# Mattresses and Knives??



## Daddyboo (Paul) (Dec 24, 2012)

Hi all,

Just a quick couple of questions, we seem to come up with more and more whilst doing all this waiting.

Anyway, first off. 
*When LO comes home does their mattress come with them?*

We have a toddler bed frame ( standard 140 x 70cm) that we bought off eBay and wondered whether we should buy a mattress or if LO will come with her own.
We would really like to get her room 'dressed' and ready for when her SWs visit next week.

Secondly, and finally (for now)  .
*What did you all do with your knives?*

My DW is a serious cook/chef/baker and has some very high quality knives mounted on a magnetic board on the worktop, the board can be moved but it is usually found at the back of the worktop by the wall. It's quite large so a toddler would struggle to reach unless they climbed onto the work surface.

If there are any keen chefs among you, where do you keep yours?

Thanks, Paul x


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## katie c (Jun 15, 2009)

We didn't get our son's mattress, just his bedding. I guess we could have asked for it, as the FC wouldn't have been allowed to use it for another baby, i don't know if those guidelines apply for older children though, so your FC may want to keep it for future use. tbh i wasn't that bothered. I can afford £60 (ikea) for a nice new one and know i've picked a decent quality one.

My knives sound like they're in a similar place to yours, and SS have never mentioned it. When he can climb up there I'll consider moving them!


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## SummerTilly (Aug 14, 2013)

Paul - my knives are kept in the same place as yours and Katie's as well by the sounds of it.  The benches are quite deep, making it difficult for a LO to reach them.  Perhaps consider mounting them in a cupboard next to the stove if possible?  

Something else I hadn't thought of ....


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## Flash123 (Jan 29, 2006)

Pauli, our knives are on the work surface but ss didn't mention them and we weren't given lo'smattress or bedding. In fact when we asked which washing powder and softener they used to keep things consistent they said "which ever was on offer"!


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## Daddyboo (Paul) (Dec 24, 2012)

Our LO will be 4 in March, but we have been told she is very small for her age. Our SWs have mentioned the knives a few times so we are still contemplating where they could go - there isn't really any cupboard or drawer space for them.

As for the mattress, I would prefer to buy new but we don't know if it's one of those things they like to give you for continuity reasons.  Plus Mothercare has 20% off at the moment


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## -x-Lolly-x- (Feb 3, 2012)

Snap Flash, and the same extended to nappies, our foster carers were obviously bargain hunters!!


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## keemjay (Jan 19, 2004)

i think child bringing mattress with them is quite unusual..I'd go for new  
knives were never mentioned..ours were on the worktop in a knife block...I'd just say LO wont be in the kitchen unsupervised (maybe install a stairgate at the door? you can always remove at a later date/or just put it up when SW's come round   


kj x


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## Wyxie (Apr 10, 2013)

Mattresses don't normally come, it's usually just bedding.

Re knives: Can they be wall mounted? Otherwise, if your l/o is small, could your kitchen be stair gated, and just have it as a no-go area for l/o if you're not in it. If you get a stairgate that's weighted, and has to be squeezed and lifted up to open, rather than the normal squeeze and lift the handle up ones, she almost certainly wouldn't be able to open it, because you have to be able to apply some weight to lifting upwards in a way that's quite hard from below (I hope that makes some sense!). It's also a good 10 cm taller than the average stair gate. Wyxling is almost 3 and _very_ tall for her age (1m exactly now!), and she can't get those sort open. I am trying to find out the brand of ours, but Wyxling has taken all the stickers off it to use as plasters on her dolls.


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## kandykane (Nov 17, 2008)

we have an adventurous 2 year old and since he could climb onto a chair aged approx 15 months our knives have been in a top cupboard, he still can't reach them and he's big for his age. It's a bit of a pain but I prefer that to worrying over him hurting himself


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## skyblu (Sep 9, 2010)

I don't know if I am the only one, but lo came home with her cot/bed and mattress and bedding and it defiantly helped her settle to sleep in her new home. If it is offered take it as the fc wont be able to use the mattress for another child. As far as knives are concerned we have ours in the same place as yours and lo hasn't shown any interest in them. We bought safety catches for the cutlery  draw and she got into that within week. 

Skyblu.xxx


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## Daddyboo (Paul) (Dec 24, 2012)

Great answers so far, keep them coming...

I've been told to ask another questions - what are your favourite mattresses and where to buy from?

I'm happy to spend (within reason) as it should last a few years.


We can't put the knives too high up or my DW won't be able to reach herself, I do have a couple of stair gates so I like the idea of putting one in the kitchen doorway (I think it's a weighted one too Wyxie)


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## MummyElf (Apr 11, 2013)

Our knives are wall mounted well out of reach - I have to really stretch. The SW couldn't see them when she did our safety visit. You could get a small stool for your DW - I have a little rubber one that folds up, it's only tiny and fits under the sink folded up but enables me to reach stuff as I'm 5"2. Trying to remember where we got it from.

We just got bedding too. I think some children do get to take their beds but I imagine only in certain circumstances.


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## MummyAuntieKatie (Oct 18, 2012)

We brought LO's toddler bed and mattress home however I now wish we hadn't, we think it caused confusion as BB seemed to want to let go of his old life when he moved in and in a few weeks we put him into a single bed with a new mattress.  We've since given the toddler bed back to the FC as she'd bought it herself!  

As for knives, we have ours on a magnetic block on the kitchen counter as well as some in a drawer and SW mentioned them but didn't make a fuss as we said we could move them if necessary.  I wouldn't worry too much about SS unless you think the knives may be a hazard?

We have a log burner in the lounge too and our SW wanted us to get a wall fixed fire guard but there's no way I'm screwing a fireguard to the wall.  We will only generally use the fire when LO is in bed and when he's up we normally stay out of the lounge (which has a child gate across the door so that that dogs can relax in there rather than the dog room sometimes.  You can make these things work around your normal lifestyle but SS have to mention everything so they have flagged it and covered their backs.   

Hope the room looks lovely xx


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## Old Timer (Jan 23, 2005)

Hi
We had a stairgate across the kitchen doorway and children are only allowed in the kitchen  with an adult.


Neither of our children came with anything other than clothes and toys.  A cot mattress isn't supposed to be used for another child but a normal bed mattress will be used again.  However I wouldn't be surprised to find cot mattresses being used again.


We fitted a fire guard that also enclosed the marble hearth but spend a lot of time in the room and wanted to reduce the risk of serious injury if our daughter fell.


OT x


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## Daddyboo (Paul) (Dec 24, 2012)

I think the consensus is.. if your SW spots your knives, then either move them out of reach/sight or put a stairgate in the doorway.

I think answering that the child can only be in the kitchen with adult supervision is the answer we will give.  I'm going to nip to the garage and get the stairgate out and try it for size.

Thanks for all your help, you're all brilliant as always


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## Doubleprincesstrouble (Jan 28, 2013)

We have a great cot bed mattress with a breathable absorbent cover that zips off to wash. Its been great for potty training or if LO is sick. 


If you can find one with that I'd recommend it.


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## dandlebean (Feb 24, 2013)

I saw the title of this thread and thought "Good God! What's happened??"


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## Handstitchedmum (Mar 24, 2013)

dandlebean said:


> I saw the title of this thread and thought "Good God! What's happened??"


Glad it wasn't just me!


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## thespouses (Jan 5, 2006)

Can't answer the mattress question, though I imagine it's going to be very variable; but we have had several major declutters and rearrangements in the house and kitchen since little boy came home. He has his own cupboard that he is allowed to take anything from and then we just say NO for other cupboards (though one is locked, as it's got cleaning chemicals in, the others are just shut, and having "his" cupboard seems to help).  He's not in the kitchen unsupervised and we have a stairgate on the kitchen door, so that's one answer.

You might need to get rid of some stuff to hide the knives, though. Ours are in a drawer that he can't (yet) get into.


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## Daddyboo (Paul) (Dec 24, 2012)

Handstitchedmum said:


> dandlebean said:
> 
> 
> > I saw the title of this thread and thought "Good God! What's happened??"
> ...


I did it on purpose


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## Anjelissa (Jan 11, 2007)

pauliboo said:


> Handstitchedmum said:
> 
> 
> > dandlebean said:
> ...


Lol  I was the same, my mind boggled!  
It definitely worked Paul with 600 views in 3 days! 

My answer...
No mattress given from our fc, mind you our little man just came with a dummy, 2 muslin squares and a bag of old dirty/worn/too small clothes.
As others have said though, this varies a lot.

With regards to knives, ours are in a block at the back of our worktop, our little man (now 4) has never as yet tried to climb up there. We never leave him unattended in the kitchen so if we see he starts to bring things over to stand on to climb up then we'll move them.
We've gone through 2 assessments and neither sets of sw's have mentioned them, but then again our lo's were/are both babies at placement, I know your lo is slightly older so the child-proofing will obviously be different.
We quickly realised after placement how frequently child-proofing has to be upgraded/changed as even a month after placement things that were safe for our 11 month old crawler were no longer safe for a 12 month old walker. It's still the same now to some extent as our little man seems to grow taller overnight!  (plus as he develops new channels of experimentation, discovery and monkeyness  ). It's just ever changing!

I'm still chuckling at 'knives and mattresses', I would imagine that never before in the history of FF have those 2 words been put together in a title!  

Anj x


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## Dawn7 (Sep 10, 2013)

Hi Paul,

Just seen this question and thought i'd help you as you've helped me  

I can only help you with the knives part though, when I looked to become a child-minder last year, we had an issue with our knife block. We came across a magnetic that you fit onto the wall. It  can fit about 7-8 knives depending on the size of the knives. It cost us £25 I think from Debenhams, but bet you could get one cheaper off eBay or amazon. So knives will be well out of reach and I think a child would struggle to pull a knife off the strip too.

Hope your well, speak soon xx


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## Dawn7 (Sep 10, 2013)

Sorry, was meant to read magnetic strip xx


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## Smudgey (Mar 13, 2012)

Fab title Paul ! I see your meeting LO SW today , good luck !! 

We have a wrap that we have all our knives in that's tied with a double knot , maybe an idea , I think it's a Gordon Ramsay one or similar ?


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## Daddyboo (Paul) (Dec 24, 2012)

Thanks for all your good wishes.

It went very well yesterday, and we got a YES from her SWs this afternoon.

They looked round the house yesterday and didn't mention any of the problems our SW had said to us - they didn't even blink about the knives being on display and even said they wouldn't bother with the safety gate on the kitchen!

It seems we have overdone the safety proofing of our home, they were even shocked at the cost of the pond grid (£500) and said LO loves ponds and ducks!

Anyway, thanks again for all your help.

Paul x


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## keemjay (Jan 19, 2004)

a very good example of how working with sw's is like the blind leading the blind


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