104. I’d LOVE to win this for the parents of my surrogate son (who is due in June!). 😀

    One of many awesome tips that their site has is, Remove bolt caps on toilet base as they pose a choking hazard!

    THANK YOU. 🙂

    Reply

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