Help--I'm a terrible parent!



Little Dude has proven that he has an amazing capacity for destruction. Therefore I wasn't surprised a while ago to find out that he has been chewing on his crib. I didn't think things were too bad, but then the other day I discovered that the wood has become pretty splintery. I'm lazy so I didn't do anything about it. Then I looked at his hands today after his nap: four little splinters. Crap. Now my neglect is hurting my baby. Does anyone out there have ideas on how I can fix this? I'm really not ready to move him to a big boy bed yet. I can't afford a new crib. But I'm also not quite lazy enough to let my kid get splinters.

Comments

Celia Marie (W.) B. said…
Clear heavy duty plastic packing tape?
11/05/2007 3:10 PM
Desmama said…
I don't know if they'd work on the head of the bed since it's curved, but these might work on the sides? Maybe? I'll keep looking . . . And you are not a terrible parent! Your child is just . . . part woodchuck. Or something. ;)
11/05/2007 3:41 PM
TheMoncurs said…
Oh my heavens, of all the things you have to worry about when you have children...

I agree with Silly Marie's suggestion..that or contact paper might do the trick. Or you could sand it down to get rid of the splinters and then paint it with something non-toxic and nasty tasting.
11/05/2007 4:39 PM
Earth Sign Mama said…
Yes, packing tape...use it to tape his little fingers together into mittens so that the splinters can't get in!

Woodchuck--mmm---possibly.
11/05/2007 5:32 PM
Samantha said…
Toddler beds are very similar to cribs and close to the ground. Many are made of plastic or metal frames which won't splinter and can be found at Goodwill-type stores. We had to move our second son for a similar reason and also because he kept catapulting himself from the crib. We got some netted bed rails to keep him in the toddler bed and he actually liked the environment much better.
11/05/2007 7:18 PM
Kengo Biddles said…
Sanding, staining and Urethaneing seems the order of the day. We used plastic covers to protect the rails ... until he got smart enough to take them off. How old is L'il Dude?
11/05/2007 7:20 PM
Celia Marie (W.) B. said…
Maybe get a staple gun and staple upholstery fabric over it.
11/05/2007 7:50 PM
Carina said…
Duct tape. I am not kidding.
11/05/2007 8:18 PM
jana said…
I'm with the duct tape suggestion. I don't think packing tape would be adhesive enough once the slobber set in. Or you could try both and see which works best?
11/05/2007 10:35 PM
Lisa said…
How about strips of fabric and wrap it around the wood and then tie it tight.
11/05/2007 11:14 PM
Kengo Biddles said…
oooh, Lisa, that's a good one!
11/06/2007 12:42 AM
M said…
Sanding is the most time consuming but would probably work the best. I'm thinking that if the wood was torn to shreds that he'd make short work of the duct tape...though it does taste bad (don't ask) enough that he might not chew on it...
11/06/2007 7:16 AM
ambrosia ananas said…
Wow. I didn't know kids even did stuff like that. Little Dude is amazing.
11/06/2007 11:50 AM
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