I have an 8 month old and a fireplace with a flagstone hearth. My son is all over the place and I need to find something to shield him from the edges of the hearth (they are sharp and have the potential of creating a big gash if my son hits it just right). I've seen some safety gates on-line but they are pricey and I've also seen some foam cushions you can apply but I've also heard the adhesive on the tape is difficult to get off. I have considered slicing a pool noodle and putting that over the edges but I think whatever I put on, my son will just pull it off. I may just end up bugying a special gate, after all the safety of my child is worth $100, but I was wondering what other people have done to protect their little ones from a fireplace. Thank you in advance for all your responses. I appreciate your time.
I ended up ordering a foam cover for our hearth from www.babysafetyfoam.com. It was pricey but well worth it and it works much better for us than a gate or foam that just covers the edges (which my son would just pull off anyway). The cover we got is custom fitted to our hearth and covers the entire hearth, not just the edges. Thank you all for your suggestions. Maybe some day someone else will have the same question and get there answer from my post and your resposes. Now if we could just figure out how to get the baby to stop bitting it....
I didn't use it for a fireplace, but the Kidco Configure Gate is awesome. You can buy as many extensions as you need to gate off the whole thing. You will love this gate. I bought mine through one step ahead online.
We were able to block off the entrie room, that had a fireplace, with gates.
go to onestepahead.com they have a ton of different styles of safety stuff.
Hi Laurie-
The pool noodle may be more likely to catch fire. I wouldn't mess with tape, etc. The $100 for the special gate sounds like not very much money for a lot of peace of mind. I don't know which gates are best; hopefully Consumer Reports or another consumer agency has done some sort of testing, and can tell you which gates are the best. You'll be using it for years, so purchase a good one. I'll be thinking of you- S.
Hi, Laurie -
I've protected my 3 small children from the edges of my raised stone hearth with the foam product that I think is called Hearth Guard. It is a very soft and cushy neutral colored rubber, and it attaches with velcro. I've been very pleased with the quality, and even the appearance. You won't even notice it's there. Mine has been in place for 4-1/2 years now, and is still working well. As far as removing the residue when we remove it, I haven't ever had anything of that type that I wasn't able to remove with Goo Gone or one of those orange-oil products, so I haven't worried about it. Good luck.
Laurie, PLEASE e-mal me what responses you get as I have an 8 mo old & am have the same problem! Or show me how to see the responses as I cannot figure it out!
Thx & good luck,
S.
____@____.com
AHH...I see, I just have to respond to see responses..Is that right? If theres another way to see them, please share!
