happy mother learning black baby walking
Parenting

Learning To Walk and Baby Proofing the House

Jameson is Learning to walk, so That Means Baby Proofing Everything

If crawling around and getting into everything wasn’t enough, Jameson is now trying to walk and is cruising around the couch, bed, and pretty much everything else he can stabilize himself on. I also now understand why parents would get so happy when their little ones start walking. Seeing these milestones is a feeling that I can not describe. It’s so awesome to see my son overcoming and learning all these new skills that we all take for granted because they are something we do every day. And walking is such a big step in his journey of independence and some freedom.

But with that walking comes a lot of new challenges for us as parents. Everything within arms reach now has to disappear, I bought foam corner protectors so he doesn’t bounce his head off of tv stands and nightstands, and we now have to attach all of our bookcases and pretty much everything else to the walls. Attaching these things to the walls isn’t only because he opens the drawers or tries to reach for things that are higher up, it’s mainly because he is also now trying to climb EVERYTHING. Jameson sees something that he wants and there is almost no stopping him on his quest to get it. We have to distract him with something else and hope that he forgets about whatever it was he previously wanted. Most of the time it only works for a few minutes.

The other danger of him trying to walk is that almost our entire house is tile, and when he falls I have this fear that his head is just going to bounce off of the floor. I know he is going to fall and he has a few times, but it still scares me. I have thought about buying some more foam tiles to cover more of the living room, but for what they cost I can’t afford it. So instead I kinda follow him around as he walks trying my best to cushion the fall. I never thought I would be one of those helicopter parents, but it looks like I may end up being one. But I do have a suggestion for those dads with kids that are trying to walk. Instead of holding his hands while his arms are up in the air, you should hold the back of their onesie or shirt. This will prevent your little one from possibly dislocating their little shoulders, and I am told it is very painful for them to have it put back into place.