First off I'm an extremely detail oriented, type A personality type. Second, I'm a first time mother to a very fast and curious 10 month baby boy. Third, I'm a Pediatrician. Fourth, both my husband and I work full time so time is limited. With these characteristics childproofing our new tri- level house was going to be an ordeal. Thank goodness for Mark! When you meet him he is extremely kind, patient but focused and goal oriented so as to not waste any of your time; very much appreciated given he charges on an hourly rate. And he is FAST- he was able to do over 25+ latches, 4 gates within 2 hours- it would have taken us days! Yes he is pricey and if you had the time you could do it yourself, but the effort and time saved was priceless! read more

He has expertise and works quickly. However, he didn't have all the supplies he needed, and had some things to finish later, since he needed to get to the next appointment (after arriving at the very end of the window he gave us). I didn't realize until after he left that although he works quickly, his work is very sloppy installing latches. The latches installed under our sink are too long, so that they bump into the sink so that the cabinet doesn't close fully. The clips installed in drawers were awry, so that some of the clips now go under the latching screw so that the drawer is not latched and doesn't close all the way, and two of the clips have snapped off. Another latch was installed crooked so that it rubs against a cabinet door. We didn't have him back for a second visit to finish the work, since we didn't want a second bill of comparable size. I'll have to find some time to finish the incomplete work and fix the broken latches. read more

Do you have a baby on the move who thinks that using your coffee table as a pull-up bar is great exercise? How 'bout playing Einstein with your electrical outlets? Exploring his climbing skills on your fight of stairs? Call The Childproofer. It will set you back a good chunk of cash, but if we had to install everything The Childproofer did in about 2+ hours, it would have taken us the entire weekend - time we do not have with, you know, a baby. You might assume that The Childproofer tries to sell you a bunch of crap you don't really need, but on the contrary, I found I was probably talked off the ledge a couple of times instead about the dangers of this or that. With three kids of his own and 23 years of professional experience under his belt, he is a realist - just what you need - not your crazy mom (I love you, Mom). The Childproofer was also willing to return to my house not once, but twice, to install something he didn't have the first time, and the second time, to exchange that thing for a different size. His hours are crazy - available from 7 am to 7 pm, I believe. Thank you, Childproofer! P.S. His wife is their front office, and she is a doll who put up with many phone calls from this first-time mom...God bless her. read more

Well, maybe I didn't understand correctly when a good friend recommended this service to make my home safe for my little twins. She said, "It's a little pricey but they think of EVERYTHING." I was very excited to use their services, especially because I really don't have the time to install things myself, nor do I have the creativity to figure out what the house might need to keep the kids safe. And so they came over, and 300 dollars later, I figured the job was pretty much done. There were a few more things that needed to be done, but they didn't have all of the supplies that day so we planned on a return visit. Well, I guess that I'm stupid because after the second visit, we paid about 300 dollars again, and honestly my house is still not perfectly child-proofed. I feel so ridiculous for spending all of that money and the job is not complete. There were some things that were clearly over-looked by the childproofer, and when I called about them, they recommended that I purchase these safety items from them and install them myself. After spending @600 bucks with these guys, I think not. Yes, they were accommodating when my husband and i changed our minds after the first visit and got wall mounted gates instead of pressure gates (we kept tripping over the bases of the pressure gates) That's why they get the one star. However, for 600 dollars, they could have done MUCH better thinking of everything. They could have easily redeemed themselves by coming for a free visit and taking care of an un-finished job, but apparently San Francisco is just too much mileage for them to do something like that. I am very disappointed and I do not recommend this service at all. read more

Hallelujah! Several of my friends hired professional childproofers, which I thought was a bit excessive if not downright frivolous. But now I have seen the light!! I spent HOURS and WEEKS covering outlets and attempting to attach latches to my kitchen cabinets and drawers. Some of them were easy, but others were absolutely impossible - tall pantry doors, slightly skewed drawers, lazy susan, bathroom cabinets without a shelf to attach a latch to. And even though most of the outlets were easy, it still took me hours figuring out which covers would be appropriate for which outlets. My husband and I also spent a good hour trying to strap a precarious bookshelf to the wall, but after all of our efforts, it still tilted about 6 inches when we pulled on it - far enough that all of the books would have come raining down on my baby's head if he had tried to pull up on it. These guys came in and put latches on all of my problem cabinets and drawers (about a dozen) and strapped my bookcase in less than an hour. And their price for the latches was comparable to what I was paying at Babies R Us. The bookcase strap was more expensive, but the one I bought didn't work, so the price is irrelevant. They have a 1 hour ($85) minimum, but you can give them a max time before they start. And based on what I saw today, I'll bet they could do a whole kitchen in under their minimum. Don't make the same mistake I did. Call these guys before you make yourself crazy. read more

Mark did not disappoint. He was punctual, friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. His visit began with a swift and succinct analysis of child hazards, paired with recommendations. He didn't push unnecessary products (though he was well-prepared to show a variety of wares), and most importantly he installed cabinet and drawer locks quickly and expertly, leaving only a minimal trace of dust. At first glance, his hourly rate is not the cheapest, but his careful and quick labor more than makes up for it. Best of all, his safety evaluation and installation happens in one visit. Have your checkbook handy, because Mark doesn't take credit cards. read more

Wow am I glad I made this decision! It would have taken an entire weekend for me to do all that he did myself. I realized after he left that I forgot to ask him to add hooks to one more set of drawers, and doing it myself literally took an hour and one of them is still malfunctioning. Mark was VERY efficient - for someone on an hourly rate, he didn't slow down for a second! Much appreciated. But the biggest value were the things he thought of that I never would have - bookshelves by the stairs that could be climbed, cable tv wire loosely balled up, etc. It was so much fun letting my son crawl through the whole house after he left . . . without me hovering over him! read more

Super friendly and pointed out safety issues and free things I could do that I never would have thought of. Did a great fast job securing everything so it's safe for our little monkey. Definitely a worthwhile service! Alex did the review and helped me have more piece of mind. Marlon and Tony were the installers. Happy all the way around. I never even saw them do half the stuff, it was just magically done! So glad I gave up on diy-ing it. This was faster, easier, less stressful and like I said, covered things I didn't even know to do. read more

We have had the childproofer to our house twice. Once to install the childproofing, and once to remove it since we are moving. We have been thrilled with the service and i have recommended him to all of my friends. My husband and i are not "handy" people and it would have taken us weeks to childproof our home. Honestly, we likely wouldn't have gotten the job done. The childproofer thought of everything! He had amazing, creative solutions that we never would have thought of. He works super fast. We have him scheduled to come out and childproof our new home! This is a wonderful service~i am very shocked by the 1 star reviews! read more

Mark is awesome! He has done work for us on 2-3 occasions in different homes. His work is amazing and efficient, as is his customer service. Highly recommended, you cannot go wrong. read more

This is such an amazing service. Mark came to our home in Atherton (for a small travel fee since we are so far) and baby-proofed *everything*. What took him 3 hours would have taken us days, and probably weeks. Hiring these guys is totally worth it for the convenience *and* the peace of mind -- they have been doing it for 23 years. read more

The childproofer came to our house and within one hour he had completed his walk through with recommendations for changes and installed all of the safety devices that we deemed necessary. He is friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. He pointed out hazards that I never would have noticed and I never felt like he was trying to "upsell" us on anything. I've already recommended his services to 3 other people and I haven't heard a complaint yet. read more

I can't recommend the Saftey Nook/Childproofer enough! Alex is phenomenal! He is incredibly thorough, insightful and honest (he actually tells you when you don't need something, or that there is a cheaper way) so he clearly isn't just about making money! You can tell he really cares and wants to keep your kids safe. I have also received email Saftey tips. I cannot put a price tag on my child's health/Saftey/wellness plus my piece of mind this experience provided so this experience was incredibly invaluable! read more

I didn't pack my bag for the hospital until a couple hours before I went into labor. So it took my baby crawling and pulling herself up for me to get around to baby proofing the house. We have a tricky staircase with two wrought iron banisters at the top. I've spent a couple weeks researching gates and reading reviews, but I knew I wasn't finding the right solution. I found the reviews for the Childproofer here and decided to give Mark a try. My husband has been giving me a hard time all weekend about hiring a professional baby proofer. Said it was something only rich people do and was bracing himself for a big bill. When I called for an appointment Mark gave me 1 1/2 hour arrival window. He told me his hourly rate is $85 and asked a few questions to determine how much time was needed. We decided on a 1 to 1 1/2 hour appointment. Knowing that the gate was the #1 priority, he started with that. He had the perfect gate and everything needed to install the gate with him. After installing the gate we had about 15 minutes left in the first hour, so he walked around the house with me answering questions and offering advice. He has a binder of products that his business carries, but I didn't feel any pressure to purchase from him. In hindsight, it would have been very convenient to purchase the products from him on the spot and be done some of our other babyproofing projects. Out of curiosity, I checked the price of the gate online ( I thought there would understandably be some markup) however the price he charged was the same as Toys R' Us. All in all, I feel that it was money well spent. Mark was great and his expertise gives me peace of mind. read more

Mark Altman (the Childproofer) did a walk through review of our apartment today and did an excellent job. He is extremely helpful, having installed childproofing mechanisms in the Bay Area for what we understand to be 20+ years. My wife and I had read reviews about him on the web, and found that everyone was spot on. He gives you the option of doing it yourself, or installing items himself. We chose a combination of both, and he was fine with that. We have no hesitation in recommending him. read more

I had the childproofer come by today. He was very friendly, educated, and professional. He is indeed one of the most professional service guys I have had in my home. I was very happy with the service he provided. Also, the woman who runs the phones is very friendly also. I honestly wish I had used him from the beginning and not messed around letting my husband try and do this himself. It was a waste of money to buy some of the top rated baby proofing items on amazon and try and install them ourselves. We should have just called this guy from the start! I have a great idea... do you know someone having a baby? If so, get together with some friends and buy a package from these guys. What an awesome gift that would be! I swear they should tell you at the hospital to call them when your baby starts to move around! It is an outstanding service. Just wish I had done it months ago and not wasted money on a bunch of amazon crap. I am 100% satisfied with this company and happy to finally have my 16 month old under control and SAFE. (Also, I should add, he is SUPER FAST! He doesn't waste anytime and it only took him an hour to do our 3 bedroom one bathroom home and that includes a fairly large kitchen.) read more

Mark's work is outstanding! The products he carries withstand intstalling, removing and re-installing and a move in between-plus being used plenty in between! He knows how to make your house safe at the minimalist end to the extremist of safe ends! He gave us great advice both times we have used him (once at our apt 5 years ago, and then again now in our home 6 months ago!) and let us chose what makes most sense for us in terms of how we use the space in our home. He points out things I had never even dreamed of re: earthquake safety (I'm from tornado country-not here) to the littlest interventions that make a very big difference! Recently, we called Mark to get some installation pieces since we had lost some of ours. His assistant Amy got us the right product, and they sent it out Priority. We could not figure it out though, as it looks different than the other pieces. Mark called us not only once, but TWICE to ensure that we had received his message and had figured it out! Absolutely recommend Mark, and his understanding of safety and his dedication to expert service and professionalism!! His wife was an RN with HUGE knowledge of safety and they have kids of their own so they have lived through the childproofing times too! This will save you so much time and you won't be dissatisfied! read more

Such a great serviceI Would have taken us DAYS to get what Mark did in a few hours. Yes, you pay more, but for us it was well worth it.

Mark just came by and did our whole home. He is not pushy with the gear and works quickly. Of course, probably could have save $$ doing it myself, but if you want piece of mind and a turn-key solution "The Childproofer" is the way to go. read more

We used the ChildProofer and were very happy with their work. They definitely don't try to up-sell you on anything and worked within our budget. They will give you their recommendations but then you can pick & choose what you want/need. Mark was very friendly & helpful. They did a great job and we have since recommended them to quite a few of our friends. read more

Excellent, prompt service. Great investment for a busy, weary parent.

There truly is a business for everything. My husband and I are in the process of adopting newborn twins. Part of the process is a home study. We live in an older house in San Francisco and weren't certain the best way to go about implementing the required safety enhancements. My husband located via the internet "The Childproofer". Mark Altman, owner, is a contractor and his partner and wife, a nurse practitioner, have been in this business for more than twenty years. As parents of twins themselves, they understand every aspect of a child's safety and can provide excellent recommendations for the mildest or wildest child. They provide a $20 (yes...that's correct) safety consultation. And, provide a detailed breakdown of the products and prices for any aspect of child proofing your home and can do all the installation. We hired him and Mark took less than two hours we had gates, latches, locks, bracings, window locks for double hung windows, and had received a complete training on using each item. If you have kids, going to have kids, babysit kids, or have a husband that acts like a kid...I highly recommend contacting Mark Altman for his child safety review. read more

Although I like to consider myself handy, my husband convinced me that I really didn't have time to install childproof locks myself in the kitchen, or the 2 additional childproof gates. Unfortunately none of the magnetized locks that Mark installed are in the same spot. Muscle memory can take over the need to use a magnet to open cupboards, but when the magnet needs to be placed in a different spot each time, frustration quickly sets in. There is a screw in each door for the handles, so a built in measure existed. One door on a particular cupboard has the lock almost on said screw, with the second door for the same cupboard an inch away. The magnets to open the doors are about 0.5 inch across, requiring much to/fro to get within the unlock range. The only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1 is because the one child gate he installed works well. The second was apparently too hard - so I will be finishing the childproofing work read more