“Baby Proof That Place”: Mom Says People Should Baby-Proof Their Homes If Kids Are Coming Over
Toddlers are wonderful. They live in the moment and will not hesitate to stop and smell a flower or pick up an interesting looking rock. They are amazingly forgiving, getting mad at you one moment and laughing about something with you the next.
At the same time, though, they can be a lot. They have a lot of emotions they aren’t sure how to deal with and a lot of energy that they don’t always know where to put. And while their curiosity is truly admirable, the impulsiveness that comes with it can be quite intense.
That is why visiting new places can be so stressful for the parents of toddlers. Yes, there is so much to explore, but also, so much that can go wrong.
This is the message that the woman in this story wanted to convey. Brianna Knight made a TikTok about how she feels when visiting new places and in what ways family and friends can help. And, of course, it wouldn’t be internet if she wasn’t shamed for her reasonable insights. Scroll down to see what made people so upset.
This mom of a toddler had only one thing to ask of people that invite her over to visit. The internet thought it was too much
Image credits: briknighttt
“This is either going to be extremely relatable or I’m going to sound like a b***h okay. If you make a big stink about us coming to your house and bringing our toddler and bringing all the stuff and traveling all the way to get to you and where we show up and we are happy to be there, please for the love of god if you didn’t even try to baby-proof that place.”
Image credits: Stephen Andrews (not the actual photo)
“There is nothing worse than showing up at a family member’s house and there’s glass this, porcelain this, plant this, special books, special picture frames just everything is all of a sudden made of glass and then people are surprised when you only stay for 20 minutes because your toddler is running around wreaking literal havoc.”
Image credits: briknighttt
“Like he’s got a glass figurine in one hand and a handful of dirt in the other. Just come to us. We would love to have you over. Please don’t make us come to your house and just wrestle our alligator the entire time.”
Image credits: Alberto Castillo Q. (not the actual photo)
Watch her whole video here
@briknighttt Like at least put up stuff you don’t want shattered 😩 then we can actually talk and catch up! #toddlermom #momtake #momlife #momsoftiktok #babyproofing #toddlerproofing #boundaries #grandparentpsa ♬ original sound – briknighttt
The negative reactions to the video were overwhelming
The video received a lot of backlash, mostly form the child-free community of TikTok. After one popular creator made a now-deleted response to the video, Knight received a lot of nasty personal messages about the situation, calling her a bad mom.
Many suggested that the ask was too much and it’s everyone’s personal choice what to do in their homes. Asking for somebody you know to change their space for you is a bit of an entitlement, according to them. However, they seemed to have misunderstood the video.
The TikTok was a kind request for the most important people in life
The woman was not demanding for anyone to change their homes, she was simply saying that this would be more convenient and safer for all. “It’s so appreciated when people move the choking hazards and easily breakable things,” Knight explained when talking to Newsweek.
The TikTok was also not intended for friends, which is a point she clarifies in one of her follow-up videos. “We are not talking about friends. If you are a child-free woman I’m not asking you to babyproof your house. It is, however, perfectly reasonable for me to ask my grandma to move the giant jar of marbles off the coffee table if she really wants our 18-month-old to come over and visit her.”
Knight also points out that catering for someone with a toddler is similar to catering to friends with food preferences or allergies. “My mom has celiac and my sister is a vegetarian. The meal is always something gluten free when my mom comes over, always something vegetarian if [my sister] comes over.” For her, making her guests feel comfortable is a part of being a good host.
In the end, Knight simply invited everyone to be more compassionate and kinder towards children and mothers. After all, they are just trying to do their best.
The comment section had a lot of mixed responses
Glass and porcelain or not, the attention span of toddlers is only a couple of minutes. Even in a safe but not familiar environment, you'll have to watch them all the time. They're explorers. That's how they learn. For a couple of years, you won't be able to relax when you're going somewhere because you have to teach your child how to behave in all kinds of situations. And learning these rules is way harder (if not impossible!) if you're only visiting child proof places. So go see places and adjust your toddlers to the world - not the other way around!
Yeah, no, l wouldn't invite anyone with a toddler over, let alone if her mum refers to them as an alligator 😂. Much better to visit at their house and leave when the kid gets intense.
Yeah my entire house has a “no kids allowed” rule 😅 way too much work to baby-proof and hide my smokables and kitties, my apartment isn’t safe for kids and I frankly just can’t be bothered to do the extra work (it’s my house and my life and that’s my favourite thing about being an adult lol) so no kids allowed. I always go meet my parent friends at their own places or out somewhere though :) or have them over without their kids.
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I can understand making some requests if it’s a close family member you visit very often, or if they babysit your kid at their house. But family members you only occasionally see or your friends, I wouldn’t expect or ask. But I guarantee I’ll be hovering over my kid to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. Now even in the case of close family you see often, I wouldn’t expect baby proofing. And, if I did request certain things I’d be happy to supply the materials (gates, plug covers, etc) and help them sort out what might be good things to consider putting away or out of reach. If they aren’t willing I wouldn’t force it, but my time spent there will be with my kid not the family members then so I hope they get that.
Just a small PSA for anyone in the UK - plug covers are completely unnecessary and dangerous. They can cause fires. Please don't use them, they force open the shutters that make the socket safe. Other countries - check what is right for your sockets/outlets. Thank you.
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Glass and porcelain or not, the attention span of toddlers is only a couple of minutes. Even in a safe but not familiar environment, you'll have to watch them all the time. They're explorers. That's how they learn. For a couple of years, you won't be able to relax when you're going somewhere because you have to teach your child how to behave in all kinds of situations. And learning these rules is way harder (if not impossible!) if you're only visiting child proof places. So go see places and adjust your toddlers to the world - not the other way around!
Yeah, no, l wouldn't invite anyone with a toddler over, let alone if her mum refers to them as an alligator 😂. Much better to visit at their house and leave when the kid gets intense.
Yeah my entire house has a “no kids allowed” rule 😅 way too much work to baby-proof and hide my smokables and kitties, my apartment isn’t safe for kids and I frankly just can’t be bothered to do the extra work (it’s my house and my life and that’s my favourite thing about being an adult lol) so no kids allowed. I always go meet my parent friends at their own places or out somewhere though :) or have them over without their kids.
Load More Replies... I can understand making some requests if it’s a close family member you visit very often, or if they babysit your kid at their house. But family members you only occasionally see or your friends, I wouldn’t expect or ask. But I guarantee I’ll be hovering over my kid to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. Now even in the case of close family you see often, I wouldn’t expect baby proofing. And, if I did request certain things I’d be happy to supply the materials (gates, plug covers, etc) and help them sort out what might be good things to consider putting away or out of reach. If they aren’t willing I wouldn’t force it, but my time spent there will be with my kid not the family members then so I hope they get that.
Just a small PSA for anyone in the UK - plug covers are completely unnecessary and dangerous. They can cause fires. Please don't use them, they force open the shutters that make the socket safe. Other countries - check what is right for your sockets/outlets. Thank you.
Load More Replies...
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