“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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I had a child late in life. I lived with my brother for years (no kids). We had 6 godchildren who would visit. We moved some stuff to a higher shelf, probably took 10 mins. Other than that, we picked them up, let them see things, their Mum brought toys for them... all was fine. I now have my own child, never "baby proofed" my flat which my partner lived in for many year before I popped up. We taught our child not to grab, to ask before he touches. No way am I living in a nursery with none of my own things just because I had a kid.
Same. Our bonus grandparents never had kids of their own, they have tall vases and decorative tables. It's called parenting, especially if you only have one kid. My kid is now 8 and all of their stuff survived her visits.
Load More Replies... Then don't f-ing come to my house. The world isn't going to baby-proof the itself for you.
Geez, I obviously don't have a child, but welcomed friends with babies/toddlers/children to my home. Obviously I put away some temping things not appropriate for toddlers' hands... But all those friends never have asked me to childproof my home!!! Maybe it is different in my European country, but here it is still the parent's obligation to watch their children. I still remember being a little one and nothing much has changed over the decades! I honestly find it quite entitled of this Mom, to ask (even close) relatives to accommodate her toddler's desires! How do those children learn to live in a world when everything is accident-proof until they reach pre-teen or, worst case, teenage years?
And what about the tree in your backyard garden? Does this has to be sealed of with police tape???
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"Entitled parent expects others to parent their children, because they can't be bothered." There, fixed your headline for you. And yes, I have a 4 Yr old boy.. Do I expect friends to spend money they shouldn't have to when we go to their house to visit? No. Do I fully expect to have to keep an extra eye on my toddler when visiting their house? Yes, I do, just like I do when going anywhere with them. She even said "wreaking havoc" in the article. So you're fully admitting that you're unable to parent properly? I call entitled gaslighting on her attitude.
She's talking about family that insist on her bringing her kid with her, then not proofing their house even a little, then getting upset when she can't just sit and visit. If you want a parent to bring their kid, then don't prepare for the parent to actually have to parent, that's a problem. My dad's parents were that way. They'd insist on seeing their grandkids, wouldn't prepare, then get mad when we actually acted like kids.
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Sounds vaguely fair enough. If the visit is just one afternoon or something, I would be watching the toddler very carefully anyway to give the Mum a break because if children visit my house, I want to interact with them. Probably move a few things around. I'm going to bet that whomever this is aimed at won't be inviting her again anyway haha.
When my grandchildren come to visit, I spend all of about five minutes putting fragile and potentially dangerous things away. While the OP came across as bit obnoxious in the post, I think that's all she wanted and I don't actually think it's an unreasonable thing to ask. If it's too much work then just tell the mom or dad when you invite them that it's difficult to put absolutely everything away. Some children might still be okay but others will not - the parents have to decide.
When toddlers come round to ours, I know the drill I.e. bleach stored in a lemonade bottle, loaded syringe within easy reach, pills in attractive sweetie wrappers, knives on the floor, unpredictable pitbull off the leash, etc. Now is there anything I’ve forgotten? 🤔
Your kids, your responsibilty, your life choice, stop expecting others to change their environment and lives to convenience you.
then dont get pissy when you invite someone and their kid over and they dont talk to you bc they are too busy parenting their kid to care about talking to you. thats the whole point.
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I don't have any kids, but when my SIL and my mom brought my niece with them on their visit I made sure to put all the breakables higher up or in another room. Took hardly any time and made life easier on everyone. If she just showed up on her friends doorstep it would be different, but if you're inviting someone and their kids over, just move stuff to safe spots real quick. If you aren't willing to do that, then don't send the invite. There are plenty of other ways you can visit the parent friend.
Asking is one thing, demanding is another, and regardless you should be teaching your kid to respect others, their homes, their possessions, and their boundaries. The way she described her child is a red flag to me that said child is quite unruly and she doesn't plan to do anything about it
The fastest land animal on Earth is a toddler who's just been asked "What's that in your mouth?"
I mean if young kids were coming to my home I might do some stuff to make it a little safer, like if I had weapons obviously would lock extremely dangerous things like those up. I might do things like put my pets in another room of they aren't used to kids etc, but unless I'm running a daycare or the child will be at my house very often, I'm not changing my house around for a child
Haha, no, I'm not baby proofing my house. You need to watch your kid!
then we dont visit bc we dont want to be stressed and we want our kids to be safe. you dont get to complain
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My solution is I no longer invite friend with toddlers to my house. When we meet I go to their house, and bring the food and drinks( even if we end splitting the cost). Their house is already childproofed to their standards and if anything happens (tantrum, kid gets food all over them, etc) they are already home. Also, they avoid traffic which I been told, can be a challenge with small kids in the car.
Why won't these NPC's in my world revolve around MEEEEE????? God, I can't stand entitled parents. Your lack of birth control is not my problem.
then dont invite them over expecting them to make conversation with you the priority and dont get pissy when they decline the invite you sent them and their child.
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First it's your kid YOU watch it. Second, I'm not changing my house to let you be lazy. And lastly I'm not inviting anyone with toddlers
then dont get pissed when you request the toddler and mom to visit and you arent the priority. we dont have to see you. and acting like that, its likely we dont want to
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I'll move dangerous/breakable things but that's it. I'm not spending money on those counter corner things or locking the drawers
I invited my cousin and her family over for a holiday meal. It was only her that ended up coming. The more I think about it when she was there, the more I felt at ease knowing there's not a 3 year old getting into my prized Archie comics, digging in the plants, pulling on electrical cords and getting into my toxic oil paint supplies. My place is absolutely not toddler proof. I have had a child and know what is involved in baby/child proofing a home. It's not just putting away a few things. You have to get down on their level and look at all the things that could be harmful in their reach or potential reach. Even then you still have to watch them because there is no such thing as 100% child proofing a home. If a parent is expecting the host to do it all so the parent doesn't have to watch them much, then I would sooner uninvite them or give them the ol' thigh slap"time to go" routine.
Tell them they can come as long as they keep this and the child attached to the parent at all times. No ifs, buts, or maybes. 1622512822...bd562f.jpg 
The only sure way to child-proof your home are dead-bolt locks on the front and back doors. (They can't reach the window sills at that age, but keep those locked too.)
People not gonna change their home just because someone can bring a toddler when they're visiting. Like, yeah, they remove vase from table where toddler sit, but you can't really expect that they will remove everything from their bookcase. What's next, should they also remove all showcases, glass tables, etc? Should they buy child gates and child safety locks? Your request is unreasonable, watch over your kid.
"Remove vase from table" Bam thats child proofing and all thats being asked
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Forget the breakables! I hide my non-guest snacks and school lunches stuff, the toilet plungers and brushes, all of the console controllers and TV remotes, and our cats, because those kids have zero animal boundaries; I don't care if they get scratched, I care if they stress our animals out.
I honestly don’t even get why people would not remove valuable and breakable objects not just for the toddlers sake but for their own if they want these all in one piece. Sometimes people just don’t realise eg about choking hazards or leaving hot teacups within hands reach but you can educate and help them. I’m this car however she makes perfect sense - family member wants you to come and visit and stay for a while with the kids, you make sure the kids can be safe and the parents don’t have to helicopter their kid all the time. Otherwise don’t expect them to visit ever again
If I invite someone with a toddler to my home then of course I will make some adjustments to accommodate them. Small children are endlessly curious and can hurt themselves or damage stuff as they explore. Of course you make your space safe and comfortable for your guests to the extent that you can. In what parts of the world is this controversial?
If babies were coming to visit we always picked up anything chokable from the floor. Breakables from baby reach. Not a full baby proofing. But reasonable accommodations.
Do people not teach their kids to not touch other people's things? I taught my son to behave and he knew from about 13 months old to not run around like a banshee at other people's places. I would also bring over something new to entertain him while I visited. Parents these days are lazy
We have baby gates from when my niece and nephew were babies/toddlers - so they wouldn't fall down the stairs. And we'd hide anything we didn't want them messing with. They're older now so it's not a big deal since they can understand "don't touch that". But you also shouldn't think you can just come to someone's house and set your kid loose like a dog! You're still the parent and you need to pay attention to what they're doing.
Annnd equally split opinions on here. Quelle surprise! She’s asking generally for a little consideration, primarily from family members who insist on seeing the LO but aren’t willing to put any effort AT ALL into protecting said child or their own belongings. Is it her responsibility to parent her child? Of course! Does this mean that all other adults in the vicinity bear no responsibility whatsoever? Ask yourself this: would you watch a toddler run into the road and do nothing because, “not your responsibility”? Would you stand by and watch them drown, choke, drink something they shouldn’t, because it’s HER responsibility to prevent it? No? Then why wouldn’t you spend ten minutes on preventative measures just in case? I’m child free by choice, not especially keen on rugrats, but I’m never going to live with the consequences of being too effing selfish and lazy to put it a tiny bit of effort. Eff off with your “entitled parents” cr@p, this is simple decency.
Watch your kids. Impossible to completely kid proof a home, if don’t have kids.
YIKES! maybe you should be a better parent and teach your child to behave while not at home. Just a thought.
My home is baby proofed! There are no babies there and none can get it...and if a baby does make it through my pups makes sure to nose it back out the door!
Who invited the child? I thought it was the parent that was being invited over.
Never. I have a guesthouse and only once did the family room have a toddler that was one of those "grab everything' ones. Mum started to move things. I immediately put them back and asked they keep the child supervised. ONLY once in 13 years, which means the vast majority of children have been shown the difference of going to someone else's house and different rules apply. Perhaps we only get certain families as you can see in online photos we have a lot of things in our private collection. We also have just one room available for families. That aside, the same has applied with numerous friends that have had numerous children and the parents take care of them and we have never had to worry.
The only exception I'd allow newborns that are fresh out the oven as you can put them anywhere and they stay put.
If you want toddlers to visit you need to do some level of child-proofing. It is ridiculous to expect parents to spend the whole visit following their kids around because they can't be more than 2 feet away from them. So the parents can spend the whole visit "teaching their child boundaries" with no time to relax and talk to you, or you can do some basic level of child-proofing. Third option, end up with broken stuff and know you have only yourself to blame since you couldn't be bothered to put it out of reach of little hands.
My question is why you would want to invite someone with a toddler to your home and wouldn't put away stuff you value and don't want broken? You're just asking for problems. When I've had family with toddlers over, I've always put away things I don't want broken. Anything left out and within arms reach is something I can part with if necessary. Of course, the toddler is still watched and still redirected. But everyone can relax a bit more, and the toddler is able to safely explore their environment.
Looks like way too many people missed the point. She wanted to not go, but family members insisted she come and then insisted she bring her child. Those are the people who are the real entitled ones.
I was all primed and ready to call her an expletive, but she actually makes sense. She’s not demanding random people babyproof their house for a visit from her majesty and prince(ss) toddler, she’s just saying people should either use their brain a little or come over to their place. It was definitely something I considered and adapted a little for when asking friends over with their toddler the first time (irreplaceable or dangerous stuff out of reach and strategically placed objects limiting easy access to stove/sockets/forbidden cupboards). The parents were still visibly stressed, so yeah, I kinda get it.
Exactly. i have relatives who have expensive glass and porcelain collectables out as decoration, which is fine. what's not fine is they always ask for me to bring my three kids to visit (6 and under, 2 non verbal autistic) and they leave those breakables out knowing my kids dont understand. i did it once and spent the entire time trying to chase down 3 small children, calm down meltdown after meltdown because they cant process and dont understand things are breakable. then those relatives got mad at me for not spending enough time talking to them. so i decided from now on visits are at my house. they refuse to drive to visit even though they are very mobile but expect me to pack up three kids and drive to them. i have been accused of keeping the kids from them and one even threatened to call CPS bc to them, clearly im hiding something by not visiting. dont want to put away your breakables when you insist on seeing my kids? fine, but you dont get to complain when we dont visit
Nah it is your responsibility to keep an eye on your little mayhem machine when you take it out of the privacy of your home.
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... I had a child late in life. I lived with my brother for years (no kids). We had 6 godchildren who would visit. We moved some stuff to a higher shelf, probably took 10 mins. Other than that, we picked them up, let them see things, their Mum brought toys for them... all was fine. I now have my own child, never "baby proofed" my flat which my partner lived in for many year before I popped up. We taught our child not to grab, to ask before he touches. No way am I living in a nursery with none of my own things just because I had a kid.
Same. Our bonus grandparents never had kids of their own, they have tall vases and decorative tables. It's called parenting, especially if you only have one kid. My kid is now 8 and all of their stuff survived her visits.
Load More Replies... Then don't f-ing come to my house. The world isn't going to baby-proof the itself for you.
Geez, I obviously don't have a child, but welcomed friends with babies/toddlers/children to my home. Obviously I put away some temping things not appropriate for toddlers' hands... But all those friends never have asked me to childproof my home!!! Maybe it is different in my European country, but here it is still the parent's obligation to watch their children. I still remember being a little one and nothing much has changed over the decades! I honestly find it quite entitled of this Mom, to ask (even close) relatives to accommodate her toddler's desires! How do those children learn to live in a world when everything is accident-proof until they reach pre-teen or, worst case, teenage years?
And what about the tree in your backyard garden? Does this has to be sealed of with police tape???
Load More Replies... "Entitled parent expects others to parent their children, because they can't be bothered." There, fixed your headline for you. And yes, I have a 4 Yr old boy.. Do I expect friends to spend money they shouldn't have to when we go to their house to visit? No. Do I fully expect to have to keep an extra eye on my toddler when visiting their house? Yes, I do, just like I do when going anywhere with them. She even said "wreaking havoc" in the article. So you're fully admitting that you're unable to parent properly? I call entitled gaslighting on her attitude.
She's talking about family that insist on her bringing her kid with her, then not proofing their house even a little, then getting upset when she can't just sit and visit. If you want a parent to bring their kid, then don't prepare for the parent to actually have to parent, that's a problem. My dad's parents were that way. They'd insist on seeing their grandkids, wouldn't prepare, then get mad when we actually acted like kids.
Load More Replies... Sounds vaguely fair enough. If the visit is just one afternoon or something, I would be watching the toddler very carefully anyway to give the Mum a break because if children visit my house, I want to interact with them. Probably move a few things around. I'm going to bet that whomever this is aimed at won't be inviting her again anyway haha.
When my grandchildren come to visit, I spend all of about five minutes putting fragile and potentially dangerous things away. While the OP came across as bit obnoxious in the post, I think that's all she wanted and I don't actually think it's an unreasonable thing to ask. If it's too much work then just tell the mom or dad when you invite them that it's difficult to put absolutely everything away. Some children might still be okay but others will not - the parents have to decide.
When toddlers come round to ours, I know the drill I.e. bleach stored in a lemonade bottle, loaded syringe within easy reach, pills in attractive sweetie wrappers, knives on the floor, unpredictable pitbull off the leash, etc. Now is there anything I’ve forgotten? 🤔
Your kids, your responsibilty, your life choice, stop expecting others to change their environment and lives to convenience you.
then dont get pissy when you invite someone and their kid over and they dont talk to you bc they are too busy parenting their kid to care about talking to you. thats the whole point.
Load More Replies... I don't have any kids, but when my SIL and my mom brought my niece with them on their visit I made sure to put all the breakables higher up or in another room. Took hardly any time and made life easier on everyone. If she just showed up on her friends doorstep it would be different, but if you're inviting someone and their kids over, just move stuff to safe spots real quick. If you aren't willing to do that, then don't send the invite. There are plenty of other ways you can visit the parent friend.
Asking is one thing, demanding is another, and regardless you should be teaching your kid to respect others, their homes, their possessions, and their boundaries. The way she described her child is a red flag to me that said child is quite unruly and she doesn't plan to do anything about it
The fastest land animal on Earth is a toddler who's just been asked "What's that in your mouth?"
I mean if young kids were coming to my home I might do some stuff to make it a little safer, like if I had weapons obviously would lock extremely dangerous things like those up. I might do things like put my pets in another room of they aren't used to kids etc, but unless I'm running a daycare or the child will be at my house very often, I'm not changing my house around for a child
Haha, no, I'm not baby proofing my house. You need to watch your kid!
then we dont visit bc we dont want to be stressed and we want our kids to be safe. you dont get to complain
Load More Replies... My solution is I no longer invite friend with toddlers to my house. When we meet I go to their house, and bring the food and drinks( even if we end splitting the cost). Their house is already childproofed to their standards and if anything happens (tantrum, kid gets food all over them, etc) they are already home. Also, they avoid traffic which I been told, can be a challenge with small kids in the car.
Why won't these NPC's in my world revolve around MEEEEE????? God, I can't stand entitled parents. Your lack of birth control is not my problem.
then dont invite them over expecting them to make conversation with you the priority and dont get pissy when they decline the invite you sent them and their child.
Load More Replies... First it's your kid YOU watch it. Second, I'm not changing my house to let you be lazy. And lastly I'm not inviting anyone with toddlers
then dont get pissed when you request the toddler and mom to visit and you arent the priority. we dont have to see you. and acting like that, its likely we dont want to
Load More Replies... I'll move dangerous/breakable things but that's it. I'm not spending money on those counter corner things or locking the drawers
I invited my cousin and her family over for a holiday meal. It was only her that ended up coming. The more I think about it when she was there, the more I felt at ease knowing there's not a 3 year old getting into my prized Archie comics, digging in the plants, pulling on electrical cords and getting into my toxic oil paint supplies. My place is absolutely not toddler proof. I have had a child and know what is involved in baby/child proofing a home. It's not just putting away a few things. You have to get down on their level and look at all the things that could be harmful in their reach or potential reach. Even then you still have to watch them because there is no such thing as 100% child proofing a home. If a parent is expecting the host to do it all so the parent doesn't have to watch them much, then I would sooner uninvite them or give them the ol' thigh slap"time to go" routine.
Tell them they can come as long as they keep this and the child attached to the parent at all times. No ifs, buts, or maybes. 1622512822...bd562f.jpg
The only sure way to child-proof your home are dead-bolt locks on the front and back doors. (They can't reach the window sills at that age, but keep those locked too.)
People not gonna change their home just because someone can bring a toddler when they're visiting. Like, yeah, they remove vase from table where toddler sit, but you can't really expect that they will remove everything from their bookcase. What's next, should they also remove all showcases, glass tables, etc? Should they buy child gates and child safety locks? Your request is unreasonable, watch over your kid.
"Remove vase from table" Bam thats child proofing and all thats being asked
Load More Replies... Forget the breakables! I hide my non-guest snacks and school lunches stuff, the toilet plungers and brushes, all of the console controllers and TV remotes, and our cats, because those kids have zero animal boundaries; I don't care if they get scratched, I care if they stress our animals out.
I honestly don’t even get why people would not remove valuable and breakable objects not just for the toddlers sake but for their own if they want these all in one piece. Sometimes people just don’t realise eg about choking hazards or leaving hot teacups within hands reach but you can educate and help them. I’m this car however she makes perfect sense - family member wants you to come and visit and stay for a while with the kids, you make sure the kids can be safe and the parents don’t have to helicopter their kid all the time. Otherwise don’t expect them to visit ever again
If I invite someone with a toddler to my home then of course I will make some adjustments to accommodate them. Small children are endlessly curious and can hurt themselves or damage stuff as they explore. Of course you make your space safe and comfortable for your guests to the extent that you can. In what parts of the world is this controversial?
If babies were coming to visit we always picked up anything chokable from the floor. Breakables from baby reach. Not a full baby proofing. But reasonable accommodations.
Do people not teach their kids to not touch other people's things? I taught my son to behave and he knew from about 13 months old to not run around like a banshee at other people's places. I would also bring over something new to entertain him while I visited. Parents these days are lazy
We have baby gates from when my niece and nephew were babies/toddlers - so they wouldn't fall down the stairs. And we'd hide anything we didn't want them messing with. They're older now so it's not a big deal since they can understand "don't touch that". But you also shouldn't think you can just come to someone's house and set your kid loose like a dog! You're still the parent and you need to pay attention to what they're doing.
Annnd equally split opinions on here. Quelle surprise! She’s asking generally for a little consideration, primarily from family members who insist on seeing the LO but aren’t willing to put any effort AT ALL into protecting said child or their own belongings. Is it her responsibility to parent her child? Of course! Does this mean that all other adults in the vicinity bear no responsibility whatsoever? Ask yourself this: would you watch a toddler run into the road and do nothing because, “not your responsibility”? Would you stand by and watch them drown, choke, drink something they shouldn’t, because it’s HER responsibility to prevent it? No? Then why wouldn’t you spend ten minutes on preventative measures just in case? I’m child free by choice, not especially keen on rugrats, but I’m never going to live with the consequences of being too effing selfish and lazy to put it a tiny bit of effort. Eff off with your “entitled parents” cr@p, this is simple decency.
Watch your kids. Impossible to completely kid proof a home, if don’t have kids.
YIKES! maybe you should be a better parent and teach your child to behave while not at home. Just a thought.
My home is baby proofed! There are no babies there and none can get it...and if a baby does make it through my pups makes sure to nose it back out the door!
Who invited the child? I thought it was the parent that was being invited over.
Never. I have a guesthouse and only once did the family room have a toddler that was one of those "grab everything' ones. Mum started to move things. I immediately put them back and asked they keep the child supervised. ONLY once in 13 years, which means the vast majority of children have been shown the difference of going to someone else's house and different rules apply. Perhaps we only get certain families as you can see in online photos we have a lot of things in our private collection. We also have just one room available for families. That aside, the same has applied with numerous friends that have had numerous children and the parents take care of them and we have never had to worry.
The only exception I'd allow newborns that are fresh out the oven as you can put them anywhere and they stay put.
If you want toddlers to visit you need to do some level of child-proofing. It is ridiculous to expect parents to spend the whole visit following their kids around because they can't be more than 2 feet away from them. So the parents can spend the whole visit "teaching their child boundaries" with no time to relax and talk to you, or you can do some basic level of child-proofing. Third option, end up with broken stuff and know you have only yourself to blame since you couldn't be bothered to put it out of reach of little hands.
My question is why you would want to invite someone with a toddler to your home and wouldn't put away stuff you value and don't want broken? You're just asking for problems. When I've had family with toddlers over, I've always put away things I don't want broken. Anything left out and within arms reach is something I can part with if necessary. Of course, the toddler is still watched and still redirected. But everyone can relax a bit more, and the toddler is able to safely explore their environment.
Looks like way too many people missed the point. She wanted to not go, but family members insisted she come and then insisted she bring her child. Those are the people who are the real entitled ones.
I was all primed and ready to call her an expletive, but she actually makes sense. She’s not demanding random people babyproof their house for a visit from her majesty and prince(ss) toddler, she’s just saying people should either use their brain a little or come over to their place. It was definitely something I considered and adapted a little for when asking friends over with their toddler the first time (irreplaceable or dangerous stuff out of reach and strategically placed objects limiting easy access to stove/sockets/forbidden cupboards). The parents were still visibly stressed, so yeah, I kinda get it.
Exactly. i have relatives who have expensive glass and porcelain collectables out as decoration, which is fine. what's not fine is they always ask for me to bring my three kids to visit (6 and under, 2 non verbal autistic) and they leave those breakables out knowing my kids dont understand. i did it once and spent the entire time trying to chase down 3 small children, calm down meltdown after meltdown because they cant process and dont understand things are breakable. then those relatives got mad at me for not spending enough time talking to them. so i decided from now on visits are at my house. they refuse to drive to visit even though they are very mobile but expect me to pack up three kids and drive to them. i have been accused of keeping the kids from them and one even threatened to call CPS bc to them, clearly im hiding something by not visiting. dont want to put away your breakables when you insist on seeing my kids? fine, but you dont get to complain when we dont visit
Nah it is your responsibility to keep an eye on your little mayhem machine when you take it out of the privacy of your home.
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