There are two types of baby proofing. The first type of baby proofing is the one most commonly thought of; baby proofing for safety. The second type of baby proofing is done in an effort to reduce or prevent having to parenting. Baby proofing for safety involves all those things that everyone should do, such as plugging the outlets, removing cleaning supplies to locked cupboards with poisonous substance and keeping medicines out of reach. This type of baby proofing prevents preventable accidents. Baby proofing to prevent parenting is the extreme of this. Coffee tables are removed from the rooms, every pretty items is dispersed of up and out of reach. Doors are barricaded, baby gates erected and baby play yards installed. All of these things make the parents life easier. It also prevents training. From the earliest ages babies should be made to understand the nature and role of their lives within the family. Training at this age makes all later ages easier and more pleasant. A little work on the parents part during this age pays off huge dividends latter! Even the youngest of toddlers is capable of understanding that somethings are not theirs to play with and can be taught to respect those things. A baby who has been trained to recognize what things are okay to play with and what things are not alright to play with is also safer. This knowledge extends learned at home extends outside of the home into other environments.
There are a couple of misconceptions that this type parenting results from. No one wants to hurt their child's self esteem. According to our culture telling a child no and creating boundaries is harmful. The child should be able to have full expression of their will. As Christians we know that the child is sinful and that they must learn self control and submission in order to have a healthy relationship to their creator. We know that the sin nature conquered early leads to happy healthy relationships within the family. Some people do not believe that their children are capable of understanding what they are doing or capable of asserting their own sinful desires at a young age. Don't underestimate your child or the sin nature we all have. Even the smallest of babies learns very quickly that when they cry they are picked up. There is also laziness on the part of the parent. Training is work and it takes time so, it would appear that is easier upfront to baby proof. In reality it will take more time and more frustration on every one's part to have to fix bad habits latter.
The only baby proofing we ever did was for safety. Please don't respond that this is not possible. When my children were little I had a daycare for six small children all in the same age group. They learned very quickly what was okay and what was not. They also knew that there were consequences for touching things that were not theirs. I have three beautiful nieces who visit on a regular basis, the youngest of which is 9 months. She is a lot of work right now because she is being trained. Already she has learned that there is a drawer of lids in my kitchen that she may open at any time and that the red silicone cupcake holders on the shelf are okay to play with. She also has learned that she may not open any other cabinets or touch the items on any other shelf. Her own mother has taught her the same things at home and they are reinforced at grandma's house. The older girls never get into things that they should not and are a joy to have visit. Is that not how we all want our children to be thought of. As a joy. No parent intentionally does not train their child so that they will be thought of as a brat and yet that is the exact result when the parent does not train their child.
Training is an easy process but it is work. The child approaches an object that is not okay to play with. The mom tells the child, "that's a pretty." and removes the child from the object. The object is not removed from the child! The child is going to go back to the object to test your fortitude. The object is still off limits. Don't make this a game. Be serious and firm. Do it over and over again and do not grow weary. It will pay off. That's it.
