I have heard numerous tales of babies intentionally or inadvertently destroying all kinds of technology, from cell phones, to DVD players, to televisions, to speakers, to headphones, and so on. I know that a few of you have technology and kids. What advice can you give me that will let me protect both my imminent daughter and my various tech?
My advice is keep it high and pay attention. I didn’t go nuts childproofing when Alex was a baby, but one of us was aware of what he was up to at all times. Keep anything important up high on shelves. Keep the office door closed/locked.
Kids love buttons. Keep the self-destruct well-hidden.
Maybe the most important thing to remember is tech is just stuff and can be replaced. Expect some accidents, you can’t plan for everything.
off the top of my head:
1) put any toddler level entertainment center components behind a locked plexiglass door. I have not done this yet, but It’s on the list. We instead have disabled all the buttons on the front the TV and taught Cory that touching those other buttons results in a timeout.
2) when your toddler shows interest in a cellphone, upgrade your phone and give your toddler the old one, make sure the battery is run down, SIM card removed. This has worked for a while, but now Cory has figured out that his phone doesn’t work so now he just carries it to me and says “Phone. Is it Broke?” and looking all sad and dejected. Do anyone know if a phone without a SIM card can’t call 911? cause if it can’t I’ll just start recharging it for him.
3) put your headphones away when you’re not using them. This is not for toddler proofing, but cat proofing. My cat LUVS to chew on headphones not returned to a closed drawer when not in use.
4) DVDs up on a shelf out of toddler reach.
5) Use it as a chance to upgrade. Come on, Cory, destroy my VCR so I can get a nice new shiny AV Receiver.
All good points, thanks!
Yeah, I don’t want to go nuts childproofing, since I’m concerned about what she’ll do when she’s in a non-childproof environment. Training them from doing bad stuff seems more overall useful than preventing them.
Now I can justify the cost of the home theater room renovations as child-proofing 🙂
If the cell phone won’t get past the “no SIM card” screen, it might not dial 911 for you. Not sure, though.
I think I may just stick all the DVDs in the closet with the AV gear anyway and not worry about the shelf at all.
I don’t have kids, but if I did, I think I’d cover things in epoxy, and then dip them in broken glass.
Nothing teaches like real world consequences.
I like the idea, but did you mean to dip the _things_ or the _kid_ into broken glass? Either would work, I suppose.