In my defense
I’d just like to point out that I’m really not a nut, and won’t be coating my furniture in ballistic gel or taping bubblewrap to the walls to protect my child from bumps and bruises.
When I mention babyproofing, I’m talking about some basic ‘don’t leave small objects on the floor,’ ‘make a modest effort to make it so she can’t chew on power cords,’ ‘lock the cabinet under the sink so she doesn’t drink bleach’ kinda stuff. We have a very small house and limited storage space, so putting everything dangerous out of reach isn’t an option. The nice part about having a very small house, however, is that she’s never very far away, so I don’t think she can get in too much trouble without me catching on quickly.
On that note, did you guys know there are ‘professional babyproofers’ who do it as a JOB? Like, people PAY THEM to babyproof their houses? The hell?
So, never fear, PGB fans: the Girl Child will be allowed to bonk her head, eat all the dirt she wants, wrestle with the dog, shoot her .22, and probably tip over a chair or two backward because she won’t stop rocking back on the rear legs.
i hope you don’t think that’s what i thought you meant.
Oh heck, no – I’ve been without my RSS since the Mac was off at Apple, so I didn’t even realize you’d picked up the post. I agree with your commentary, just wanted to clarify that I’m not raising any bubble-children. :)
When my son was born we looked at all of the “babyproofing” suggestions and decided it would be better to “world proof our baby”. I ended up with a 3 year old that was welcome to walk the isles in any store(gun store, pawn shop, grocery or hardware store) in town. A five year old that I could take to the range and an amazing 7 year old.
its not child hood if you are not getting scrapes and bruises! Hell I broke 8 bones before i was 18, my first was in the third grade. I agree with Vinnie, it will be easier to teach your kid to be safe, then to make the world safe for your kid.
You know, I’ve never broken a bone, never had stitches, never been hospitalized other than at birth.
laurel, you will be a great mom for letting your kids do all of those things. BTW, if you know anyone that is willing to pay to have their home babyproofed, could you tell them that I have bridge to sell, real cheap too!