Wood stove safety gate???

[gpcollen1]

Mine are now 3, 6 and 9. Been burning full time in this house for 6 years - so they were only 2 when started, a few months and 3 yrs old. As a parent - as other animals - I am the constant teacher. Some of the first words for the 2 youngest were hot and fire. You are not giving them enough credit if you do not think they will understand 'hot' and 'fire' and stay clear.

I do understand your thought process in trying to baby-safe the house. Just wanted to through the other side out there. I know that there are some stoves that are just about in the middle of a room and may be more of an issue in that they could stumble into it at any minute - kind of like the one I grew up with, and never got burned on.

 

[Jags]

2x4s for the top and bottom rails, 2x2s for the verticals. total cost to build should be under 20 bucks. Stain it to match your other furniture or woodwork, or mantel (gel stain works pretty well when trying to match pine to nicer woods).

my son used to call it the "pow-pow" (due to the popping noise wood would make at campfires). The 16 month old just calls it the "Hot-hot"---> both know to stay away and have never been burnt. Then again, I have a seatbelt in my car that I wear all the time even though I don't intend to get into a car accident....

Bingo - its not the fact that they can't be taught to stay away....or hot...or whatever. Its the accident. Anyone that has ever seen a 18 month old boy at full speed in play mode knows that accidents WILL happen. Trying to prevent a possible accident with a wood stove is only being responsible, IMHO. That particular accident may never happen, but if it does and I know I could have prevented it....ohhh, papa Jags would feel real bad.

 

[rdust]

My son is 8 months old and just started really crawling and pulling himself up on things. He eyes the stove and tries to make his way over to it all the time. If my stove room was bigger(it's 10x16) and not my family room I wouldn't worry as much about it. With the way it's set up he can get to the stove rather quickly. I can teach him hot and fire as much as I want but I really don't think his 8 month old mind is going to think about that when he see's a beautiful flame in the window that he wants to touch. I'm ordering the kidco gate for it, after I'm sure he understands what hot is I'll remove the gate. He's still figuring out what his hands, feet, tongue and other parts are, I don't think he understand hot yet. :lol: Maybe next season he'll understand better.

 

[hardcore]

I have a gate up around my stove to protect my 1 year old. I'm a part time burner, so sometimes the stove is cold and sometimes the stove is hot and then sometimes the stove looks cold and isn't giving off much heat, but the cast iron is still very hot to the touch. For myself, I feel much better knowing there is a gate between her and the stove. It also gives me a wood storage area that can be a little dirty. She loves eating whatever she finds and has already tried to gobble up a couple pieces of bark. There is no right or wrong answer to having a gate up.

 

[SteveKG]

I don't have kids so I'm no expert. Friends who've brought kids over to our cottage over the past 30 yr. have had zero concern about their little kids and our wood stoves. In fact, I am more worried than they are. When they get here, I take them in to the stove and tell them about it and how hot it can be. No problem. Our six golden retrievers are much dumber than any kid and not one of them has had a problem.

However, far be it for me to advise a parent not to worry about it, even if I would not. So, those little kids aren't gonna be little for very long, and they'll be accustomed to a stove by the time they are in elementary school if not before. Why not just make a simple, inexpensive fence/gate on your own. Even chicken wire, while no beautiful accessory, works and can be tossed, recycled, or reused when said kids are a few yr. older. If those kids have been around stoves for several yr. by the time they are in elementary school, and are still unsafe around them, you have some worse problems looming than the stove.

If looks are not that important, just safety, make something. Probably take an afternoon.

 

[Jags]

If those kids have been around stoves for several yr. by the time they are in elementary school, and are still unsafe around them, you have some worse problems looming than the stove.

Then its time to get them a helbamament. %-P

 

[greythorn3]

i just made my own baby fence to keep th ebaby in the livingroom area. she doesnt need to be in the kitchen or around the wood stove crawling around anyhow, it was about 30$ in materials at home depot and i didn tpaint or stain it so i can burn it later.

heres a picture

Ray