A mother of two kids explained why she shuns babyproofing her home, which is a common practice among parents of toddlers. Abby Plested, a lifestyle blogger from New Zealand, detailed why she believes babyproofing is nonsense during an interview into her home life. She also advised other parents to learn from her mistake.
Plested earned a following for her DIY blog Honey We Are More and her Instagram. Over time, she received compliments for her bohemian-inspired home as it always looked spic and span, like she doesn't have a 3-year-old and a 3-month-old living with her. Stuff New Zealand did her profile because of her Pinterest-perfect images and the subject of babyproofing her house was brought up.
Over 33,000 home injuries occurred in 2000 to 2015 due to unsecured furniture or falling television, appliances and decorations, as per the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Despite the numbers, Plested shared her best babyproofing hack for a beautiful house: "never baby proof."
"Let them learn and they won't do it again," the mom reasoned. Plested said she never installed baby gates for her wandering 3-year-old, Houston.
"I think it's important for the baby to learn boundaries without these," she told Daily Mail. "I have cactus in my house and Houston touched it once and he will never go near them again," she said.
Afternoon stillness with my baby girl
A post shared by ABBY PLESTED (@abbyplested) on Apr 23, 2017 at 11:01pm PDT
A post shared by ABBY PLESTED (@abbyplested) on Mar 9, 2017 at 7:41pm PST
Instead, the mom said she's more inclined as a parent to keep on the lookout for her child more as that's what parents should do anyway. For her, having children should not prevent homeowners from having decorative stuff around the house, nor should it implore them to change things around the kids. The mom said she also makes practical and common sense choices, such as keeping breakable items away from children's reach, or ensuring tables, cupboards and shelves are secured.
Some moms believe in the same unconventional parenting views as Plested, citing babyproofing as a waste of money. "Babyproofing solutions are designed to be temporary," according to Mommyish. For these moms, teaching kids boundaries and careful behavior were more important than spending for babyproofing items.
