Small children and wood stoves

[RedRanger]

That's a little strong, Sonny. Teaching is one thing, but guarding against accidents is another. Everyone's stove setup is different, and your insert is alot more out of the way than ms360's mansfield. When we lived in our old house with a freestanding stove in our little living room we had a gate around it. Our children were babies and toddlers at the time. I was just as worried about our first son (who isn't very coordinated) taking a tumble and hitting one of the sharp corners on that steel stove as I was him getting burned, probably more so. We already had one trip for stitches just falling into a chair. Do you think that taught him to walk better? Now we are in a house with an insert, and last year we didn't have the gate up, with our kids at 7 and 3. I think while they are getting their feet under them it makes plenty of sense to have a gate up.

Well, you are partially right. when our kids were very young we had stoves. and we didn`t have to coach much, they just knew it was hot, hot , hot. And now you are bringing back memories from almost 25 years ago, it was the oldest that touched and then taught the other younger siblings not to touch. and surprise,surprise, pull down, he has no scars.hmmm

We have only had inserts since we moved here 20 years ago. and the youngest kitten just had to poke his nose right on the glass of the propane insert just to see if it was really hot. of course he discovered it was. but he only did it once. You are being very foolish if you think you can guard against all accidents. eg" youngest son just had to do the wheelies and stuff on his brand new bike when he was ten, well, that ended up with a broken collar bone. I think I am much older than you and could go on and on about all the stories about our kids growing up. Now they are all healthy, and mostly successful in life,for eg: the one with the broken collar bone,"daredevil that he was " is now a CA and has worked in Asia, Caymen Islands, the US, and is earning more than double that I was before I retired. And he is still the one that always says -- thanks mom and dad for all the lessons learned and the kindness shown towards me, and I hope that someday I can be as good a parents as you guys were for me.

Harsh??? don`t think so. but then again, I am really an evil Canuck, so who really knows :-/

 

[oilstinks]

Im not saying that is the way to teach a child please dont take me wrong. There is a difference between knowing and understanding is all im saying. I hope and pray my child never gets burned but it probably will happen eventually then is when the true understanding comes in to play.

 

[savageactor7]

I more or less think what sonny thinks...children have to grow up in the world as it exists. And that includes risk management not risk avoidance...ya just can't do that in the real world. Of course that also means you can't leave a child unsupervised.

My kids never played with our guns when they we younger and curious...cause when they were 6 or so I let shoot into gallon jugs of water just so they understood the consequences. They got that curiosity of of their system very quick.

 

[oilstinks]

No joke! If i touched the shotgun behind the livingroom chair or tested and got to close my butt quickly understood. Are they left out in my house? No. They are kept in a locked safe or rendered inoperable and put out of reach and sight. As parents we will do the very best to protect our children and we will still have accidents short of raising one in a padded room free of radio and TV.

 

[pulldownclaw]

Now Sonny, we all know you're not evil, just a little crazy from the long Winters. :smirk:

And yes, it's foolish to think that you can protect your kids from everything. I knew I shouldn't have gotten into this conversation, so now I'm getting out. No one knows what the others situation is, and everyone has a different philosiphy. I'm glad yours has served your kids so well.

 

[dvellone]

My two year old at the time expressed the most cautious and careful personality but knocked her finger against the stove one day while running by. Superficial burn and a lot of tears, and now at 5 she still talks of this memorable event in respectful tone. She's never bumped into it since.
My next daughter (with the most defiant personality I've ever seen) beginning at about 18 months or so would or could not keep her hands off the stove particularly when I told her to keep her hands away. She's keenly perceptive of how hot the stove is (and how far she can push me) and at 4 yrs. still has never gotten burned. No gate or wall could keep her from where she wants to go and the older daughter needs the most subtle suggestion to warn her of danger.

 

[Stevebass4]

my wife wants

so when are you installing the gate

 

[agz124]

Wow guys, thanks for all the responses. My concern still is the "what ifs". I am in full support of TEACHING (I am a teacher btw!) kids to respect tools, sun, stove, animals, etc and will do my best with that no matter what. However, given the layout of my home the stove is unavoidable, it sticks way out on a peninsula. You are forced to walk within 4 of feet of it to get anywhere in my house and I worry about a small kid tripping and landing face first on the 600 F glass. If the hearth were raised or if it were an insert or even if the stove was in a corner I would not have even posted. One last thing, we all want the best for our kids and probably everyone on this site wants to teach their kids to respect "hot" so making a generalization such as , "kids today are protected too much" or "we don't let kids learn life lessons" is a generalization that certainly exists but I am betting it is the way of life with people like us (wood burners). Thanks again.

 

[derecskey]

What about a fireplace screen? We have an existing decorative screen from before we had the insert installed. We have a 4 month old. We're planning on placing the screen in front of the insert to provide just-another-obstacle to direct touching. I'm sure the screen itself will get hot enough, being just 12" away from the insert.

 

[Tfin]

Definately a lot of misunderstanding going on in this thread. Where in any of this did anyone state that they were attempting, or thought it was a good idea to protect their children from all evils/dangers in this world. :roll:

Believe it or not sonny, it appears that most (including myself) hold similar views as yourself (even if you are a crazy Canuk ;-) ) Some examples to illustrate may point:

I don't have a problem with kids not wearing a helmet while riding a bike or downhill skiing.

I don't mind kids of appropriate age riding in the back of a pickup.

Every kid should drink water from a garden hose from time to time (maybe even eat a little dirt).

All kids (who possess intrest) should be taught gun safety and allowed to operate a firearm under adult supervion.....ultimately achieving respect of said firearm.

And finally......heck, kids should be allowed to be kids.

I know where you're coming from when you say that so many parents these days are attempting to protect their kids from everything (ever seen those idiots with their child on a leash?). It can sometimes be difficult to convey one's true meaning/feelings about a subject over the net.

Our stove situation is this. We have a free standing unit on raised hearthpad in the corner of our living room. Our 18 month old's toys are in the same room where he plays. Do I believe he would intensionally touch a hot stove? Of course not! If he did, yeah he'd probably have to ride the short bus. My fear (at this early age of his life) is that he could potentially trip over the hearthpad and fall hands/face first onto a 600 deg surface. For that reason alone we will baracade the stove for the time being. The hope is by the middle end of the burning season, we'll have the confidence that he truely understands that he needs to give the stove a wide berth and we can dispose of the baracade.

I hope this makes sense, and you understand my reasons. If not...........hell, can't say I didn't try.

 

[mayhem]

What about a fireplace screen? We have an existing decorative screen from before we had the insert installed. We have a 4 month old. We're planning on placing the screen in front of the insert to provide just-another-obstacle to direct touching. I'm sure the screen itself will get hot enough, being just 12" away from the insert.

Just my two cents, but I think the fireplace screen is maybe not the best idea, not if you're using it with the intent of preventing an accident. Reason? Traditionally a screen is not anchored in any way, they just sit there. If you kid is toddling around and trips he or she will be putting their full body weight ont he screen...net result? The screen gets tipped over and touches the stove anyway. In my opinion if you want to

If anyone is interested I have a full fence with gate on it sitting in my basement gathering dust. I'll seel it for half the new cost (whatever that may be...I'll try to dig it up today) plus you pay real shipping costs or you can pick it up if you're close enough. Its pretty heavy, steel construction and folds out to about 8-10 feet in length I think. Let me know.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I think we should just put a fence around the kid. That way they won't be knocking over my drinkie-poo.

 

[JPapiPE]

I love the bars around the wood stove, it looks so feudal. You can teach your kids the fine art of jail escape. Be assurred that kids will defeat this system when given a chance.

 

[Henz]

I was in the same situiation as you last burning season. I put up a hearth gate. Got the KidCo one. Hands-down the best one out there and looks really nice. Swinging/locking gate to access stove, will configure to any shape and you can get additional sections if you need. It attaches to the wall on both ends and is easily removed with clips on the end (you secure the clips to the wall perminetly). We actually left ours up this summer.

(broken link removed to http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?erube_fh=kidco&kidco;.submit.gateDetails=1&kidco;.modelNumber=G70&kidco;.bc=gc)

 

[Jags]

That way they won't be knocking over my drinkie-poo.

Gawd - that sounds so.....Jags-esk

 

[pybyr]

when my son was a first beginning to walk, I was wondering about a lot of the same things discussed in this thread. it wasn't that I wanted to shelter him from all risk/ responsibility, it's that, as some have said, I was concerned about the possibility of him (as he was learning to walk) tripping or losing his balance and going straight into the 500+ pound mass of very hot iron wood cookstove in my kitchen (that I sometimes use for wood heat, especially in the spring and fall shoulder conditions)

I decided that some protective measure was a good idea, at least for those initial "wobbly years"- but then just about fell over when I looked at the price of the "official" gates that were big enough to fit around a cookstove.

so- I went off to see my pal the electric supply vendor, and bought a bunch of 1/2 inch galvanized conduit and matching (smallest/cheapest possible) elbow and tee fittings for that conduit, and then bought a roll of 3 foot tall chicken wire. Made two L-shaped "half fences" with the conduit and fittings and chicken wire. "Wove" the conduit pieces through the edge of the chicken wire as I put the final assemblies together, whcih made it more substantial than you'd think when contemplating it in concept.

These DIY beauties were light enough to be very easy to move out of the way to load the stove, but just substantial enough (hooked together in the middle) to intercept a kid who would otherwise fall into the stove. They had a certain "ugly chic" to them that drew many inquisitive/ favorable remarks from guests, and a few years later, an woodburning acquaintance with young kids was thrilled to receive them

 

[derecskey]

Careful with ugly chics. A few too many drinks and they're not so ugly anymore.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I never been to bed with an ugly woman, but I've woken up with one or two.

 

[Henz]

I thought about building my own. And yes, the KidCo gate is expensive. Think I paid around $200 for it. But since we have had it, its well worth the $$. Plus we can use it for other things suck as pets etc. I would purchase it all over again

 

[njtuna]

great post! we have a 13 month old son and i was trying to figure out how to keep him away from the insert. am probably going to get a hearthgate.

 

[Henz]

YOU CAN GO ONTO THE KIDCO WEBSITE AND FIND THE NEAREST DEALER. LITTLE DID I KNOW WE HAD ONE ONLY A MILE AWAY FROM WHERE I WORK!

 

[njtuna]

none within 50 miles of me, according the the storefinder. amazon has it $189 + shipping

 

[Henz]

EXCELLENT. THATS ABOUT WHAT I PAID HOWEVER I HAD TO ORDER ANOTHER SMALL SECTION THAT WAS ANOTHER $40 i THINK!

 

[ms440]

Hey Sonny, don't bother to use the seat belts in your car, the windshield will toughen up your head.........This has nothing to do with letting children figure things out on their own or toughening them up.

 

[derecskey]

I think Adirondackwoodburner is a little excited since he found a dealer so close. My ears are still ringing from all the capital letters.