baby proofing your stereo componenets

[agypsy]

hello folks,

my 10 month old daughter has started walking early. most of the house is baby proof but she can still reach my volume knob on my amp. for me to swap the amp to a higher position would require some time as i've got all sorts of cable going to the main amp.

i searched around but all i could find were pieces of plastic 16"L x 3 3/4"H. these all look quite useless.

can anyone recommend some sort of component guard?

thanks

 

[voltcontrol]

I put the vinyl rig in another room and the rest in a credenza with doors (and a lock)...

 

[trhee]

Use a dedicated listening room with a lock. Otherwise, you could use an enclosed rack which should help in getting those baby hands away from your gear.

At that age, there's no guarantee. Once they're about 2 years old, then you can reinforce in their head that the stereo is only to be touched by adults and not meant for babies. If they try to touch, then you have to be very stern with them and sooner or later they will learn that it's off limits. Even so, they'll get mischievous once in awhile and touch things.

It took my son until 3 years of age to not touch any electronics at all. If he wants to listen to music or watch TV, he will ask first.

 

[avionic]

Very high stereo shelves..

 

[newguy1]

I feel your pain, I've got a 1 yr old and another on the way. Only way to do it is a daddy only space.

I've got some Polk RM7300's for the main tv rig, they are wall mountable and don't sound too bad to boot, all wires are hidden behind the unit they are secured in.

Are you just looking for a plastic tunnel for the wires? You can get the tunnels and then secure them to the quarter round on the baseboards, maybe that might suit your needs.

 

[mhedges]

I put a portable play yard called the superyard XT around my setup. I'll try to post some pics later. Works well for young kids but it's too short for older kids - my 2 year old can climb it in about 15 seconds.

 

[mr.chen]

this reminds me of when I was a child and I used to play catch against my Dad's Magneplanar electrostatic speakers. I would advise against purchasing things of that sort

 

[KrisM]

Very high stereo shelves..

That's the only thing that works here.

A locked "daddy" space would work as well, but being home all day with a kid with no music on seems like a wasted opportunity to me. It can be hard juggling the fact that my daughter loves music and wants to know how to use the stereo(awesome:thmbsp, but if left alone for a minute might grab the turntable by the arm and run down the hall to her room with it(not so awesome:thumbsdn.

 

[rjoseph]

I put my stuff in a cabinet and put a child lock to it.

 

[oneinchside]

hello folks,

my 10 month old daughter has started walking early. most of the house is baby proof but she can still reach my volume knob on my amp. for me to swap the amp to a higher position would require some time as i've got all sorts of cable going to the main amp.

i searched around but all i could find were pieces of plastic 16"L x 3 3/4"H. these all look quite useless.

can anyone recommend some sort of component guard?

thanks

My kids were really pretty good, just one PB&J into the VCR, which gave me a welcome break from Barney.

We had everything in an entertainment center with my oldest, sold everything off in time for our second, and had started re-building a system in time for my third. Other than that one PB&J (which I still suspect was the neighbors' kid) we made it through.

I think we did put some kind of a child lock on the door of that entertainment center.

The BIG problem for us was when my oldest hit 4, and really learned to climb (and at the time I was working at a climbing gym part time. gee, where'd he get the idea?) and brought down large bookshelves on top of himself. 4 times. I guess he figured that since he didn't die the first time...

So my $.002? WALL ANCHORS. And a mini wall in front and around the components.
I'd use 1/2" particle board, door hinges to anchor it to the wall (and you can just pull the pin to get inside.) and then paint the outside to match the room, with flat black in the middle for a toddler chalk board.

Kids are resourceful, creative, and un-relenting in their pursuit to be just like Mom and Dad, which means twisting those shiny round things.

HTH
Mike

(post some pics of whatever you do, I guarantee there are 50 other Dads lurking and reading this that need ideas. :thmbsp


**edit** I like rjoseph's cabinet better. I'd say one of those, with that kind of lock.
and triangulated chrome-moly wall anchors for the speakers.

 

[Junknewbian]

Let them turn it loud enough to scare themselves a bit. The lessons they learn on their own will be stronger than the ones you try to teach them.

 

[brminpin]

Only thing I could do was to move my gear down to the basement. My older boys (5 & 7) are allowed down there only when I'm with them. My equipment isn't outrageously expensive but I do baby them.

With a 19 month old boy running around, I still haven't replaced the Sony picture tube TV in our family room. I was given a 50" plasma from my father who runs a repair shop, but it too has been relegated to the basement until the youngest can go without banging things on the screen.

I learned from brother. My niece got into to his listening room and pushed in a dozen dust caps and tweeters on his Near Field Pipe Dreams. :tears: Hard lesson learned.

 

[newguy1]

Here's my baby-proofed setup, I still need to get door locks, but he's not strong enough to open yet.

The speakers will be wall mounted once we figure out room placement.

 

[tiga]

+1 on wall anchors. Kids can pull stands/dressers/etc on top of them pretty easily, and some of this equipment can be heavy.

 

[TerryO]

With six kids, I've found that it's better to place the system somewhere they can't get to, like your bunker.
Nothing is more important than your kids, so if nothing else, store it for a few years. They'll grow up too quickly as it is.

Otherwise, put together an interim system that can be easily and cheaply replaced.

Best Regards,
TerryO

 

[agypsy]

thanks for all the replies folks!
she's my first kid and what an amazing thing being a father.

I put a portable play yard called the superyard XT around my setup. I'll try to post some pics later. Works well for young kids but it's too short for older kids - my 2 year old can climb it in about 15 seconds.

yea we got the same fencing and put 2 of them together in the LR but we took them up and now a part is fencing off my home studio setup and the other is fencing off a section in the BR.

That's the only thing that works here.
A locked "daddy" space would work as well, but being home all day with a kid with no music on seems like a wasted opportunity to me. It can be hard juggling the fact that my daughter loves music and wants to know how to use the stereo(awesome:thmbsp, but if left alone for a minute might grab the turntable by the arm and run down the hall to her room with it(not so awesome:thumbsdn.

yea my daughter loves music and she likes to watch me clean records (i cover her ears when i turn it on ). i always have something spinning which is awesome. i might just have to bite the bullet and reconfigure my rack and worry about it later when she's taller and smarter.

Let them turn it loud enough to scare themselves a bit. The lessons they learn on their own will be stronger than the ones you try to teach them.

LOL...she has actually scared herself a couple times but it didn't really phase her too much.

 

[Yamahalic]

This thread is bringing back some memories...in my case, my speakers dust caps didn't stand a chance. For this, I added (and recommend) metal mesh driver protection such as seen at dance clubs.

 

[Tarl Of Gor]

Put grease on the volume knob.








j/k

 

[agypsy]

Put grease on the volume knob.
j/k

i'll just have to move that amp higher up. i was too lazy to redo all the cables but i think that's the best solution. i don't have room for my own listening room so that's not an option. as it is my home studio is in the kitchen


here's the little terror i mentioned.

 

[Tarl Of Gor]

How 'bout something like this in front of it?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70182191