Family

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The 13 basic things you need to grandchildren proof your home. Baby Boomers and those retiring have probably already heard these before, but just in case you haven’t:

1.) Pick up all breakables that little hands could reach or knock over

2.) Get baby locks for lower cabinets or drawers that you don’t want opened

3.) Secure any outside doors; especially those that go to the street or to a pool?

4.) Put all poisonous liquids on high shelves – bleach, cleaning fluids, medicines, etc.

5.) Are all fire alarms working

6.) Post a list of all emergency numbers by all phones = parents, doctors, poison control

7.) Set the water heater below 120 degrees to prevent scalding

8.) Have a working fire extinguisher accessible in the kitchen

9.) Put safety gates on all stairways or rooms you don’t want children to enter

10.) Put safety caps on all electrical outlets

11.) Get a working baby monitor, plastic cups, forks and plates

12.) Keep all hot liquids, like coffee, up high away from reaching hands and pot handles turned inward

13.) Get a good stain stick; spills will happen

Those were the basics. These are the 11 things from an experienced grandparent:

14.) Invest in a comfortable rocking chair – no matter how cute they are or how much you want to hold them, your back and arms will get tired, even with a newborn; rocking with a child will be some of the best memories for you and them

15.) Get two small pillows for that rocking chair; one for your lower back and one to put underneath the arm holding your child for support; especially good while reading, feeding or when they wake up at 2:30 A.M. for no reason

16.) Invest in a booster seat/highchair that attaches to a chair, a pack ‘n play, a baby corral (a portable fence to put toys and children in, so they can learn to play by themselves, yet still be with the family) and a good car seat

17.) Have a great stash of easy to read books; some with big letters that you can read even without your glasses, some that are interactive and some that are the classic good stories; getting your children interested in reading at an early age will be one of the greatest lessons you can teach them.

18.) Have a variety of learning and “just for fun” toys; keep the older children’s toys separate from the baby toys – this keeps things from getting broken and pieces missing, but also, let’s them feel like they each have something that is just theirs.

19.) Never doubt the excitement of kitchen utensils; babies love spoons, bowls and pots; older children are always ready to bake sugar cookies and make a big mess – they even love cleaning up; bubble baths are the greatest

20.) Play a variety of music; peaceful for nap time and maybe even some rock ‘n roll for when playing; most children love to dance and finding rhythm will start even as young as six months, for sure by the time they are walking

21.) Let everyone share in taking care of your grandchild; sense of family and trust is established early and this makes sure everyone gets some rest and time alone to recoup.

22.) Nothing takes the place of lots of hugs, listening and playing together; set clear boundaries of what is acceptable behavior, make exceptions rare, calmly control

23.) Remember that each family probably has some different rules or routines than you; remember this is the time for creating great memories

24.) Make sure you get some rest and take time to be with other adults part of each day

Baby Boomers and those retiring are entering grandparenthood. Our generation was the largest in history and many of our children are jumping into family life in just as big a way. Use this list of 24 things to grandchildren proof your home, to help this time of your life be one of your rewards for all of your years of hard work.

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