Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

If so-how does that work? Right now my kids go in the LR-all baby proofed, and in their play yard in the LR. They crawl in their rooms very occasionally and obviously take their baths in the bathroom so are in there but carried in.

I was thinking today about opening up the safety gate between LR and kitchen and all the dangers thaat lurked there Just curious if anyone actually babyproofed their whole house, or just contained their babies? Obviously once they walk I will have everything babyproofed. My kids are almost 11 months

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

No, She has a gated area so we can keep her safe when we are doing other things (ie laundry and making dinner). It is impossible for us to baby proof 100%.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

No, when Ryan crawled he pretty much just had his play area that was baby proofed and clean (we didn't wear shoes on the mats).

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Message edited 10/19/2009 10:25:42 PM.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Full run. Only gate is on the steps going upstairs and when we are upstairs he has full run up there.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

i'm a horrible parent

either that or my house is super boring. the entire first floor is her play area. there isn't any section where she's not allowed to go near. all i have baby proofed are the outlets, they have covers on them. other than that, she can go wherever, whenever. oh wait, i lied, the stairs to go upstairs have a baby gate on them. that's about it. she can go in the living room, dining room/kitchen, mud room and bathroom. although the bathroom i keep an eye on cause she likes to put the roll of tissue paper to test all the time

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Mine are 2.5 and they still don't have full, unsupervised run of the house because, well, twins do one of two things:

1. crawl/run (yeah, there's no in btwn) in two opposite directions.

2. chase each other around in a circle (kitchen/dining room/hallway, repeat 1000X) like two Border Collies.

We still have a baby gate at both ends of the stairs, hook and eyes on the outside of the doors to the full bathrooms (I know many a kid who has decided to try to run a hot bath ) and a gate at the entrance to the den/playroom.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

nope. we actually say to him all the time " no tile baby" meaning he can't go in rooms without carpet unsupervised.

to tell you the truth, other than outlet covers our house isn't yet childproofed (cabinet locks etc) so he's never unsupervised.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

my girls did and still do have full run of our house. we don't baby proof. I keep all cleaners up out of their reach and thats it.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Kaydyn is 21 months and she's still mostly confined to our LR which is completely baby-proofed.

Occasionally she will go in our bedroom and the kitchen but I watch her when she does because they are not baby-proofed and she is curious about everything.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

No, never! She was in a play yard or in the living room gated off. Now at 19 months she still doesnt have full run of the house. She is blocked off from the formal living room and dining room and upstairs.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

Mine are 2.5 and they still don't have full, unsupervised run of the house because, well, twins do one of two things:

1. crawl/run (yeah, there's no in btwn) in two opposite directions.

2. chase each other around in a circle (kitchen/dining room/hallway, repeat 1000X) like two Border Collies.

We still have a baby gate at both ends of the stairs, hook and eyes on the outside of the doors to the full bathrooms (I know many a kid who has decided to try to run a hot bath ) and a gate at the entrance to the den/playroom.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Good question... I was wondering the same thing. My DD doesn't have full run, just one or two rooms. Even if I babyproofed, chairs alone can be pulled down onto her, so I dont think it's a good idea. Then add my dogs into the mix, and things that you can't avoid like electical cords for lamps, etc. I just allow her to crawl around all over only when I am following her. I will play it by ear as time goes on.

ETA - Dont feel bad!!! I just dont see the need for DD to have full run of the house...there is no way to fully baby proof and I would never allow her to crawl around without my attention on her. IMO she doesnt NEEEED to be in everyroom to check everything out. There is just no way to babyproof everywhere. Plus I only allow limited crawl time a day, so i can watch her and then give her hands a quick wipe down.

Message edited 10/20/2009 12:43:00 AM.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

no, he is caged into baby land.... aka my living room... i live in a cape so i have a very big stair case with no way of blocking it off... if i am in the kitchen then i let him crawl to there which i have yet another gate to bock him in... i basically have gates everywhere... i do also have two GIANT horses (i mean dogs) so he is also caged into the prevent them from accidently stepping on him....

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

never in the kitchen. putting a gate up was so much easier then putting the locks on all the cabinets...plus we were renting.

he also hit his head once on the oven drawer.

and it was my getaway/refuge. made me want to cook for some alone time

then to add i use to bill out for a burn dr. sooooo many toddler burns due to spills.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

nope! DS has full range of the den. thats it.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Posted by bonitachyc

i'm a horrible parent

either that or my house is super boring. the entire first floor is her play area. there isn't any section where she's not allowed to go near. all i have baby proofed are the outlets, they have covers on them. other than that, she can go wherever, whenever. oh wait, i lied, the stairs to go upstairs have a baby gate on them. that's about it. she can go in the living room, dining room/kitchen, mud room and bathroom. although the bathroom i keep an eye on cause she likes to put the roll of tissue paper to test all the time

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Yes, but we only have a small 3 br apt. the living room and kitchen are attached, basically one big room. We just keep the bedroom doors and the bathroom door closed.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Full run.

We keep doors closed to rooms we don't want her in (guest, office. bathroom and basement stairs) and the stairs to the 2nd floor are gated. She has full access to the living, family, dining, kitchen and her play room.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Yes, he basically has full run. I just keep the bathroom door closed because I obviously don't want him in there. Too much to get into.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

he is only allowed in his room and the livingroom, everything else is gated off. he will NEVER be allowed in the kitchen too much in there

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Initially he was just in his room to crawl (we had to scramble to babyproof). After that, he could go in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. We didn't go crazy with the kitchen cabinets--we put locks on two cabinets, and the others contain things that aren't breakable or dangerous. As for the stove, we lock it when it isn't in use (watch it when it is) and remove the knobs for the gas. When I'm cooking I like to keep him out of the room for the most part, but we never needed a gate.

We never babyproofed our room, our bathroom, or the laundry room, but for the most part, he has no need to be in these rooms, and they are separate from the rest of the house.

Message edited 10/20/2009 3:32:02 PM.

Re: Does your crawling infant have full run of the house?

Free rein

The living room, our bedroom, dining room and hall are all open to her. All are baby proofed to some degree. Some more than others (my bedroom is the worst with the drawers).

The ‘safest’ room would be her own room which we will leave the door open for and she’ll go in and play. The computer room she’ll check out if the door is open but we are usually in there if she is.


Only four rooms are totally off limits.

The Kitchen is gated, she’ll reach through the slates to pet the cats while they are getting their food ready.

Our master bathroom, she’ll get her hand or foot slapped if she tries so she’s learned she can sit at the door and lean over and watch the cats eat but she can’t enter. She gets very frustrated at Mommy when I discipline her for stepping past the threshold but she has learned the lesson (like it or not).

“Her” (guest) bathroom, same as the master bathroom, we do carry her in. Door is usually just shut. Hubby used to ‘walk’ her in but I had him stop to avoid confusion with the ‘only carpet’ rule.

Laundry room, door is shut.

Basically if its not carpeted – its off limits.

Honestly she was only ‘crawling’ about a month before she was up and walking so its been her house since then.

ETA: the master bathroom rules are in place because we can't close that door, its the kitty's liter and eating area.

Message edited 10/20/2009 6:39:29 PM.