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Rick Leviton

Rick Leviton – Texas

Precious Baby Protectors

Rick became a child safety expert prior to his first daughter being born. He saw a need in the Houston, TX market and pushed forward to make this industry work. He is the father of three young girls who are the light in his eyes.

Rick started childproofing in 1991 and earned the Certified Professional Childproofer certification in 2011 when the certification first became available. Rick noted, “It is an important program so customers can realize that we are professionals and not just a handyman. We know child safety practices.”

Rick’s favorite thing about being a childproofer is meeting all of his clients. They wind up being good friends or play dates for his children. His wife is in a play group with 18 moms. The group was started by Precious Baby Protectors for moms to connect in the Houston area.

The most challenging childproofing situations

One of Rick’s clients had a free-flowing, free-standing glass staircase and needed gates for the top and the bottom of the stairway. The staircase was suspended from the iron roof truss by chrome metal truss units and between each step or chrome truss was 23 inches – enough for even an adult to fall through. The team worked with a glass company using Lexan to protect each step – lots of customization. It was a very stressful but fun challenge.

Full evaluation

Rick has found that the best way for him to work with new clients is to perform a full home evaluation and then return to do the installation work. In some cases, they do the evaluation and installation at the same time. Families review the evaluation and call when they are comfortable and ready to proceed. Rick will then go over what they want to have done over the phone before the installation date. In his experience, the most common overlooked risks are tall top-heavy objects such as a freestanding lamps, tall decorative flower pots or even fireplace screens.

Rick receives raving reviews from his clients, such as, “great job!” or “we love it!” He notes that 87% of his business is word of mouth. “The main reason we obtain new customers every day is because they know we give them peace of mind at a fair and honest price. I have had many parents try and do all this themselves. After they try for a full weekend and spend a lot of money on products that don’t work, we help them and redo it.”

Family safety

Childproofing to Rick is just not child proofing, it is family safety and security, as well. Precious Baby Protectors offers fire safety inspections. Also, they offer specialty locks for exterior and garage doors, as well as baby and surveillance cams so parents can watch from their computer or iPad (Licensed by The State of Texas). Rick is proud that his company is a full family safety company.