Any creative ideas to keep kids away from woodstove?

I've taken my son (3.5yo) close to the stove to the point of uncomfortable hot and told him hot, repeatedly. So far so good as he now seems to have a healthy respect for a flaming stove and no interest in getting close. YMMV

The top of our raised hearth is about 28" above the floor. So along with the other advantages of being raised (easier to load, better to watch from the couch, etc.) it is also automatically safer. Along with being far up of course the stove is set back the required foot or whatever from the edge of the hearth. Toddlers cannot reach the stove. We have some dear little 2 and 3 year old friends, they can't touch the stove so we don't need to worry. By the time they are tall enough they will be able to understand why not to, although they have both known "hot" from an early age.

You are lucky as mine is easily reachable although we do not seem to have a problem since the sensation of heat is apparent several feet from the stove and children seem to get the concept as do the adults. My kids also do not walk into a campfire for some reason, other than us stopping them.......curious, since they cannot feel heat, all i am saying is that self preservation is a strong instinct.

Burl said:

My kids also do not walk into a campfire for some reason, other than us stopping them.......curious, since they cannot feel heat, all i am saying is that self preservation is a strong instinct.

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Sure, but I've seen both children and adults fall or stumble into campfires. Scary. Easier than you think. It has nothing to do with learning. Accidents happen to careful people too.

You're right and I am diligent about keeping young people away from the stove. My point is that self preservation actually goes a whole lot farther than "I" would have thought initially. A little prevention goes a long way but not the whole way.

My experience has been that after showing my kids the stove up close , and holding their hand up close to the stove to feel the heat, they stay away. Am I lucky? Mine are 4yrs and 6mos so do I have something to learn still.

That's why it's called my house. And when guests are present, especially little ones, they'll be controlled by mom or dad, or me. They're not to be running wild throughout the entire place without supervision. Part of the problem is we've come to a stage in this country where everybody runs around scared of something all the time. You cannot eliminate all the risk associated with getting out of bed in the morning. No matter what you do, there is a chance you won't get back in it tonight.

I suspect, if someone else's child runs into the street in front of my house, who's responsible for that? Pool, house, gun, all the same level of ignorance as far as I am concerned. They didn't supervise or teach their child to stay off other peoples' property, out of their pools, and to not intrude into places and play with things they have no business playing with. So, asking who's fault it is doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

When a child does something they know fully well they shouldn't be, and they get hurt or harm someone else as a result, it's their parents' and their fault.

madrone said:

LeonMSPT said:

No different than the street in front of the house, the pool in the back yard, or the guns in a cabinet in the living room. Teach them too look both ways, swim, and know what guns are capable of, and you'll have a healthy, happy, kid, that knows how to avoid things in life that will hurt him or someone else.

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One more thing: If the neighbor's kid (who you didn't teach) drowns in your pool, or gets ahold of your guns, who's fault is it? Answer: Who wants to find out?

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LeonMSPT said:

That's why it's called my house. And when guests are present, especially little ones, they'll be controlled by mom or dad, or me. They're not to be running wild throughout the entire place without supervision. Part of the problem is we've come to a stage in this country where everybody runs around scared of something all the time. You cannot eliminate all the risk associated with getting out of bed in the morning. No matter what you do, there is a chance you won't get back in it tonight.

I suspect, if someone else's child runs into the street in front of my house, who's responsible for that? Pool, house, gun, all the same level of ignorance as far as I am concerned. They didn't supervise or teach their child to stay off other peoples' property, out of their pools, and to not intrude into places and play with things they have no business playing with. So, asking who's fault it is doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

When a child does something they know fully well they shouldn't be, and they get hurt or harm someone else as a result, it's their parents' and their fault.

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[/quote]

Too bad courts don't see it that way.

Wasn't "unhinged", in any sense of the word. Possibly a bit stronger response than necessary and I didn't intend for you to be offended or your feelings hurt. Wasn't feeling well yesterday, and it must have spilled over. No excuses, but it happens.

I continue to maintain that building fences is only solving the problem in your living room. Which is I suppose the best you can hope for with some kids, especially visitors' kids.


Yeah, Leon, I'm not sure what your deal is. I wasn't responding to your post. Your technique makes sense to me. For some reason you've come unhinged at me.

Yes, I've taught my son safety as it relates to all sorts of things. He listens, he learns, and follows the rules without having to have it reinforced by measured doses of, what?, pain? He doesn't run in the road, touch the range, stick his fingers in outlets. He doesn't need to be burned by an accidental fall in order to not touch the neighbor's stove. I get the feeling you didn't understand my post at all. The railing is accident prevention, like fire extinguishers or seat belts.

As for others' children, my nephew is too young to be under "voice control", as we say. He is even clumsier than his cousin. I'm not going to guard the stove so he doesn't stumble into it, and I'm not going to allow him to learn via an emergency room trip when I'm watching him. That's not teaching, it's negligence. When he's old enough he'll understand the rules.

Bottom line: I and others here choose to prevent accidental burns by limiting access to the stove. Others here chimed in with suggestions about spanking and letting kids get burned in order to teach them. That's not what the OP asked for.[/quote]

You might actually run over a watermelon with it, so the child sees what happens when something is run over by a car...

This stuff is all unknown to kids. "Run over"? What is that? What happens when one is "run over"?
Now he knows.

Or, we live in the country. Lot's of animals get run over here. I've taken a moment to stop and show a dead animal to a child, and feel bad for a minute... and then add, "He should have been more careful, and looked both ways before he went in the road."

So, yes, I suppose I am saying that controlled exposure to the danger is exactly what is called for.

madrone said:

LeonMSPT said:

What did you tell your child about running into the street? I certainly hope you made it clear it could result in a trip to the hospital or Heaven. Warning a child about a potential harm, and then allowing a controlled exposure to that harm to allow the lesson to sink in, is simple teaching.

If they're in my house, they will be "controlled", whether or not it is by their parents or me remains to be seen.

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Are you suggesting he'll never learn not to run in the street unless he gets "controlled exposure" to cars? Interesting theory.
I'll teach my own way, thank you.

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Courts don't generally see much any way we'd ever agree with. Juries are funny...

"Legal duties", "Due diligence", and "attractive nuisance" are all things examined in a lawsuit regarding negligence. A jury might find negligence in a specific situation, when that same case in front of a different jury, wouldn't.

Taking a reasonable step of building a fence around a swimming pool? Good idea, keeps the lesser determined and intelligent ones out.

A fence around a woodstove? Hey, it's your living room, and your children and guests. You have to do what you have to do. I'd argue to the other side of the moon that it is not a minimum standard of any sort. To me, it's like five point racing harnesses in a passenger car.

termv said:

LeonMSPT said:

That's why it's called my house. And when guests are present, especially little ones, they'll be controlled by mom or dad, or me. They're not to be running wild throughout the entire place without supervision. Part of the problem is we've come to a stage in this country where everybody runs around scared of something all the time. You cannot eliminate all the risk associated with getting out of bed in the morning. No matter what you do, there is a chance you won't get back in it tonight.

I suspect, if someone else's child runs into the street in front of my house, who's responsible for that? Pool, house, gun, all the same level of ignorance as far as I am concerned. They didn't supervise or teach their child to stay off other peoples' property, out of their pools, and to not intrude into places and play with things they have no business playing with. So, asking who's fault it is doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

When a child does something they know fully well they shouldn't be, and they get hurt or harm someone else as a result, it's their parents' and their fault.

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Too bad courts don't see it that way.[/quote]

I remember a commercial on TV when I was a Teenager... It went something like this-- This is your brain(they show you an egg) This is your brain on drugs(they show the egg being cracked and fried in a hot pan) I still had friends that decided that drugs were a way to have a good time.
Some people just can't be taught. I hope my son's will listen to me, but I bought and installed a Kidco hearth gate just to make me feel like I did everything that I could to protect them.

LeonMSPT said:

A fence around a woodstove? Hey, it's your living room, and your children and guests. You have to do what you have to do. I'd argue to the other side of the moon that it is not a minimum standard of any sort. To me, it's like five point racing harnesses in a passenger car.

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Sure. I don't have a fence around the kitchen stove, but I do at the top of the stairs. We make choices. Teaching prevents bad choices, but not accidents.

As for 5-point harnesses, when I was a kid, we had no seat belts at all. I lived. Now children ride in car seats with, guess what, 5-point harnesses. Is it over protective? Maybe, but if we can limit injury from accidents, why in world not?

I'm with you on teaching, 100%. What will your kids do when you're not there? On the other hand, some things are easy to prevent, so what's wrong with a little insurance?

madrone said:

Burl said:

My kids also do not walk into a campfire for some reason, other than us stopping them.......curious, since they cannot feel heat, all i am saying is that self preservation is a strong instinct.

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Sure, but I've seen both children and adults fall or stumble into campfires. Scary. Easier than you think. It has nothing to do with learning. Accidents happen to careful people too.

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My son tripped and fell right into a campfire and suffered a serious burn. I had a chain link fence around our wood stove to keep him safe but nothing to keep him from falling into the campfire.

I took the time to anchor the kitchen stove's back legs to keep it from tipping should he stand on the oven door but I had an old water heater set aside in the basement that the installers left because it was too heavy from all the lime buildup inside, that I did nothing about. My son climbed up it and it toppled over, nearly crushing him. I kicked myself for not recognizing the hazzard.

It is incumbent upon us to mitigate any hazzard we see and to look for hazzards that aren't obvious.

Edit: Decided there had been enough said about a comment, so I erased mine. Can't just delete these things I don't think.

My brother and sister and I grew up with a wood burning stove. My parents used one as did my grandparents. My Dad and my grandpa never built fences around their stoves. I can honestly say that not one of us ever had a problem with getting burned on the wood burner. This question comes up from time to time here, and we all go through the same debate over and over.

I currently have two burns healing. They aren't the first burns I've received (this season even), and they certainly won't be the last. Yeah they hurt and blister, but they certainly aren't the most painful things I've ever experienced. I think that the two times I broke my arm were more painful. Once was on the playground at school, the other was stepping off the wrong rung of a bunk bed ladder! I've received numerous bruises and scrapes, probably the most painful came from a trailer hitch ball on the back of my truck) that hurt much more and lasted much longer than the pain from a burn from my stove. Heck, having some warts removed from my hands by a doctor a couple years ago was much more painful than these burns.

My wife and I don't have kids yet, but anxiously await the day that we find out that we'll be parents. I've thought about this a little bit, and for us, it doesn't seem like that big of a problem. The stove is in the corner of the living room. It's one small part of the house that simply will NOT be the play area. We have plenty of play space in the family room, which is a bigger room anyway! We're lucky enough that we have a pretty open floor plan, which will make supervising the kids (and eventually teenagers) VERY easy. It's one of the reasons we bought this house.

I'm just going to play it by ear. If it becomes a problem, I'll deal with it at that point.

-SF

We have 4 kids under age 10. The wood stove is in a center room with lots of traffic and playing. For us the fence is a must. No need to worry about the kids forgetting, getting too close, falling, etc. Or the dog bumping one of the kids. We don't have to worry - they can't reach the stove. Also great place to dry all the winter clothes.

Stove is top loading so the fence really isn't in the way.

Lots of comments on this one...but there is a huge difference in teaching the word "hot" to a 3-4 year old vs. that of a 6-12 month old.
Get the gate, and you wont regret it. (If my youngest one was a bit older, I would send you mine free of charge and just have you pay shipping)

I've had the same dilemma this year, my daughter turns two next week. Thought about building or buying a fence with a gate, but am a little cheap, and wasn't ever quite sold on the idea anyway, it kindof seems like overkill. We finally bought a fireplace screen. Its a one-piece screen that curves around the sides and over the top, kindof like a baseball backstop. We have an insert that juts about 8" out of the fireplace, not a full stove, so this suits our needs. Keeps the kid off the stove, is easy to move, is fire safe, non-permanent, relatively inexpensive ($40) etc.

Here's the fence I built:
All cheap lumber from lowe's. I think it cost around $40 total. 2x3's top and bottom, 1x2's for the spindles, quarter round on either side of the spindles to hold them in. Rattle can paint job. I used a miter saw for the cuts and a finish nailer to assemble it. There are screws at the corners for added strength. It's not attached, because it's heavy enough to stand freely, and I can remove it any time I need to. It's outside the stove clearances on every side, even the front, although it doesn't look like it in the photo.

JimJ said:

We have 4 kids under age 10. The wood stove is in a center room with lots of traffic and playing. For us the fence is a must. No need to worry about the kids forgetting, getting too close, falling, etc. Or the dog bumping one of the kids. We don't have to worry - they can't reach the stove. Also great place to dry all the winter clothes.

Stove is top loading so the fence really isn't in the way.

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when my daughter was little, i had a setup like this, only closer spindles and no wire. when she started walking and talking, she would go to it and stick her arm thru the spindles and mom or i would say "ah, ah its hot in there"...she would look back at us and repeat, "hot inare".

then while watching dad, she figured out how i was opening the gate to get to the stove.as i was watching her play one nite, she decided to try out a new skill...yep opening the gate.when i noticed what she was doing, i shouted" look out, babe, its going to bite you", she snapped around real quick to look at me , and when she did the door came back on her fingers. her eyes got as big around as soup bowls . she looked at me , pointed at the gate and said " bite me".

after that she never went near either one.i guess i was one of the lucky ones...she was very easy when it came to stuff like that. now shes 13 and knows more than me.when asked how old she is now i just tell people she has finally reached the age where I am stupid.

mike

We have a 4 year old and a 10 month old. We do not have or need a gate around our stove. From our experience, kids know that hot is HOT and they will not touch it. In the end, it comes down to parenting styles.

Our kids hike and bike in the woods with us. We let them run free and play. My 4 year old runs quite far ahead and we are ok with that as long as he is in eyeshot and with our German Shepard. We have seen other parents walking their kids with a harness and leash attached, concerned about snake bites, cougars, and getting lost.

If a fence is what you need to do to feel that your kids are safe from a wood stove, build a fence. In my opinion and obviously that of some others here, a fence is not required.

What about when they're 15 year olds that know how to open a fence and dare each other to put their hand/face/balls on it? Gonna need a padlock and some razor wire for that fence.

Tell them if they even think of touching the stove this will happen to them
(If anyone is offended by this its only a prop!) :lol:

I would do a nice wooden gate if I felt the need.

My 2 yr old [just turned] understands hot pretty well - hot food, hot water - HOT stove. I talk about it with her, show her and she has been pretty damn good about not getting too close to 3 stoves, when all running.

Good Luck!