Ouch. Even though Susan Solan was with her baby girl at bath time, she wasn’t able to prevent little Brooke from bounding toward the metal faucet, and she felt terrible when the 1-year-old hit it face-first.
“I thought why can’t I just stop her from getting to the faucet?” Solan recalls. After a trip to the hardware store for some plastic pipes, she fashioned a simple barrier to put in the tub, and conducted what marketing people would call a focus group: “I brought some mommy friends over, and everyone said it was a great idea.”
After several prototypes, she connected with an industrial engineer who helped perfect the adjustable, locking ends that hold the rods and mesh screen in place. The Baby Bath Gate is now marketed in the U.S., Canada and 14 European countries. Solan’s most recent coup: getting it listed on Target.com.
Photo by Baby Bath Gate.
Carl of PseudoPower on August 16th, 2007 at 6:46 am
Great idea. I love these stories of solving simple problems.
Good thing to know when I ever get a baby.
Carl Zetterlund