Special-Needs-Child-proofing

Its safe to say we've been through our fair share (maybe more) of cabinet locks, door locks. fridge and stove locks,and other misc child proofing products.  Sadly most have been only temporary solutions.  Most of them say they are made for use with children ages 6mos-24mos, etc.  Joe has gotten stronger and his reach is ever growing and it has become a safety issue, especially in the kitchen.  After much frustration, a couple of close calls with the stove and several broken dishes we decide to put in a faux half-wall/bookcase with a gate to keep Joe and Christine out of the kitchen.

 

It seemed like a simple idea in the beginning but in order to make it sturdy enough to be safe it
became a bigger project than we anticipated.  We bought three black bookshelves on Craigslist for $40.

Nate and I painted the back of the bookcase with chalkboard paint.

Isaac bolted them together, reinforced the bases, bolted the whole thing to the concrete slab underneath our carpet, and added the modified baby gate.

So far so good... its kind of a pain in the butt to make sure its always closed but its less of a pain in the butt than worrying about Joe opening the oven or pull a pot of water on his head while I'm cooking dinner.  I'm so proud of my hubby and thankful for his hard work making this project happen!