The Parenting Journal

How to get a toddler to the bathroom sink for hand washing: check sink height and water temperature first, then compare a stool, a tower and an extender.

Most baby proofing advice assumes you want to buy things. A cabinet full of magnetic locks, a hallway full of foam bumpers, outlet plates in every room. The minimalist parent looks at that list and feels a familiar tension: I...

Keep knives out of reach and out of sight: how blocks, magnetic strips and locked drawers compare, and where a drawer lock fits.

Pinched fingers, falling lids and heavy furniture: how AAP and CPSC advice applies to a piano, and where no source covers one.

What to check on a public changing table: the strap, the guardrail, the weight limit question and hand hygiene, and when your own pad makes sense.

A layered plan for a toddler who bolts: what to set up at the front door, in the driveway and in the parking lot, and what a gate can and cannot do.

When a gate on a toddler’s bedroom door can work, why it is never a lock, and the fire and room checks to make first.

Both approaches share the same non-negotiables: stair gates, anchored furniture, locked chemicals, and covered outlets. Montessori proofing uses height and curation to define safe zones, not locks and barriers. Fewer toys in rotation makes hazards like broken parts and loose...

How to baby proof an RV or camper: latch the galley cabinets, secure the door, check the bunk and cover the outlets.