[Pepperoo]

Hi!

We just chose a home study agency, and are waiting to receive our application and questionnaire.

Do we need to have our house "babyproofed" before our first home visit?

Or is it sufficient to be aware of the need for babyproofing and have a plan to do so before the baby arrives?

Any other tips for preparing for a home visit?

Thanks,
Paula

[Ktates]

It depends on the agency I think. We did not have to have anything baby proofed - we didn't even have the nursery set up. Others that post here did have to have things baby proofed, fire extinguisher etc. I would ask the agency if they look for anything in particular. Just be yourself - I think it's another chance for the agency to get to know you. We had a nice visit with our social worker and offered her a cup of tea. We are adopting from St. Petersburg and one of the things the look for is living space and closets. Our SW didn't look in any of the closets - just noted how many we had and in what rooms. She also asked about closest hospital, what the town offered in terms of parks, recreation, and would the child walk to school or get the bus. Every agency seems to ask different questions or look for different things.
Good luck-

[waxhawfamily]

We had a very good SW. We felt comfortable asking just what was expected of us on the home visit. I think most appreciate up-front questions.
We did not have to be baby proofed, we did have a plan and the SW pointed out a few things we had not thought of, such as a fire extinguisher. We were even planning an addition to our home for our new son, which had not even started yet. She asked questions about the addition but did not need to see the work in progress or finished.

Hope this helps, and try not to stress out too much over it. Our visit was very casual, so was the visits that others I've spoken with have had

[OMOMMA]

I agree, it may be best to ask. We did not have to baby proof our home. The nursery was not even set up, it was still our office. Some posters on the boards said they had to baby proof and have the nursery set up before they came for the home visit. It really depends on the agency. We did let them know about our plans to use the office as our nursery and had some of the baby proofing done, it was not nessary but we wanted to get started on it anyway.

[ldr]

My daughter had the first visit. They looked around the house, said nothing about baby proofing. They have 2 more visits next week. Her biggest concern was her dogs. They were well behaved.Good luck and be yourself. Ask questions that you might have.

[jhscats]

We had one home visit, and we basically sat down in the family room and talked for a little while, then we showed her around the house, she justed briefly peeked in each room. (We live in an average home, and I'm not the greatest housekeeper in the world!) She asked if we had a smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector and a fire extinguisher. That was about it. It wasn't anything to stress over.

I don't see how they can expect you to have a nursery set up before you even know for sure what the age of your referral will be.


Good luck,
Joan