Baby Proofing on the Goo

Baby-proofing at home is a habit for parents, but a visit to Grandma's and Grandpa's house can bring a whole new set of circumstances. Luckily, there are some specific child safety products that are easy to take along with you when you travel. Most will work anywhere and are not cumbersome to pack and carry.

Cupboard control is easy if you use the latches that slide over the knobs and lock. Take enough for kitchen cupboards and bathroom vanities. Outlet protectors are inexpensive and valuable. Find these at any discount store and take a box of them along.

Regular doors always present dangers. Sometimes the answer is to simply close a door so the child does not have access to a room. There are slip-on doorknob covers that can easily be gripped and opened by adults but they slip and slide around with small hands. These are handy for door knobs that will need to be used by adults frequently, such as an entrance door or a bathroom door. Another danger with doors is the chance for pinched fingers, arms or legs if an open door gets pushed shut on a child. If a door needs to remain open, use two simple wedge doorstops, one on each side, so the door won't be able to move either way.

EvenFlo makes a safety gate that will adjust to fit any width doorway, hallway, or stairwell from 38" to 60" wide. It installs easily and will not mar walls or woodwork. This safety gate will close and fold so it is convenient for traveling.

Sharp edges and corners on furniture are another hazard. The company Safety 1^st makes a table edge cover that is expandable. It is well padded and stretches to fit around the whole edge of a coffee table, not just the corners. Extra corner protectors are included to fit under the cover. It comes in a couple of different sizes to fit any size or shape of table, even oval or round, and it is easy to slip off and on so you can take it along.

An often overlooked hazard to curious little fingers is a VCR and DVD player. Look for plastic guards that fit on the machines to prevent opening them. They are available for different combinations of VCR and DVD players.

Cords can be another problem. It seems like there are usually too many cords in a room and many of them are just too long. The split tube cord covers will contain several cords and keep them from being so unruly. And for extra long electrical cords, use the special winding spools. The extra length is wound around the spool, and a cover snaps on to hold it in place. Window blind cords present a real danger if they dangle where they could wrap around a child's neck. The winding spools are available in a smaller size just for blind cords.