Toddler Proofing My Home Office

When my son was an infant he would sleep a lot in my office, while I got work done. As he moved from infant to baby, he would still be in my office, playing with a toy and looking up at me content, happy to be near me playing, while I worked on my computer.

The next phase -- he moved into a bouncy seat, next to my desk, where he could sit up, spin around, bounce, and play with the toys that were attached. This kept him occupied and busy long enough for me to get several things done before he was ready to go off and crawl around.

I visioned the day when he would sit on a rug, on the floor of my office, and play with toys while I worked. (That must have been a vision of another child, because my son does not sit for any length of time!!)

He went right from crawling to standing, to furniture walking, and once he started walking on his own, he was soon running -- freedom, freedom....he wanted to explore everything. Which leads me to the current phase....getting into everything in my office and driving me CRAZY!!

This is my domain -- my work environment! And he would knock papers over, pull books off my shelves, turn my printer on and proceed to shove small items into it. He would pull folders out of my filing cabinet, yank my phone off my desk (once when I was on an important call) and one morning he shut my computer off just as I was right in the middle of creating a document!!

During those moments I can only see a bulldozer plowing through my office. But when I have a chance to step back, look at his sweet little face, and lift him up to carry him downstairs, out of my domain......do I suddenly see an adventurous little boy that just wants to see all the fun little items I have hidden away in my drawers, and be a part of my world.

So again, I needed to figure out a way to adapt to him, and not expect him to adapt to me by not exploring my office. So I bought a plastic bin and put all my paperclips, computer discs, staples, rubber bands, etc....in it and put it away in my office closet. I also need to limit the time I am in my office when he is home, not sleeping or dad isn't around to watch him.

How two worlds collide......