Embedded Files
How Foolproof is Baby proofing?
From sharp corners, to open containers, a home can be a dangerous place for children to roam free. Baby proofing is the act of protecting children from harm before it can happen. Corner guards and child resistant packaging are just some of the preventative tools parents of today use to ensure their children grow up in a safe and secure environment. Yet baby proofing is a relatively new cultural phenomena, a practice that parents prior to the late nineteenth century would have found quite peculiar. Parents of the past weren’t nearly as worried about hazardous scenarios that could, and often did, unfold in their homes. Today’s parents look back in horror at this Laissez-faire approach to the threat of danger. By modern standards, past generations lack of precaution would be perceived as a lack of care altogether. In reality, the only thing their behavior reflects is the general lack of knowledge of their time. With modern science and technological advancements, children of today live longer and healthier lives than ever before. And yet, the ability to access a plethora of information with the tap of a button has sparked in modern parents a great sense of anxiety, for possessing the knowledge of what could go wrong induces paranoia that things will go wrong. Unlike any previous generation, children of today grow up in a bubble wrapped world, cushioned at every turn from harm's way. While these protective measures were initially instituted as an attempt to better shield the young from harm, the parental desire to protect became an opportunity for corporations to profit, hence the creation of a market subsidized by fear.
The Bottle that Sealed the Deal
The invention of the child-proof lid led to the legal implementation of a newfound safety standard, forcing all corporations to comply. As more product regulating laws began to surface, parents were exposed to the truth that products within their own home posed a serious threat to their children. According to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Public Health Service, 325 children died from ingesting drugs in 1967 alone (1). It was that same year that Henri Breault invented the child-proof lid, significantly limiting the possibility of a child dying from opening and swallowing the remnants from a medication bottle (2). Breault’s innovative “palm and turn '' design made opening containers impossible for children (and me.) However, by 1969 there were still over 116,000 accidental ingestions reported. It wasn’t until congress passed the 1970 Poison Prevention Packaging Act, that this major cause for concern was finally being met with the appropriate legal course of action. The passing of this law reinforced to the public the importance of following these child protective guidelines. Eight years later, in 1978 congress passed the Lead Paint Act in response to the growing number of infant fatalities due to lead ingestion. The walls of many homes were coated with lead paint, leaving children and adults alike vulnerable to its toxins. To make matters worse, paint chips left behind easily indigestible remnants, posing a greater threat to children's health. The addition of these laws brought child safety to the forefront of the public’s consciousness, setting the stage for corporations to profit off of the fear this knowledge would soon generate.
“Palm N’ Turn” safety cap design – Image Source: Radio Canada International
The emergence of the Parent
This shift in parental attitude was also mirrored through language. While the term “parenting” was first used in 1918, it wasn’t popularized until the 1970s. Before then, parents were referred to as “child-bearing”(3). This reshaping of language reflected just how much their roles changed, for they became active agents in their children’s development. While “Child bearing” referred to the act of carrying a child and giving birth, the job description did not include moral responsibilities. As a noun, “parenting” meant that being a parent was no longer a single action, but rather a set of actions with an end goal.
This change was also reflected in the literature of the time. From journal articles to how-to manuals, parents were being guided on how to better raise their children. The evolution of parenthood was displayed through shifting magazine covers and content. In 1959, Parents’ magazine was still suggesting that parents should let their babies roam free in their homes, “uncaged” by cribs. By 1965, Parents’ was much more preoccupied with “homemaking” and advising parents how to build better relationships with their children at various life stages.
Parents' magazine, 1959
Parents' magazine, 1965
According to the content analysis of popular literature from 1950 to 1970, the three most covered topics across three women’s magazines were; socialization of children, parent child relations, and developmental stages (4). Childhood was starting to be seen as a crucial moment of development. Yet studies show that parents were still relatively passive in their parenting approach, especially when it came to their attitude on injury prevention. In one study from 1996, 113 parents were asked to conclude a questionnaire regarding their personal approach to parenting, each question pertaining to the age of that parent’s child. Parents were asked questions such as “why do children get injured?” Other questions pertained to the relationship between parent and child, especially when it came to taking responsibility for the consequences of “risky behavior.” These questions were answered in reference to a level of agreement scale ranging from 0 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree.) Participants were also asked to rate how common they believed a list of potential injuries would be in a variety of specific situations. The common thread across the study seemed to be that the majority of participating parents believed that children were responsible for learning their own lessons, and that parents shouldn’t have to teach them. Only 10% of the parents believed that adults should step in and prevent risky behavior which could lead to injury (5). Additionally, 70% of the parents believed the best way to teach their children was to let them learn their own lessons.
The Politics of Baby-proofing
At the turn of the twentieth century, baby proofing became political. Suddenly an injury or mishap was a reflection of a mother’s ability to keep her child safe. Now that the home had been established as yet another site of danger, there lay a greater sense of anxiety surrounding the wellbeing of a growing child. The home was a microcosm for the world at large, as a result, parental helplessness manifested as a desire to take control. Child safety practices began to extend beyond the home and into the car with the invention of the carseat in 1962, however it wasn’t until 1986 that carseats became mandatory. Parents started to overcompensate in order to feel like they could keep their kids safe from trouble. This is where the performative element of baby proofing came into play. The reasoning behind thinking ahead was to keep from making mistakes, however this was not solely for the child’s benefit. Whether it be a scraped knee or a broken bone, any injury was a failure to be careful on the mother’s end, a sign that she was an unfit parent.
When “Hands-On” is Suffocating
With the addition of technology, loose cords, outlets, and unstable tv stands there are so many more accidents waiting to happen (6). As sociologist Frank Furdui describes, today’s parents are no longer “nurturing” their children, but rather “monitoring” them (7). Driven forward by fear, a new theory arises: determinism. According to Furdui, determinism is the belief that “the first few years of life can make or break a person’s future, and that the parent’s role is all-important” (110). Parents become preoccupied with the quality of life they are able to provide their children within their first few years. We can see this newfound desire for control manifest through the very process of baby proofing. In the early 2000s, shows such as Friends poke fun at just how complicated this process can be when a full grown adult can’t even open his containers anymore (8). The anxiety creates a profitable market, reflected in all forms of media. When it comes to tv, parental anxiety is utilized as comic relief. In an episode of Raising Hope, Jimmy goes to great lengths to baby proof his house, jumping through hoops to make sure his daughter is safe (9). While Jimmy has an anxious parenting style and is overly protective of his daughter Hope, Jimmy’s parents reflect on their lack of care and judgment in past dangerous situations when Jimmy was a child. While depictions of parental fear are often satirical, they accurately represent just how dramatic this shift towards excessive parenting really was. The repetition of this trope in television and media suggests that parental fear isn’t just entertaining, it’s profitable.
Today, parental anxiety surrounding injury prevention is at an all time high, especially given the notion that many potential childhood injuries of today didn’t exist a decade or two ago (9). With access to a plethora of parenting information at any given moment, we are able to know so much more than we used to. Major companies have figured out how to profit off of that desire to always be in control. Take Pampers ``Baby Chart Growth Calculator” for instance, marketed as a tool to “keep an eye” on your child’s growth at every possible step of the way. This is nothing more than a clever way to gather data (10). Baby proofing began as a response to infant mortality, an attempt to keep children safe before they could even get into trouble. Slowly, this process has been taken over by capitalism, becoming an excuse for the market to profit off of the fear and anxiety of new parents.
“Baby Proofing Your House: Checklist and Tips.” Pampers.
Concluding Thoughts
The turn from necessary to excessive began when companies realized that the universal parental experience was an endless business opportunity. Many of these products have weaseled their way into mainstream culture, so much so that we can’t even remember a time before them. From electric outlet covers, to baby safety gates, it’s hard to imagine a new baby inhabiting a modern house without these features. And yet, many if not all of these household additions have accomplished what they have set out to do: keep children safe. The process of child proofing is not in itself problematic and neither are the products themselves, even if the market exploits parents on account of their fear. However, the examination of the evolution of child-proofing reveals a major cultural shift in parental attitude and approach. Baby proofing is symbolic of the lengths parents will go to try and make life safer and easier for their kids. Protecting their children from sharp corners isn’t so dissimilar from being there for them through the hard times, to make life less painful. But baby proofing has gotten out of hand, for while it started as an attempt to protect children from physical risk, this mindset morphed into what is known today as "helicopter parenting" (14).
This overprotective sheltering of children from risks of any kind, physical or emotional, prevents them from becoming independent and self- reliant. As Hanna Rosin so eloquently states in her article "The Overprotected Kid", "We can no more create the perfect environment for our children than we can create perfect children."
Endnotes
CORRIGAN, JAMES J. “The Poison Prevention Packaging Act.” Food, Drug, Cosmetic Law Journal 26, no. 9 (1971): 447–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26657548.
“Dr. Henri Breault - Child Proof Safety Caps: The Drive Magazine.” The Drive, 7 Aug. 2020, https://thedrivemagazine.com/posts/henri-breault/
Bigner, Jerry J. “Parent Education in Popular Literature: 1950-1970.” The Family Coordinator 21, no. 3 (1972): 313–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/582876.
Ibid
Morrongiello, Barbara A., and Linda Dayler. “A Community-Based Study of Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs Related to Childhood Injuries.” Canadian Journal of Public Health / Revue Canadienne de Sante’e Publique 87, no. 6 (1996): 383–88. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41993839.
“Child Safety Booklet - New York City.” Accessed March 23, 2023. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/acs/pdf/child_safety_booklet.pdf.
Lasch-Quinn, Elisabeth. Review of Bringing Up Baby, by Ralph Schoenstein, William Crain, Frank Furedi, and Ann Hulbert. The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 27, no. 2 (2003): 109–12. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40261189.
“‘Friends’ the One with the Boob Job.” IMDb. IMDb.com, February 20, 2003. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583581/.
“‘Raising Hope’ Poking Holes in the Story.” IMDb. IMDb.com, March 20, 2012. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2232911/.
“Baby Proofing Your House: Checklist and Tips.” Pampers, www.pampers.com/en-us/baby/parenting-life/article/baby-proofing-your-home
Underwood, Paul L. “Yes, You Absolutely Need to Baby Proof.” The New York Times. The New York Times, April 17, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/article/babyproofing-guide.html.
“Baby Proofing Your House: Checklist and Tips.” Pampers. Accessed March 23, 2023.https://www.pampers.com/en-us/baby/parenting-life/article/baby-proofing-your-home.
Nickgillespie. “Child-Proofing the World.” Reason.com, 1 June 1997, reason.com/1997/06/01/child-proofing-the-world/.
“Have We Gone Too Far in Protecting Our Kids?” YouTube, YouTube, 9 May 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BLCgMnIOQA
Rosin, Hanna. “The Overprotected Kid.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 16 Apr. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/04/hey-parents-leave-those-kids-alone/358631/
Zaya is a singer, writer, and music lover from Brooklyn, New York. Currently earning her BA/MA in English at Boston University, Zaya has always loved to write. Though above all else, she hopes that someday she can make a career out of her deep passion for music. She also enjoys poetry, obscure band names, and making collages.
Her music is on all streaming platforms go check her out @zayamarz :)
Page updated
Report abuse