Walk down the baby aisle of any store and you'll see "baby-safe," "child-proof," and "toddler-resistant" plastered on dozens of products. Some of them deserve those labels. A lot of them don't.
The baby safety industry is worth billions of dollars, and not every product in it is designed to actually keep your kid safe. Some are designed to make you feel like your kid is safe, which is a very different thing.
Outlet Covers That pop out
Let's start with the most common one. Those cheap plastic outlet covers you stick into the socket? The ones that come in packs of 50 for $8? Kids can pull them out. Some kids figure it out by 10 months. And when they do, the cover itself becomes a choking hazard.
Sliding outlet covers that are built into the plate are much better. They automatically cover the slots when nothing is plugged in, and there's no removable piece for a baby to put in their mouth.
Cabinet Locks That Don't Hold
Adhesive-mount cabinet latches vary wildly in quality. The cheap ones lose their adhesive after a few months, especially in kitchens and bathrooms where heat and moisture weaken the bond. Others have latches that a persistent 18-month-old can figure out through trial and error.
Test your cabinet locks regularly. Pull on them. Try to open the cabinet with force. If you can pop them with a firm yank, so can your toddler.
Foam Corner Guards That Fall off
Those foam bumpers you stick on table corners? They fall off. Sometimes in a week, sometimes in a month, but they fall off. Adhesive weakens over time, and toddlers pick at the edges.
Better option: corner guards that mechanically clip onto the table edge rather than just sticking to it. Or honestly, if you have a glass coffee table during the toddler years, consider temporarily replacing it with something softer.
"BABY-PROOF" CONTAINERS AND CAPS
Some products advertise child-resistant packaging. The problem is that "child-resistant" doesn't mean "child-proof." By FDA standards, child-resistant packaging just means that 80% of children under 5 couldn't open it within 5 minutes in a test. That still leaves 20% who can.
And the tests are done with kids who've never seen the container before. Your toddler has watched you open that medicine bottle every morning for months. They know the push-and-twist move.
Door Handle Covers That Spin
Foam door handle covers are supposed to make it impossible for small hands to get enough grip to turn the knob. They work on some kids, for a while. Determined toddlers figure out that if they push hard enough, or use two hands, or press with their elbow, they can still turn it.
Lever-style door handles are even harder to baby-proof. Most lever covers are just plastic shields that go over the handle. They add friction, but they're not locks.
If you genuinely need to keep a toddler out of a room, a lock high on the door is more reliable than a handle cover.
What to Look for Instead
Check for ASTM or JPMA certification on baby safety products. These aren't perfect, but they mean the product has been tested against specific standards.
Read real parent reviews, not just the star rating. Look for reviews from parents with older toddlers who've had the product for 6+ months. That's where you'll find out if it actually holds up.
And be skeptical of anything that promises to be completely child-proof. No product is. They're all buying you time and adding layers of difficulty. The goal is to slow your kid down long enough for you to intervene, not to create an impenetrable fortress.
Products can help. But they're not a substitute for supervision, and they're definitely not all created equal.