The Toddler-Savvy Home Office: 10 Things to Check When Babyproofing Your Workspace
I have a small but comfortable home office. It has its own door and I'd recently baby-proofed it, or so I thought, by tucking away a cluster of extension cord lines, covering the plugs and making sure the room felt reasonably safe.Then, a couple days ago, I decided to run to the kitchen for a cup of tea while the little guy played with some blocks on the floor. I was gone for maybe three minutes, tops, and when I got back, my office was unrecognizable.Every book on the first two shelves of the bookcase was on the floor, loose paper was scattered to the four corners and the trash looked like it had not only been upended, but also picked up and placed strategically throughout the room. And standing in the middle of it, chewing contentedly on the water bill, was my son.
Hindsight is 20/20, but Foresight is Easy to Overlook
In hindsight, I should have known something like this was going happen. Edward has become as curious as a box of kittens recently and I've already caught him numerous times snagging pages from the note pile on my desk.But to be able to create this level of chaos in such a short amount of time was astounding...and a very effective slap in the face. I needed to make some toddler-friendly adjustments to my office and I needed to make them now.
Starting from the Ground Up
To start, I was going to need to see my office from his perspective, which is about 32 inches above floor level. And what better way to learn what he could get into than by having him join me on the investigation!Together we walked, crawled and bumped our way around the little office space as I scribbled a list with one hand and snagged "found" items out of his paws with the other.I was pretty surprised at the number of things I found, especially since my office is little more than a glorified walk-in closet.
The Toddler-Savvy Home Office
1. Secure electrical cords and cover plugsI know I said we'd already done this, but what we hadn't thought about was the irresistible tug-ability of individual cords such as my laptop line and the wire for my lamp. Luckily, with a little creative rearranging of furniture and a whole heck of a lot of decorative duct tape (yes, there is a wood grain-printed duct tape!), we were able to secure these few remaining lines.2. Anchor the furnitureWhile we'd already secured the tall bookshelf, I hadn't thought to secure the short shelf. Even though it's only about three-and-a-half feet high, it's still taller than a toddler. A short side table was also braced in place using the same wall anchors I used for the bookshelves.3. Pad or remove sharp cornersWith little space for furniture, there weren't too many edges that needed padding, but I did place some padding on the side table using cheap plumbing insulation tubes. You can pick these up for a few dollars at a hardware store and they look like small, softer versions of fun noodles with an adhesive cut down one side that makes it incredibly easy to attach to furniture edges.4. Adjust the lower shelves on the bookcaseAt first I was going to just remove all of the books from the bottom two shelves of the bookcase, but then I realized that I could just switch them out. Instead of reference and research books, the bottom shelves became kid central with all of Edward's favorite picture books ready any time he wanted them.5. Put away all office suppliesEven though my pens and stapler were pushed all the way back on the desk, it was better to be safe than sorry, so I just tucked everything away in the desk drawers. While I was doing this, I made sure every drawer also had a safety drawer latch so he couldn't get into it when I wasn't looking.6. Get a trash can with a lidKind of a no-brainer, right? I hadn't even thought about this until I saw an old, dripping to-go coffee cup on top of several important papers that day. Fortunately, waste baskets with secure lids are easy to find and pretty inexpensive.7. Find a home for loose papersEven in a digital world, there are certain papers I need to keep on-hand. For these, I actually made use of an old louvered window shutter. By attaching it to the wall well out of reach, I was able to use the individual slats to hold various paperwork.8. Get an office chair that doesn't rollI've had this old rolling office chair for years, but not until I was sitting behind it with Edward did I realize that I could easily roll backward one day and roll right over a hand or foot. It was easily replaced with a very cozy stationary chair that I found at a local resale store.9. Secure water dispenserI don't actually have one of these in my office space, but a friend of mine who has a two-year-old does, and she found a pretty ingenious way to keep the taps safe from curious hands. Simply ask your water provider for two hot water taps -- the kind that lock and only work when you press down a button and turn -- and put them on both taps. She painted the cold one blue and it works great.10. Set up a baby zoneWith the bookshelf all set up for little guy's literary entertainment, I went ahead and set up a comfortable baby zone just for him. Along with a soft rug, I found a child-sized bean bag for him to lean against and set up a couple fabric boxes full of toys that could be tucked away on the bookshelf when he was done.It seemed like a lot at first, but the whole project only took about half a day to complete after I found the few pieces of furniture I needed. Edward is in love with his new bean bag and there are times when I'm working that I catch him snuggling against it, holding a book upside down and pretending to read. And I know I feel a lot better now about letting him play while I work.
Is it time you made your home office toddler-savvy? Or maybe you've already baby-proofed your workspace and have some great tips to share? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.
About the author:Kristin Hackler is a mother, children's book author and work-from-home freelance writer. Kristin writes about family, home and work life for Ebay.