Hi Mommas! My house has the old fashioned radiators that get very hot when the heat is on. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to protect my 7 month old daughter from them this winter. The main radiator is about 6 feet long and in our living room, which is also my daughter's play room. She is already crawling all over the place so I know I'm gonna need to do something to block them. Any thoughts???
You can google for radiator covers. If your husband is handy with tools he can build his own (instructions can be found on many website) or order them pre-made (they come in wood or metal). They work great and look beautiful.
hi J., they make radiator covers that you can purchase, most of them look like a wood cabinet with screening in front, some of them are really beautiful, they are furniture. my sis has an old house with the same radiators and thats what she uses. putting a couch in front of it will work for a minute, climbing up on the couch is one of the first things they learn, then you have to worry about her falling over the back in addition to getting burned. you need a permanent solution if they really get hot. we have a woodburning stove in our house upstate, and we use a gate when we go. its a temporary solution, it would work for you for a while, they have it at babies r us or wherever, its called super yard or play yard or something like that. it has 6 or so panels that you can arrange however you need, and its pretty sturdy. also, if you are ready for a permanent solution and want something custom made, i have a good friend who is a professional babyproofer, he does beautiful work in beautiful homes, most of his work is cusom gates for various situations, and they look great too. email me if you are interested.
Hi J.,
My friend has a coal stove in the middle of her living room and her husband put a fence around it. I suppose you could do that with a radiator. Have your hubbie make a fence to keep the baby away. She has wood floors so was able to nail it right to the floor. I guess you could do that through carpet too.
D.
I'm not sure how good of an idea this is, however, are you able to put a couch (about a foot or more)in front of it (not touching it) and perhaps gates on each side of the couch so that she doesnt go behind the couch?
You could also try teaching her 'hot' - by giving her a washcloth or something that is hot to the touch but not hot enough to burn her so that perhaps she can understand that the radiator is HOT..DO NOT TOUCH..
Its been a LONG time since I've had to baby-proof my house...hope you get some good suggestions :)
