When my husband and I had our first child, we lived in a tiny town house that had very steep stairs leading up to the bedrooms. One afternoon when our daughter was about 13 months, we were rushing to get out of the house. I was down stairs in the kitchen cleaning and my husband and daughter were in the living room playing. Then he ran upstairs to grab his wallet for what he thought would just be a second. However, when he got up there he couldn’t find it and had to search. Meanwhile, I was loading up the dishwasher and not paying much attention to our daughter. Then we heard one of the most sickening sounds a parent can hear. Thunk, Thunk, Thunk, Thunk. In the few moments while he was upstairs and I was preoccupied (and no one put up the baby gate!) she had climbed up more than half way up our steep stairs and fallen back down. Thankfully, she wasn’t seriously hurt, just bruised and very scared. However, in 2004 in the United States alone, there were more than 1,000 people killed because of accidents on the stairs. This figure doesn’t even include the broken bones, bumps, and bruises like my daughters’.

So, what is the best way possible and practical to protect your children? Baby gates for stairs come in all different price ranges, shapes and sizes, and are just as important to use in your home as cabinet safety locks, so before you leave the house to go to shopping for one there are some things to consider. First off, the location you need to have blocked off will affect what type of baby gate you purchase. For example, at the top and bottom of the stairs, you never should use the pressure mounted baby gates. If a child puts enough weight on the gate, it could cause the gate to collapse. Also, the square mesh gates are easier for children to climb over and are not recommended for child protection use anymore.

In heavy traffic areas, you might want to consider splurging on the more expensive gate that screw securely into the wall or doorjamb and has a handle or spring that unlatches. These are much more convenient since you won’t have to put up and take down the gate one hundred times a day. Also, the more convenient a gate is to use, the more likely a person will be to use it and consequently, the safer your baby will be. If a person is concerned about the appearance of the gate, in the past few years there have been many different designs that will please almost any shopper.

Your children didn’t come with an instruction manual, and parenting can be hard and stressful.Here at optimal parenting our goal is to supply you with basic parenting tips to help you keep you family safe and happy. We will discuss how to keep your family safe inside your home, outside your home and give you helpful discipline tips that you can implement as your children grow into their teens.

Accidents are the leading cause of deaths in children, and most of these accidents could easily be avoided and is important to keep your child’s safety in mind when you are in your home or out. Using easily installed products on the market such as plug covers, cabinet door locks,  door knob covers, stove guards, and even swinging stair gates are helpful in avoiding accidents that could potentially harm your children. These products are not only for infants they can be used for years to keep your children out of harmful situations.There are numerous laws and regulations when it comes to child seat safety, here at optimal parenting we will keep you informed to these new changes so that you can keep your little ones safe while you run your errands, take them to school, or on trips with the rest of the family. It is also wise to have a serious discussion with your children regarding strangers and the dangers when they play outside.

As a parent you will need to discipline your child, teach them manners, and help them transition into the real world as an adult. All these basic tips will help your children grow into an respectable adult and keep your whole family happy and healthy. Rearing teens can be a difficult and stressful task, we are here to provide you with ways you can help your teen make good life decisions. Offering your kids choices from youth on into adulthood is often an effective discipline techniques, by having a choice, it give your children some sense of control as you try to get them to do what you want.

With this site we strive to be your very own owners manuel for raising your children providing you with helpful tips and guide lines. At some points in their lives it can seem over whelming and hopeless, but there is hope in having a happy family life where you and your children enjoy eachothers company with no fighting and argueing.