My Favorite Childproof Gadget

My baby is almost 10 months and is crawling all over the place.  We have a finished basement, and my two older children cannot remember to close the basement door.  I won’t be able to change that fact no matter how much I nag. (The first step is acceptance.)

When my oldest was a baby, we lived in another home with an unfinished basement.  While there weren’t other children around to forget to close the basement door, the fall would’ve been down wooden steps to a concrete floor.  The thought of that door being left open caused me to break out in a cold sweat.  So, I searched until I found a baby proofing gadget to fit my needs — something that would automatically close that door.  It did the trick and I loved it, but we left it behind when we moved.  I didn’t even know what it was called.  A few days ago, I did a Google search for “child safety door closer” and I found it — the same gadget  that I had before.  It arrived today and I’m so pleased.  My husband will be installing it tonight.

Here is my other favorite baby proofing tool.  I’ve had these on my pantry doors since my 10-year-old son was 2.  I still use them to “lock” the pantry and “announce” that it’s closed because I’m fixing dinner!

Now, I’ve got to start baby proofing the rest of the house.  Do you have any favorite products or suggestions for things like electrical cords, fireplaces, drawers that might smash little fingers, etc.?