Childproofing is not a simple task. It requires thinking and planning, some imagination, some research and inevitably costs us time, the most valuable resource of busy working parents.

I wrote a guest article for Almost Frugal with tips about childproofing and only after it went live I realized that I could have done better. One picture is worth a thousand words and showing the locks and where to use them is just as important as explaining about it.

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1. Great article on childproofing. This subject is always something that is a concern to parents and guardians. Another potential danger is when small children unlock a deadbolt, which leaves them exposed to outside dangers…getting lost, hit by a vehicle, abducted, falling into swimming pools, etc. Thumb-latched (e.g. single cylinder) deadbolts are the safest because they also allow you to escape in case of a fire. In fact, double-cylinder deadbots, which require a key to exit, are against most all Life Safety and/or building codes. A great product called the Lock Jaw http://www.lockjawsecurity.com helps prevent this. You might want to check it out. You can also read about it on http://www.wisebread.com that has a TRUE story on how it helped keep a child safe and sound inside.

   Comment by Brett — November 26, 2008 @ 8:01 pm

2. Thanks Brett, so far Eric didn’t manage to open the deadbolt but he’s getting smarter every day. I really don’t think that there are any locks that 100 percent child-proof. The locks are there to slow them down, really :) and allow us, parents, to catch them just in time.

   Comment by Emma — November 26, 2008 @ 8:34 pm

3. Hey I really like this post. very helpful. I would like the one for my fridge since my three year old thinks she can just get in there whenever she wants to. Can I get this at walmart? let me know.

   Comment by zjojor — November 29, 2008 @ 11:30 pm

4. I recently placed a lock like yours in our fridge and it works really great. My son is now trying to work out how he can reach the lock and open it. BTW, I loved what you did with your dishwasher, it is very creative of you.

   Comment by Infant Formula — December 6, 2008 @ 7:26 am

5. Thanks, it took me some time to find that one. Originally I had it installed on a drawer, but there Eric could reach and open it. I re-located it and on the fridge it works great.

   This can be actually another tip - instead of buying new locks, try to re-use the ones you’ve already got. They might not work for one cupboard but will for another :)

   Comment by Emma — December 7, 2008 @ 4:53 am

6. [...] presents Childproofing – locks that do work posted at [...]

   Pingback by The 157th Festival of Frugality: The Queen’s Speech Edition | Miss Thrifty — December 23, 2008 @ 10:55 am
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I have a guest post on Almost Frugal, check it out here. It is about childproofing the house without spending a fortune on it. Make sure you read the comments, because people have shares some really good advice.

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Anyone who is expecting or raising a baby knows - we get a lot of advice, whether we need it or not. All well-intentioned, because they are “trying” to help, but for some reason we just don’t feel grateful. In fact, we often feel like blowing up and letting them have it.

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1. [...] presents Seven Things I Would Never Say To a New Mom posted at [...]

   Pingback by Carnival of Family Life ~ Snowman edition : Suburban Wife’s Daily Dollar Diary — December 1, 2008 @ 2:23 am

2. When my son was born, my MIL kept giving a lot of advice about how to manage him. Some good, some not so good. But the thing is, she took offence whenever I rejected her advice. In the end, I took hubby’s advice and gave her the impression I was listening to her advice (even when I was totally ignoring it). So when she asked if I was doing something, I would reply, “Yes, Mum,” even when I wasn’t.

   It worked really well until one day she followed me up to the room when I was giving my son a bath and insisted on “helping” me apply “prickly powder” on my son. In case you’re not aware, the powder is supposed to help reduce the red rash he was developing in his joints because he was a hot and sweaty baby, although our paediatrician told us not to apply the powder because he said it would make it worse.

   I stood there totally mortified, unable to say a word because I had given her the impression I had been using the powder. After that, I told hubby, “She’s your Mum. Please tell her to butt out.”

   I know husbands don’t like confrontations between wife and their Mums but, hey, if it had been my Mum, I would have told her flat out.

   Comment by Shen-Li — December 4, 2008 @ 1:58 pm

3. I know exactly what you mean! This is why I was saying in the post that advice from family members should be handled differently. Sometimes confrontation is the only way to get them off your back, and I would have done the same thing as you.

   Off topic, when I read your blog, I thought “OMG, she is my identical twin.” I too used to do rock climbing before I had Eric and it was almost a religion foe me :) Keep the great stuff coming!

   Comment by Emma — December 4, 2008 @ 7:24 pm

4. I was doing the same thing even with my own mom. I just tell her, yes mum, i am doing what you taught me. But I am not really doing it! ;) I just tell her that so she won’t get angry with me. Luckily, she hasn’t caught me lying yet. Ohh! sooo bad of me :)

   Comment by Baby Formula — December 6, 2008 @ 8:35 am
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Question: How will you play with my baby during the day?
Reason: To see what activities she has on her list. Will she read to my baby, sing songs, play outside - or will she glue him to the TV or stick in the pram and go to shops.

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Assuming that most of the nanny database sites are alike, you should do 2 things to make your search more efficient: send messages to nannies you’re interested in and post your own ad so that nannies could look you up. So I have sent messages to about 20 nannies and was expecting to hear from about 5, so the website statistics said. It took me about 3 days to start getting the responses - yes, I tend to forget that not all people check their email every day.

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1. What To Look For When You’re Screening A Nanny

   So you’ve done a search for a nanny and you’re getting ready to conduct interviews. What should you look for when you’re screening a nanny? These three things are helpful in the hiring process:

   Be Prepared - The process of screening a nanny can be a flurry of events. You’ve scheduled times to speak with several different candidates. But before you get to the interview stage of the hiring process, be prepared with a list of what your expectations are and what you’re looking for in a nanny.

   Ask Investigative Questions - Don’t forget to dig deeper and address any concerns when you’re screening a nanny. Ask questions such as how a nanny would deal with emergency situations, how he/she views her role as a nanny, and what some of the most difficult situations are that he/she has faced working as a childcare provider.

   Paying Attention To The Details - When you’re going through the interview process, listen to not only what the applicant is saying, but how he/she is saying it. Is she giving you canned answers that you want to hear? Is he/she enthusiastic about working with children? How well does he/she interact with your child?

   Run Your Background Checks - Make sure you run background checks such as criminal histories, driving records or any others you feel necessary.
   If you are looking for more tips check out it is a great resource.http://www.nannies4hire.com

   Comment by nannies4hire — November 13, 2008 @ 10:57 am

2. [...] As promised, I continue here the list of questions for my prospective nanny - and the reasons for every question. I started it in these articles - click here to read part1 and here to read part 2. [...]

   Pingback by Working mom: get a nervous breakdown or ... get a nanny! (part 3) @ Baby-Log| Learning to be a Mother, raise a Baby and live as a Family — November 17, 2008 @ 12:35 am
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truly believe those were my only options. I was falling behind with my work, the dishes piling up in the sink, the dog was neglected, the garden was abandoned, my friends thought I left the country …you get the idea. Eric is a great kid, and he needs a lot of attention so I wasn’t making progress on anything else. The situation was getting ridiculous: when I was with Eric, I couldn’t stop thinking about the work, and when I was trying to do the work I was feeling guilty about not doing enough for Eric.

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1. Everyone needs extra pair of hands sometime in there life to keep it all going. I have hired nannies and they are great. Check out http://www.nannies4hire.com. We hired our current nanny from their site and love her. We couldn’t have found a better match for our family.

   Comment by nannies4hire — November 10, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

2. [...] second part of my success story about how I found a great nanny in just 7 days. You can read the first part here. Assuming that most of the nanny database sites are alike, you should do 2 things to make your [...]

   Pingback by Working mom: get a nervous breakdown or ... get a nanny! (part 2) @ Baby-Log| Learning to be a Mother, raise a Baby and live as a Family — November 13, 2008 @ 4:51 am

3. [...] for my prospective nanny - and the reasons for every question. I started it in these articles - click here to read part1 and here to read part [...]

   Pingback by Working mom: get a nervous breakdown or ... get a nanny! (part 3) @ Baby-Log| Learning to be a Mother, raise a Baby and live as a Family — November 17, 2008 @ 12:26 am

4. [...] presents Working mom: get a nervous breakdown or ? get a nanny! (part 1) posted at [...]

   Pingback by Working at Home on the Internet — November 28, 2008 @ 6:08 am

5. [...] by not making excuses and taking action to over come financial roadblocks.” Emma presents Working mom: get a nervous breakdown or ? get a nanny! (part 1) posted at [...]

   Pingback by Work From Home » Blog Archive » Working at Home Blog Carnival-113th Edition — November 28, 2008 @ 6:45 am

6. Congratulations on being able to find help so quickly and confidently. New parents and working parents sure have a lot of tough yet rewarding life adjustments to make. Another option for too-busy parents is to outsource all those other time-consuming tasks in your life: the dishes, correspondence with friends, walking the dog, etc.

   Taking those items off your plate will also free up your schedule so you can feel like you are able to spend quality time with your family. Look up personal assistance or concierge services, such as Detour Services, in your area.

   Comment by Detour Services — November 29, 2008 @ 1:00 am

7. I envy you for finding a nanny that fast. It is our main problem right now. We had changed nanny for the 4th time now. It is confusing my child. I hope I can find one that will stay with us indefinitely :)

   Comment by Discount Formula — December 6, 2008 @ 9:37 am

8. I guess that was really lucky. She is still working for us and I am very happy that I hired her. The amount of attention my baby gets from her is beyond my wildest fantasies, this is the kind of person that she it.

   I wish you best luck, hopefully you will find her identical twin soon.

   Comment by Emma — December 7, 2008 @ 5:06 am
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When Eric was 6 months old, we had another lot of visitors - Rob’s parents arrived from overseas and stayed with us for a month. This case was even tougher to handle than my mom - by 6 months I was a pro, knew exactly what my baby needed and was opposing to pretty much every advice they tried to offer.

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Once Eric was 2 months old, my mother came to meet her first grandson, she stayed with us for a month. I consciously postponed her visit because I wanted to use the first two months to bond with Eric, get used to this whole new situation, start to understand my baby’s needs. It is my understanding that if you start to rely on advice of “more experienced people” from the very beginning, then you do not develop your own ability to observe, understand what’s going on and make your own decisions - so I tried to avoid that as much as I could.

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know for a fact that many young and not so young couples rely on family (grandparents mainly) for babysitting and help with the kids. I also know how that a couple can do just fine on their own without any extra help – Rob and I did. My friends were talking about not being able to move to another city because they were terrified of loosing the support that Nan and Pop are providing and I thought - you can’t allow that kind of fears rule your life. So this post is all about how a couple can have a baby and survive - on their own, in a strange city, where they barely know 5 people.

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1. [...] As promised, the story goes on. This bit is about us (Emma the mom, Rob the daddy and Eric the baby) surviving from 2 to 6 months. You can read how we made it through the most difficult first two months here. [...]

   Pingback by First time parents, new baby, no help - how to survive (part 2) @ Baby-Log| Learning to be a Mother, raise a Baby and live as a Family — November 5, 2008 @ 5:13 am

2. [...] us surviving with a new baby, all that happened between his 6 to 12 months. You can read about the first two months here and 2 to 6 months [...]

   Pingback by First time parents, new baby, no help - how to survive (part 3) @ Baby-Log| Learning to be a Mother, raise a Baby and live as a Family — November 7, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
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