The new (and improved) TV stand.

Childproofing 101:
Rule #1. Whatever you think is childproof isn't.
Rule #2. If you aren't sure whether it is childproof, then just assume it isn't.
Rule #3. If you aren't sure why it isn't childproof, just let your 10 month old have a go at it for about 3 seconds and you will immediately see 50 different faults with whatever it is you thought was childproof.

Exhibit A: The new TV stand.


So our old TV stand was fine...
It was from IKEA, but it served its purpose well and was fairly attractive for an IKEA piece of furniture. However, once Little C started crawling we knew we needed something new. The doors could be latched with those plastic child-lock things, but the DVR and DVD player were completely open to attack....
So when Mr. C got his new flat screen last month, I went shopping for a new TV stand with one goal in mind...protect the electronics.

Only thing is, unless you are willing to invest in blue tooth technology, you need to be able to see your electronics for the remotes to work. In other words, your DVR and DVD player have to be open or enclosed in glass. Glass makes me nervous for a lot of reasons...I just envision toy cars flying at it at 100 miles per hour, or children colliding into it. So when I saw this piece, I was ecstatic!!

You can't see it very well it the picture above, but it has iron scrolling that completely encloses the electronics while still allowing remote access AND it has these handy wooden latches to keep the doors closed!!
As soon as we got it home, though, I realized how heavy and unsturdy it was, and this was before we put a 200lb TV on it. Plus the openings in the iron scrolling are just big enough for Little C to stick his arms through, and while they aren't nearly as sharp as they look, I kept imagining the munchkin sticking his arm in a hole, losing his footing and snapping his arm off and/or ripping an artery open.

But, where there's a will there's a way! It took two trips to Babies R Us, two trips to the hardware store and one trip to a glass cutting store, but we've (knock on wood) child-proofed the TV stand for the time-being.

First, we had to saw a hole in the back of it for the cords to all the electronics to fit through (hazard of buying a side board instead of a media stand).
Then we had to strap the whole thing to the wall (TWO studs in the wall to be exact) with two pairs of furniture straps. Then we had to bolt the TV to a third stud in the wall...

And finally, four pieces of plexi glass and 32 mirror clips later, we took care of those pesky openings int he iron scrolling.

And that's just the short version of the story! I'll spare you the details of two very non-handy people trying to navigate hole saws and stud-finding.

But, the TV is now attractively displayed and (knock on serious wood) the DVR is safe from tiny fingers for the next month or so. I'm well aware those wooden latches won't last for very long, but for the time being, I'm done messing with this piece of furniture.

As an added bonus for listening to my long story, Little C will now sing the alphabet for you (well, most of it at least :).