Babyproofing Your Hotel Room

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You'll probably want to baby proof your hotel room to some extent. When you first enter the room, remove anything from low tables that you do not want your child to have and place it in a closet, up high, or have it removed from the room.

Double check that all the furniture is stable. We once stayed in a rental apartment where the TV was balanced precariously on a wobbly old stand. Our son was pulling up on everything at that stage, so we quickly moved the TV to the floor and stored the stand in a closet!

Bring Duct Tape and blue painters tape. You can tape over almost anything that you think is a risk. Use the duct tape on unpainted surfaces (eg power outlets) and blue tape on things that seem more fragile.

Tap water in many hotels is very hot, so don't ever leave a toddler unattended in a bathroom. If there is a bidet, turn the water to it off at the wall.

You won’t be able to baby proof as thoroughly as you would at home, so be sure to watch your baby or child carefully.

Need more help? Check out our Step-by-Step guide to Babyproofing a hotel room

Comments

  1. Elizabeth on July 5, 2008 at 1:25 a.m.

    Checking to make sure the television is stable is so important. We stayed in a hotel once that had the television screwed down to a medium sized dresser it was on and thought it was safe. It wasn't! It tipped over on top of our daughter and she could have been horribly injured. We were really lucky she turned out with nothing but a really awful looking swollen bruise on the side of her head. You can never be too careful with that.

  2. Yomi on December 8, 2009 at 7:05 a.m.

    Some hotels have baby proofed rooms. be sure to ask.

  3. Caroline on December 15, 2010 at 12:30 p.m.

    Little late to the party, but...

    We brought high density foam squares with us, and taped them to the very sharp corners of a coffee table in one room where we stayed. It was perfect play height, but those corners were brutal! TripAdvisor tipped us off, so we were prepared. now I bring them every time we stay in a hotel.

    make sure you can secure (painters tape etc) the thermostat adjusters on the A/C and heat in a room. those are usually along a window, and can be toddler height!

  4. Colleen on December 19, 2010 at 7:16 a.m.

    I'm a nurse, and we often see kids who have ingested pills that they have found on the floor. Some pills, such as blood pressure meds, narcotics, and even an adult tylenol, can can deadly to a toddler/small child. I would say that part of baby proofing a hotel room is to crawl around on the floor looking for things that the vacuum missed. Also a good idea to immediately remove meds from your travel bag and put them up high....kids get into things in a suitcase that might not be at their level at home. It's especially hard to help a child in distress in the Emergency Dept when you're not even sure what kind of med they ingested. Better safe than sorry!

  5. Emily on February 24, 2012 at 2:46 p.m.

    OMGOSH Colleen, I hadn't even thought about that as not me or my husband take pills! Thank you so much!! I will try and be wary.

  6. Jo on August 11, 2012 at 8:22 p.m.

    Another great tool is self-adhesive backed velcro. Great for drawers or doors you will need to get into but don't want baby to. Also, ask for a few extra washcloths if you have edges of tables to cover, fold them over several times and tape them with the painters' tape. And don't forget to put a strip of tape over the latch part of the bathroom door that goes into the door jam to hold the door shut. That way your little one can't lock themselves in...

  7. Tara Cannon on October 16, 2012 at 2:29 p.m.

    Yes, duct tape is a wonder tool. We have used it to tape off unsafe balconies and hold together luggage that has ripped open mid-journey.

    For those people who aren't interested in improvising, however, there is a kit by a company called Travel Tot (http://travel-tot.com/) that is very good.

  8. Monkey Lodge Panama on April 28, 2014 at 3:41 a.m.

    Nice post!! I think you have shared some great tips on Babyproofing Your Hotel Room. People will get some great information from your post. Thanks for sharing.

  9. Janna on July 3, 2015 at 10:10 a.m.

    I met a lot of difficulties when traveling with children, thank you for the solution