Baby-Proofing Our Home at 6 Months: Getting Ahead Before the Crawling Commences

Our baby turns six months old this week, and one thing we’ve noticed recently is just how much more curious and mobile he has become. While he’s not crawling just yet, it’s clear that he’s getting stronger, reaching for everything, and becoming much more interested in exploring his surroundings.

We quickly realized that it was better to prepare now rather than wait until he was already on the move! We decided it was time to start baby-proofing our home. Here’s what we’ve done so far.

Starting in the Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in our home, and it also contains plenty of things we definitely don’t want our little one getting into.

Adding Safety Blocks to Important Cabinets

We installed safety latches on several cabinets that contain potentially dangerous items. Things like sharp utensils, cleaning products, and other household items are now safely out of reach.

Even though he’s not opening cabinets yet, we know that stage is coming sooner than we think, and we’d rather be prepared ahead of time.

Installing Locks on Lower Cabinets

We also added inside cabinet locks to most of the lower cabinets in the kitchen.

Babies are naturally curious, and lower cabinets are often at the perfect height for exploring. By adding locks now, we won’t have to scramble to install them later when he’s already crawling around and trying to investigate every door and drawer.

Securing the Bathroom

Another area we wanted to address early was the bathroom. There are cleaning products stored there, along with drawers that could contain things we wouldn’t want him accessing. We made sure to fix the lock on the bathroom door so that we can keep the room secure and prevent any unsupervised exploration.

Bathrooms can contain a surprising number of hazards, so having an extra layer of protection gives us peace of mind.

Anchoring Furniture to Prevent Tipping

One of the biggest risks for young children is furniture tip-overs.

To help prevent accidents, we bolted both our bookcase and dresser to the wall. While these pieces of furniture seem sturdy, curious toddlers often pull themselves up or climb on things, and we wanted to eliminate that risk before it became a possibility.

This was one of those tasks that we had been meaning to do for a while, and preparing for our baby’s next stage of development finally motivated us to get it done.

Covering Electrical Outlets

We also added outlet covers to all of the exposed electrical sockets throughout the house. Babies are fascinated by small openings and objects, and outlet covers are an easy and inexpensive way to add another layer of safety to your home.

I’ve heard that it’s less of an issue with newer homes/electrics but as our home was built in the 1930s, I thought it was best to play it safe!

Tackling the Litter Box Situation

As cat owners, we have one more project on our baby-proofing list. We’re planning to install a barrier around the litter boxes to keep them completely off-limits. Curious babies and toddlers seem to have a talent for finding the one thing you’d rather they avoid, and cat litter definitely falls into that category!

Creating a dedicated space for the litter boxes will help ensure they remain inaccessible while still allowing our cats to use them comfortably.

Installing Window Restrictors

Another important safety measure we’ve taken is installing window restrictors throughout the house. As babies become more mobile and eventually start pulling themselves up, windows can become an unexpected hazard. Window restrictors allow fresh air to come in while preventing windows from opening wide enough for a child to climb or fall through. It’s one of those simple additions that provides extra peace of mind, especially in upstairs rooms and areas where furniture might be close to a window.

Why We’re Baby-Proofing Early

One thing we’ve learned as parents is that babies develop incredibly fast. One day they’re content lying on a play mat, and the next they’re rolling across the room and reaching for everything in sight.

Rather than waiting until our baby is actively crawling, we wanted to get ahead of the game and make these changes while we still had the time and energy to do them thoughtfully.

Baby-proofing doesn’t have to happen all at once, and every home will have different needs. But taking small steps now gives us peace of mind and helps create a safer environment as our little one continues to grow and explore.

We’re sure there will be plenty more baby-proofing projects in our future, but for now, we’re feeling much more prepared for this exciting new stage.

If you’re a parent, what was the first thing you baby-proofed in your home? We’d love to hear your must-haves and any tips you wish you’d known sooner!