Chorevia

Day 207 of 300 · Week 28

Babyproof before they move

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 9 sources · Plain-text version

A baby who rolls both ways and reaches for everything is weeks from moving across a room. The floor-level sweep, the furniture anchors, and the one number to save before it's needed.

A white father on his hands and knees on a living-room floor in daylight, eye level with his twenty-eight-week-old, who lies on their tummy on a blanket reaching for a wooden rattle he holds out.

Your baby can't get across the room yet. That's exactly why today is the day: the AAP's advice is to babyproof ahead of the next skill, not behind it, and the next skill is coming.

Heart

By the end of this stage, many babies roll both ways (AAP), and a baby who rolls twice has crossed a rug. The AAP's first instruction is to look at floor level for coins, buttons, small toy parts, and button or coin batteries, which can cause swift, life-threatening damage if swallowed (AAP). If you think your baby swallowed a battery, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 right away, without waiting to see what happens: your baby may need an X-ray at once, because a battery stuck in the esophagus can do severe damage in 2 hours (Poison Control).

Head

The rest of the list is furniture and doors. Anchor dressers, bookcases, and TV stands to the wall; gate the top and bottom of stairs with gates mounted to the wall studs, not accordion-style; plug unused outlets; and choose cordless window coverings or tie cords out of reach (AAP). Lock up medicines, cleaners, and alcohol, and save Poison Help in your phone (AAP). Skip baby walkers: they don't help babies learn to walk, can delay it, and send thousands of children to hospitals each year, mostly from falls down stairs (AAP).

Body

The crib counts as a room. Lower the mattress before your baby can sit up, move it to the lowest position before they can stand, and take down any mobile once your baby is 5 months old or gets up on hands and knees (AAP). Sitting without leaning on the hands comes for many between 6 and 8 months (AAP), so if the mattress is still up, tonight is the night. The guide's babyproofing section has the list in one place.

Try today

  1. The father kneeling beside a sofa with the cushions lifted, holding up a coin and a pen cap he found, the baby on the blanket behind him watched by the mother sitting on the floor.

    The crawl-level sweep

    Time: 10 minutes per room · Babyproof before your baby moves in the guide

    1. Get down on your hands and knees in one room and look at what's at that height: coins, buttons, small toy parts, batteries (AAP).

    2. Lift the sofa cushions and look under the furniture; coins, toy parts, and pen caps collect there (AAP).

    3. Push on each dresser, bookcase, and TV stand. Anything that rocks gets anchored to the wall (AAP).

    4. Follow every cord: blinds, lamps, chargers. Cordless coverings or cords tied out of reach, outlets plugged (AAP).

    5. Write the room's name on a list and cross it off. Next room tomorrow.

    Make it work:

    Save Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222, in both parents' phones before you stand up (AAP).

Watch for

  • Normal

    a baby who rolls off the play blanket and onto the bare floor, pleased with themselves.

    Call Poison Help right away

    at 1-800-222-1222 if you think your baby swallowed a battery or anything poisonous, even if they seem fine (Poison Control; AAP).

  • Normal

    everything within reach going straight to the mouth (CDC).

    Call 911

    if your baby is choking and can't cry, cough, or breathe, or has a weak cough, high-pitched sounds, or blue or pale skin, and start back blows and chest thrusts (Red Cross).

  • Normal

    rocking on hands and knees without going anywhere.

    Call your pediatrician right away

    after any head injury; a call is advised for every baby under 1 (AAP).

For you

The mother at the kitchen table with a short handwritten list of room names, one crossed off, a cup of coffee, the baby asleep on her chest in a carrier.

One room a day is fine. The AAP's list is long because houses are, not because you're supposed to do it all this afternoon (AAP). Start with the room the baby spends the most hours in, then the room with the stairs. A list with one room crossed off is a safer house than a list you were too tired to start.

If you're the partner: the anchors are yours. A drill, a stud finder, and the dresser in the nursery, this weekend (AAP).

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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