At this point, I’m convinced toddlers are part ninja, part demolition crew themselves.
That’s hilarious and honestly feels spot on. I tried putting up a baby gate during our bathroom reno, but my son just climbed over it like it was a jungle gym. I keep thinking there’s gotta be a trick to keeping them out, but maybe it’s just about damage control and hoping for the best. You’re definitely not alone in this chaos.
Honestly, I’ve given up on the idea of keeping my kid out of the “danger zone” entirely. Tried the baby gate, tried stacking chairs—he just sees it as a new challenge. At this point, I just move anything sharp or dangerous and accept that he’ll probably end up covered in drywall dust. Maybe it’s less about total prevention and more about minimizing the chaos... and patching up the walls later.
Honestly, I think you’re on the right track. I tried to barricade my kitchen during our reno and my daughter just found new ways to get in—she actually figured out how to move the gate herself. At some point, I realized it was more cost-effective (and less stressful) to just clear out the real hazards and accept a bit of mess. Drywall dust washes off, but ER visits are expensive. Minimizing chaos is a win in my book.
I get where you’re coming from—sometimes it feels like no amount of barricading is enough with determined little ones. But I gotta say, I’m not totally sold on just accepting the mess. Drywall dust and reno debris can have some nasty stuff in them, especially if you’re dealing with older materials (lead, anyone?). I went a little overboard and put up zip walls last time we redid our kitchen. Was it a pain? Yeah. But it kept the dust contained and honestly made clean-up way easier at the end.
I do agree that clearing out the obvious hazards is key, but I’m always a bit paranoid about what they’ll decide to put in their mouths next... Maybe it’s just me being extra cautious after finding my kid gnawing on a piece of old baseboard once. Anyway, sometimes a little extra hassle upfront saves you headaches later, both for health and for sanity.
Is it weird that my first thought was, “How fast can I get a door installed?” because my toddler has some kind of sixth sense for chaos. I totally get being extra cautious—mine once tried to eat a stray screw off the floor, so now I’m basically on high alert whenever we’re working on the house. The zip wall idea sounds genius, but I’m also the person who accidentally taped myself into a closet with plastic sheeting and had to text my partner for rescue... so there’s that.
Do you feel like no matter how much you block stuff off, they find a way in? I swear my kid could enter an escape room and just walk out with all the keys. And yeah, the dust is no joke. Even when you think you’ve cleaned up everything, there’s always that one patch you missed—right where they decide to sit and play, obviously.
I guess I’m team “overboard” too, but mostly out of self-defense at this point. Does anyone else just end up vacuuming every hour and still find mystery debris?