Small children and wood stoves

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sorry about that, working on something else at the same time. i have had mine for a year already
 
A defiant little two year old that touches it just to not do what they are told and burns just the tip of the finger to learn is one thing.
The neighbor kid shoved into the stove during horseplay ending up with third degree burns on a palm, an albow , a cheek, a shoulder and even more is not how you want a kid to learn about touching a stove.

If there's even the remote chance a kid might get burned then some kind of barrier (I had a no entry into the room gate in the doorway where the stove was) might be cheap insurance.

I never liked watching Darwin Awards in the making in the house anyway.
 
I agree but are thoses kiddie gates really gonna stop 2 hundred plus pound kids rolling at them? I did not think they were that sturdy.
 
200 plus pound kids need thier own barn.
 
I agree, pretty funny! I actually meant 2 kids a hundred pounds each.
 
njtuna said:
none within 50 miles of me, according the the storefinder. amazon has it $189 + shipping

Just like Adirondack, this is truly a wonderful gate. The service is excellent too, Kidco is sending me a clip that broke on the bottom door part absolutely free. I just emailed them some pics of the door area and viola, she is sending the part today pro-bono :-)

I have a 2 year old that I am sure could try and climb over but for the last year I have told him that this is "HOT". He now finally knows what it means a little after getting a small burn from a pan. The gate simply gives you the added safety of having a barrier to slow down most kids and stop really young ones from touching the best and hottest thing in the world in my house.

I paid about that price too, look for free shipping many places have them. I also bought the 24 inch extension which I didn't need at the time but I use now.

I might actually buy one for my other stove in the living room

Can't put a price on the little ones :)
 

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All I am going to say is My wood stove has committed no crime so I have not built a prison facility to house it in.
 
Kids and fire ...Fire and Kids.....A dangerous combination! Fire is a primodial instinict that draws kids and adults to its magical magnetism. Perhaps it is a genetic disposition that draws us to the presence of a live real fire. Fire harnessed is a boon to all mankind, but unchecked it is a dangerous unpredictable element. Perhaps some children have to experience a minor burn to realize that fire is unforgiving and very painful. Maybe other, less curious children will take an adults word, the danger of heat, burns and possible death. I was a young boy that had to learn the hard way. It wasn't even with a woodstove that i learned my lesson. It was 45 years ago and i happened to touch a capacitor on the bottom of an unshielded TV. I did receive 40,000 volts..( I later learned). and I don't know the amperage,which must have been low, but it blew me back 10 feet and since that day i have had a huge respect for fire and electricty. Had this incident not happened ....my probable next step would have been to try and hook up some apparatus to this TV, and would no doubt have died. Now, of coarse, that is an extreme example, but the lesson is clear. I never stopped playing with the TV, but I sure never did play with touching the exposed tubes and underside of that monster. It was the best lesson i could have received. No adult words or warning could have prepared me for the pain and shock i got m that T.V.


We all try to spare our children from the dangers of poison chemicals, electric sockets and outlets, but do we ever really impress upon our youngsters the real consequences of touching a hot stove or live electric wire? I don't think we do enough in that respect. Perhaps if a parent was to do a live experiment with a hot wood stove and touch it while it was really hot and scream from the burn and show the child was had happened to his hand slightly after the burn...or maybe the next day, then i think this lesson would sink in. I don't think there would be a need for prison type gates etc....Only the evidence of a burned finger and an explanation of how it it is the worst pain one can imagine... My kids are grown and we never had a woodstove in the house during their touchy feely years... I'm no child expert and only learned to be a parent by making mistakes. I also was never a spanker, but I think my own experience as a child illustrates the basic principle of cause and effect

Thanks for listening
Joe
 
Good points Joe,
I guess whatever works for us as parents we will do.

I guess I go with the line of "You can never be too careful" Plus I guess as a Police officer I have seen some bad injuries and horrible deaths because of careless situations. I do like the example that you had of actually showing youngsters what will happen if you get too close to a stove. For me I will keep the prison around my Avalon....she does not mind and still burns nice and hot :cheese: .

My stove is in my family room, so we are always in there watching TV or playing with "stuff". My son is a climber right now so it is not bullet proof but without the gate he would have burned himself many times. Plus I don't think at his age yet he would really learn from his mistakes yet. He is a risk taker right now, jumps clear off the couch and whatever is down below....(dog, toys, food, drinks, wife.... :) )

Again whatever works for a parent. I am sure we all do what we feel is best for the little guys and girls
Cheers
 
JFK I did a have couple of risk taking boys, especially the young one who seemed impervious to injury. Of coarse now at 18 he is the high Diver, gymnast and all around contortionest. The other one is at law school and thinking i paid more attention to the younger one.
I did have to rescue the younger boy from our inground pool twice before he learned to swim, but now his name is on the local YMCA as a record holder ....So who can say which method is right.
Thanks for the reply Joe
 
In my opinion, go with the gate. I have a 5, 4 and 1 year old....they have had there share of accidents, but I couldn't imagine how I would feel if the little guy got a bad burn. We moved from a house with a wood stove, and now have an insert.....had the gates around each...they don't look that bad. I am not worried about the 5 and 4 year old as they "feel" the heat and don't go near the gate at all. The 11 month old is a bit curious, but its not a matter of a kid putting their hand on something a "little" hot....real small kids tend to lean/fall on things....so its not a matter of the child placing their hand on the stove, but falling on it accidently.
Believe me, before we had kids I was the non safety guy, with my wife being the safety nut...after seeing my share of accidents...I am now fine with the gate. Once the kids get older, the gate is gone :)

Also, just had 2 cords delievered last week.....my wife doesn't understand why I like to split and stack wood :)
 
This is a bit of a segway and probably heading for the ash can, but I can see your point Joe. It's a different generation, but I wonder if we are doing the right thing by shielding our kids from all risks. They are finding out that kids growing up in a too sterile environment are often more sensitive to allergens and are more prone to diseases like asthma.

My Dad was a hellian as a young man. Had a '20s Indian and was known for doing crazy stuff on it. He settled down somewhat after having kids, but we'd get rides in the back of his pickup, or the bucket of his tractor and loved it (no seat belts back there oh my!) And he let me play with taking apart radios, tvs whatever. I shocked myself a few times too, but learned. My favorite cool thing was a jacobs ladder I made out of an old oil burner transformer and some stiff copper wire. The point is I took risks, learned from them and went on. But it has made me who I am. I still take risks, have had 5 different careers in my life so far and have been successful at each. If we shield our kids from risks, who are going to be the risk takers of our future? Some times creativity, new ideas and businesses require taking some risks. Best to be familiar with them ahead of time.
 
ms360 said:
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.

Thought this subject was about small children and stoves? Not about wishing an adult should break their head open on a windshield? If this has nothing to do with "letting children figure things out on their own or toughening them up? Then what is it about? Seatbelts?

If you feel more comfortable with the fence, then keep the fence. And if you can`t tolerate opposing points of view,then write to yourself and answer yourself and then you will be happy, cause no one will be critical of your actions. Wishing ill-will on others is just plain childish. Was the fence built for the children or yourself?

sniff,sniff, I smell Ashes :cheese:
 
sonny, I don't know if you realize it but your post whether intending or not looks like it threw the first stone. On a positive note I agree sometimes people are overprotective. My wife would duct tape the kids in a bubble if given the chance, I would rather they learn from experience, I guess it is a good balance? The best part, none of my kids are crispy!!! :lol:
 
Well this is my last reply to you Sonny. If you can't make the connection between placing a gate around a 600 pound mass of stones at 500 degrees that my children run around, and wearing a seat belt in a car there really is no hope for you. Despite multiple posters pointing out to you that you threw the first stone you continue to come back like a child who has to have the last word. If you think there aren't children who DIE or are maimed for life by accidents that could have been easily avoided you are wrong becuae I have been there investigaing it. There is no lesson to be learned by exposing a child to a hot stove. Please make it a point just ignore me and any of my posts and I will do the same.
 
closing thread, getting far off topic. ms360 don't take sonny too seriously. He loves to stir the pot.
 
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