Rock Your Precious Pumpkin to Sleep in a Babyproof Glider
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Modern parents frequently choose a gliding rocker over the old-fashioned type for use in the baby's room, then find they are concerned about safety when they see the moving parts. Here are some ideas for finding or creating a babyproof glider.
There is nothing quite like the gentle motion of a glider and footstool in the nursery. Parents and grandparents have known for years that rocking is one of the most relaxing ways to get a child to sleep - relaxing for the parent as much as for the child. Unfortunately, the very design of a glider rocker is a hazard for a little one, and maybe for mom too, because it is so easy to pinch your fingers in the gliding mechanism. Has anyone ever designed a babyproof glider and ottoman? Or has anyone ever figured out a way to make their existing glider child safe?
There is another safety concern, too, although it may not happen too often. The new gliders have thickly cushioned backs, seats, and arms, and you can buy a matching gliding footstool so you can put your feet up while soothing the little one. Some gliding chairs even have reclining backs. A small child keeps you on your toes all day, and to sit down and cuddle that little one is such a welcome break. Chances are you will fall asleep as easily as the baby!
Now, you may be the type that sleeps lightly enough that you could risk this, but if you are afraid you might fall asleep and drop the baby, here is an idea. Get a timer and keep it in your pocket while you rock the baby. Get the kind that has a vibrating silent mode - you don't want to wake the baby with a loud alarm! Set it for ten minutes or however long you think it might take for you to doze off. When your time is up, the vibrations in your pocket will wake you up but not the baby.
So with that potential problem solved, let's move on to the question of making a gliding rocker and footstool babyproof so that there is no risk of your little one smashing or pinching his or her fingers in it.
You will be glad to know that many of the new gliders are now equipped with a locking mechanism so you can make it stationary while you are not using it. Make sure you understand how to use the lock when the glider is still in the store, and do the same for the footstool if you choose to get one. A good locking system will allow you to lock the glider in several different positions. Make sure the reclining feature, if it has one, is equipped to lock in place, too.
Here are a few tips for choosing a nursery glider, in addition to looking for a good locking system. Unless you want to be a slave to upholstery cleaning, look for a darker colored patterned fabric. Also, make sure that the chair is roomy enough for you, especially if you plan to nurse your baby. Sometimes nursing is easiest with a pillow arrangement. If this is your case, you'll appreciate extra room in the chair for arranging pillows.
Which brings us to the question, what if you can't afford a brand new, cushioned glider and gliding ottoman with easy-to-use safety locks? What if you have inherited or dumpster dived an older model and would like to make it child-safe? Here are some ideas that might help you babyproof that second-hand glider and footstool.
First, remember that you can gently warn the little one not to put his fingers near the moving parts. Raising a small tot requires a lot of patient teaching and training. You are not stifling her creativity when you explain the hazards of everyday living! And no babyproofing takes the place of loving, attentive care. Of course, in this case, we are trying to prevent the loss of a finger or a bad cut, so merely teaching the child may not seem like enough of a safeguard, so here are some proactive ideas.
Get some long twist ties and tie the glider in place when you are not using it. Make sure they are long enough to tie up the parts securely and not be removed easily by the baby. Of course, this means you won't be able to glide without removing the twist ties.
Keep the glider and ottoman in the nursery, and keep the baby out of the nursery when you are not in the room with the baby. This may work if you are not hoping to use your nursery as a play room, which would have to be babyproofed better.
Set the glider up against a wall so it cannot move. This doesn't help with the ottoman, but at least you can pull the chair away from the wall and use it for gliding without a lot of hassle.
Create a slip-cover that hides the moving parts from view. You could do this yourself if you're a crafty seastress-type, or you could check with someone who does upholstering for a living. A box-shaped cover for the ottoman should be fairly easy to design, and the ottoman would be trickier to babyproof anyway.
If you can handle babyproofing the chair, by setting it against the wall or some other way, but you can't figure out a convenient way to make the ottoman safe, you could simply not use an ottoman or get one that is in one piece and doesn't glide.
Hopefully your creative juices are flowing now and you will discover the best way for you to babyproof your gliding rocking chair and ottoman. Enjoy!
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