Seriously?

I am in total agreement with this article from Reader's Digest this month:

http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/bubble-babies/article150007.html




Things I cannot believe moms pay money for:

Knee pads for a crawling baby?

Gummy crib railing...

A bathtub bumper?? You also can't see it here, but the faucet is covered with a cutesy little fish bumper. Really?

The only childproofing we've really done is outlet covers and a gate at the top of the stairs. We will probably also add cupboard locks and maybe a gate at the bottom of the stairs, but that is it. When she is walking, I'll make sure the bathroom doors are closed. I fully believe there is power in the word "no" and a little re-direction, even for a toddler. Also, I've never really been worried about germs. If the paci falls out on the floor, face up, I quickly pick it up & put it back in (maybe not in public, but at least at home). If she wants to crawl around in the mall play area where millions of kids have probably been running around, no big deal. And she's only been sick maybe twice in her little life.

Now maybe if something serious happened to my child to warrant needing an item like one of the ones above, I might understand a little better. But really, a toddler is going to fall every once in awhile. She will probably bump her head (and she does at least once a day). She will probably scrape her knees. But she will be fine, and probably even forget about it in the next few minutes. We cannot protect them forever. And that just made me realize that the process of letting them go begins the day they're born.