Childproofing house/Baseboard Heat

Hi Kate. We had base board heat when my 4 y/o was a baby. I put furniture in front of them. Her crib in front of the one in her room, the couch in the living room. The heat was able to get out and she wasn't able to reach them. However, in places like the bathroom, there wasn't anything I could do. She only put her little hand inside it ONE time. For alot of things I feel that the only thing you can do it let the little ones learn first hand not to do something. I would constantly tell her 'thats a no no' from the start. Also, if u cover the heater with anything besides metal, it will be a fire hazard, if you cover it with metal the metal would get just as hot. I would also turn the heat down or off in that room if possible. Best of luck!

Kate,

We have an electric base board heating unit in our playroom. What I did was put chairs around the unit to block the kids from getting to it. This is not a foolproof method as they can climb under the chairs and now actually move them since they are older, however, it does slow them down in getting to it. I would not recommend covering it with anything as that would be a fire hazard. I don't know of any books or online resources on childproofing, but what I did was get just get down on the floor myself and crawl around to see what was in sight that might be dangerous for the baby. Keep in mind that even though they are crawling, they will also try to pull themselves up on to things - this is one thing I missed. We had a small telephone table that my first son never touched. However, my second one went right to it and pulled it over on himself, so just be mindful of those types of things as well.

Good luck.

I was thinking you might have to put a chair or something in front of it. Eventually she will want to use the chair to stand and cruise with.

well....I asked my husband and he said there really isn't anything you can cover the baseboards with. He also said they shouldn't get REALLY hot bc they have a built in heat shield....if it's getting too hot you might want to have them looked at. Keep the heat turned down and put extra clothes on your baby. I would train her from the get-go NOT to go near them....my best advice on cildproofing is getting down on your hands and knees and crawling around your room : ) You'd be surprised what dangers you find at a baby's level! Pick up anything off the floor that's small...vacuum everyday, tie up electrical cords and cover the sockets with covers. Good luck mama : )