Fortunately, this is one thing you do not need to worry about during pregnancy. Your baby is tucked safely inside his mother's body and cannot yet crawl around and pull books off the bookshelf or jimmy with the knobs on your CD player. This is something you have to look forward to.

You can easily wait until your baby is two to four months old before childproofing your home. Basically, you want to make sure that where you live is a safe environment for your child to move around in and explore. Here are a few childproofing basics:

• Move objects on shelves out of child's reach.

• Attach childproof latches to drawers you do not want your child to get into.

• Install safety gates at top and bottom of stairs.

• Attach corner cushions to sharp-edged tables, furniture, and brick fireplaces.

• Put on stove knob covers and other oven safety devices. Use the back burners when cooking on the stove.

• Install a toilet guard so the child cannot lift the lid.

• Insert plugs in all electrical outlets.

• Put breakable dishes out of reach or lock them up.

• Make sure all medicine, cleaning products, garden fertilizer, and pesticides are locked up and out of reach.

Childproof products are available at hardware stores, grocery stores, specialty children's stores, and many other places. Once your child begins to move around, you will be amazed at how creative she will be at getting into potentially hazardous situations. Take your eyes off her for one second, and suddenly she's into something she shouldn't be. That is why childproofing is necessary.

When the time comes for babyproofing, Lance Sommerfeld, father of one and the organizer of a fathers’ group, has a good tip: “One helpful piece of advice that was given to me is ‘to crawl around on all fours like your child to see what they see’ so you can find trouble areas.” It is not bad advice for talking with your children, too. Sit down with them on the floor or wherever so you can be on their level, rather than always standing above them dictating to them.