Fry turned 18 months old on Sunday. Despite the fact that he seems to be going through a major separation anxiety phase - he freaks out if someone else tries to carry him, even if I'm right next to him - he continues to amaze us everyday.
In light of the fact that we've just given our three month notice to the landlord and can expect to have visitors in the near future to see the apartment, we decided to, at long last, take down the remaining barriers, save for the one that blocks the stairs. For the last six months or so, Fry has been confined to the "salon" side of our open plan downstairs area. That means that we had to climb over the barriers in order to go to the kitchen side of the room.
So we toddler-proofed the kitchen side as well as we could and during his nap on Sunday, took the barriers down. What followed was a half hour of carnage, in which Fry found every single thing he could that could either disfigure or kill him outright, I basically screamed NO!! for thirty minutes straight, and ended with the spectacular demise of a wedding present that was just within Fry's reach.
Sunday was an emotionally charged day, to be sure.
Destroyed wedding gifts notwithstanding, the last couple of days have been better. We are forced, for his well being, to keep the downstairs as clean as a whistle, which is definitely a good thing. The cabinets are now truly toddler-proofed, the garbage can be locked closed (what amazing foresight, when I bought it four years ago!), so the remaining danger will come from the oven, which will definitely burn him if he so much as touches it. Now that the weather is warming up (supposedly - I had to turn the heat back on this morning, but that's another story!) I will use the oven sparingly over the next couple of months, happy in the knowledge that our new apartment will have a real kitchen to itself with a door that keeps small people out, even if only temporarily.
5 comments:
Re: the oven--when I was learning to walk, I ran into my babysitters and had to have bandaged hands because of the burns. (It was the 70's and the outside got super hot.)
Since she's been mobile, whenever Rowan goes near the oven I would scream "HOT!!! OWWW!!! NOOO!!!" and it worked--she doesn't go near it. A bit drama queenie, yeah, but it was worth it! :) Rowan was also a nightmare when it came to babyproofing, at first. Now, she's great. Knives, matches, electronics--she brings them to us immediately.
Good luck, and I hope you don't lose anything else important in the near future!
Do they have baby-proofing locks in France? We have locks for our cabinets and I've seen child-proofing things for the stove.
They do indeed. I bought a kit with electrical plug covers, drawer locks and cabinet protectors but I'm only really using the cabinet protectors right now. I don't want to invest in a stove protector when we will likely buy a new stove that won't burn him when we move in a couple of months.
Sometimes the best protection is to let him learn by itself.
Leave the oven on, not too hot. And when he wants to touch it, tell him "NO" and wait. It will perhaps be a little burn but it should calm him down and maybe the next time you'll say "No", he will hear you :) maybe ...
Seb (Grenoble)
This native Texan is moving to Paris and I have to tell you that your comment about turning the heat on in April strikes dread in my southern heart! Do you ever get used to it? What's the essential coat???
Kate
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