The first time I toured the neighborhood with my 13 month old twins on leashes, I looked around shamefully, worried I'd be judged a horrible mother. Truthfully, it was our first mommy-daughters walk that didn't evoke pure mama panic. The harnesses kept them safe from their curiosity about traffic, and the taste of rocks, and the neighborhood pit bull. It was a revelation!
Despite the excuse multiples provide parents, we've used similar methods of restraint to keep our singleton toddler safe and our sanity in tact. Here are 5 favorites:
1. Crib Tent - This product is nothing short of miraculous! It keeps your kid in their crib (all nice and contained) long past when they learn to crawl out and into your bed.
2. Baby Gates - Of course baby gates are well used by most savvy parents for stairwells or fireplaces, but if you use the right kind, you can gate off whole portions of your home or apartment, ensuring you won't have to endlessly chase your new walker hither and yon. If you have bunkbeds, you can also attach a gate to keep the younger child from wandering the house at night.
3. Playpen - Today's free-range children are all fine and good, but playpens, when properly employed, can free you up to do the things you need to do (like go to the bathroom or cook dinner or take a phone call). If you put in sufficient playtoys and activities, you and your child can experience a new world of freedom.
4. High Chair - Most folks have figured this out already, but we used to put our youngest in the high chair in the yard so she could watch her older twin sisters play in the pool without drowning. Plus, we could run in and out of the house juggling cooking, phone, and computer, without fearing for her life.
5. Playmate - Of course the best method for keeping your toddler safe and entertained is to have a babysitter or grandmother or neighbor kid over to play. Or, you could figure out a way to set up a modern family threesome....
[Photo Credit: Surviving Twins]
