I have replaced most of the outlets in the house with tamper resistant outlets to help baby proof the house. For those not in the know, the outlets have a shutter system that will only open if something is inserted into both slots. I have tried to jam keys, paperclips, and screwdrivers into the outlet (not wired!) and never bypassed the shutter.

You can see more about them at www.childoutletsafety.org/.

The big question is this sufficient? Should I add covers over the outlets as well?

Dan

There are other factors to consider, and unfortunately, you probably won't know how much they factor in, at least not at first...

Your level of paranoia. I'd guess your fairly paranoid about some things, considering the new outlets weren't enough, but you had to "test" them. (THAT'S OK! I'm not knockin' ya, TRUST ME.)

Your level of supervision/keeping an eye on the kid at all times. This was fairly high for us, but has certainly waned. So keeping TheBoy from the outlets(and whatever else we didn't want him into) was easy, and always came with some form of "don't do that... that's not allowed... etc..." See more below.

Your kid's curiosity level. And your kid's rebellion level.

We did just the outlet covers. He messed with them a couple of times, but always came away crying because of the loud and stern booming-to-make-my-voice-as-deep-as-I-could-to-sound-like-James Earl Jones "NOOO!" He got the hint pretty quickly, and hasn't messed with them since. But I continue to add the disclaimer that TheBoy is most awesome! Easy going lil' bugger I swear.

Sooo... Sounds like you got decent outlets, I think your fine without the covers. But if you have some that you didn't replace with the special versions and are using the covers, you might want to be consistent. So the kid doesn't figure out that if he removes the ones with the covers, he can indeed fit that paperclip in the hole.

Sounds like you have the outlets covered, as it were. Have you done any other babyproofing? Some can wait until the baby crawls or tried to walk, but mobility brings peril.

Have any power strips? You can get covers for those as well.

Corner bumpers are a good thing if you have coffee tables and the like in your common living areas.

You should also tether bookshelves, TVs and anything else that could tip over if climbed on. Lots of kids get hurt (and worse) this way every year.

We have more ideas here.

As someone who was electrocuted as a child, I feel qualified to point out that wall outlets are not the only place where kids can stick metal things and get themselves a shock. Extension cords and power strips can be plugged into tamper resistant outlets, providing a wealth of unprotected sockets.

That being said, in my case the most effective means of keeping me out of the sockets was experiencing what a good shock feels like. It's one of my earliest memories. My mom was vacuuming, with the vacuum cleaner plugged into an extension cord. I thought the vacuum was too loud, so I told her to stop. When she declined, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I grabbed the vacuum's plug and started pulling it from the extension cord. Since I had the small, feeble hands of a two- or three-year-old, it took a bit of effort to separate the two. When I had the plug about halfway out, I repositioned my hands for a better grip, bringing them closer together - right onto the metal blades. There was a loud pop, everything went silent, and I saw a combination of stars and tunnel vision before waking up to a very worried mother. I was fine, except for a bump on my finger, but I was pretty sure I never wanted to do that again.

(I'm not saying you should electrocute your kids to teach them a lesson. That would be wrong.)

(I'm not saying you should electrocute your kids to teach them a lesson. That would be wrong.)
But what I see is that you are saying it IS effective...

*shuffles off to google for kiddy tazer*

Daddy Clay.

I am just starting to babyproof as she is starting to get mobile. The coffee table and fireplace are also done. Sunday I will tackle the TV room by sticking all of the cable and speaker wires in racetrack conduits, clips on the cabinets, and mounting the TV on the wall. There is a ton to do, but it shall be done.

Regarding paranoia... not really. I tend to trust, but verify. If I am going to spend $50 and a day's worth of time to replace the outlets, I want to make sure that they work. The only thing I will be paranoid about is the liquor cabinet. I am putting a key lock on it.

Dan

I too was shocked as a child, five years old. Put my hand into an empty bulb socket. And I will not forget it.

On a side note, my eight year old has just been granted the right to plug cords into the wall under my supervision.