Fireplace Safety Gate

Fireplace Safety Gate – Three Reasons Why This Is So Important

Some children are fearless. This is a statement which many parents will be able to relate to. With my first son I could never understand how a parent got anything done. Some days I even wondered if I would be able to keep him safe. Then came my second son, a completely different personality; he is still a boy, tousles and runs, but he does have a sense of self preservation.

If you have a fearless child then you will certainly be taking baby proofing your home seriously. You cannot guarantee that your home is safe, as you will find that they will scale something which would never have crossed your mind. I watched my eighteen month old climb a seven foot bookcase like a ladder to reach a toy I had put out of reach. But there are some things which you can do easily and these will take some worry out of your life.

Children copy adults, this is how they learn. If you have a fire it is very easy to give mixed messages. Consider the three points of confusion for a toddler below.

1. Putting things in the fire – we have all put papers on the fire to get rid of them. Think about the times when you have done this; in a hurry when you are emptying out your pockets, after opening a parcel, there are countless everyday situations when you do this. Now think a step further. You probably do this when the fire is lit or before it is lit. How do you teach a child not to copy you with something they don’t want?

2. Cleaning the fire – You know that you only clean a fire when it is cold. When you have shouted at your four year old and they have decided to try to make amends and do some housework for you how will they know if it’s ok to clean the fire ashes out?

3. Tending a fire – Sometimes children want to tell you how well they have done. How will you feel when they run up and tell you that the fire was burning low so they added a log? Scary, but very possible.

Hopefully the above will have illustrated how important it is to have a good fire safety gate.

There are two things which you need your fireplace safety gate to do. Firstly it must successfully isolate the fire. Secondly you want to know if anyone has tried to fiddle with it. The first is easy, any good fireplace safety gate should accomplish this. The latter though, that requires a little more imagination – try tying a bell to it. Even if you can’t hear the bell through out the house, your kids will probably think that you can and will stay well away.

With preparation and thought you will have many happy hours of enjoying an open fire with your family.