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Show Your Child-Proofed Listening Space

Corbin Gross - Your setup is similar to mine, but I keep the whole thing padlocked when it's not in use.

rjag46 - That reminds me of a prank my Dad used to pull on other guys at the power plant where he works. He would wire a charged capacitor to other guys' chairs, so that when they touched any metal park of the chair they got a nice little shock.

jsixis - My daughter is old enough to know what she can and can't touch, and she even has a few favorite records in my collection which she'll point to, but won't handle (I'll let her handle them when she's a little older and more steady-handed). My son, on the other hand, is a tasmanian devil. He just tears through things with no notion of boundaries. We'll eventually get through to him, but for the time being, the padlock stays.
 
I've never understood why some parents seem to have an inability to teach their progeny that some things are hands off. My son was taught early on that some things were simply not to be touched by him. I believe in house proofing kids not kid proofing a house.

I have friends who have explicit instructions not to bring their children when they visit. Their only other option is to agree to replace anything their unruly children break. I suppose a lot of my attitude in this regard comes from my upbringing.

My mother collected Hummel figurines and other sorts of "chatchkes". My younger brother, sister and myself were taught early on that there were some things that were not to be touched. My parents used suitable reinforcement to emphasize this. The results were that my mother's Hummels and other things stayed on open display and were never bothered.

It's called respect for what isn't yours. Why is it so hard for some to instill this in their children?
 
I basically just put all my albums,guitars, turntables, basically anything I cared about away for a little over a decade. I could have maybe trained my kids, but some of their friends?

I honestly think some of these kids were abandoned by wolves and raised by their parents.
 
My daughter had the deepest respect for my things, which didn't stop her from putting a poptart in the VCR or bring a cassette trailing 100' of tape into the bedroom to show me it was 'stuck'. These were devices she had permission to use.

Kids will be kids and you need to keep them away from the Draino and anything you hold dear.
 
I'm inclined to agree with drknstrmyknight. Absolutely teach your kids to respect your things, but also be aware that they might break a thing or two despite the best of intentions. I know I broke a good deal of my dad's stuff, which was due less to a disrespect of his things and more to the fact that I was a bit of a space case.
 
noise gate said:
I basically just put all my albums,guitars, turntables, basically anything I cared about away for a little over a decade. I could have maybe trained my kids, but some of their friends?

I honestly think some of these kids were abandoned by wolves and raised by their parents.
Click to expand...

It's bad enough when your own kids break something in your home. IMO it's unacceptable for someone else's kid to do so. That's why some of my sons friends and some of my friend's children simply weren't and still aren't allowed in my house. Once they get past the toddler stage it's a question of respect for others property. It needs to be taught.
 
I have a dedicated room, isolated and locked. It looks like this:

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JoeESP9 said:
I've never understood why some parents seem to have an inability to teach their progeny that some things are hands off. My son was taught early on that some things were simply not to be touched by him. I believe in house proofing kids not kid proofing a house.

I have friends who have explicit instructions not to bring their children when they visit. Their only other option is to agree to replace anything their unruly children break. I suppose a lot of my attitude in this regard comes from my upbringing.

My mother collected Hummel figurines and other sorts of "chatchkes". My younger brother, sister and myself were taught early on that there were some things that were not to be touched. My parents used suitable reinforcement to emphasize this. The results were that my mother's Hummels and other things stayed on open display and were never bothered.

It's called respect for what isn't yours. Why is it so hard for some to instill this in their children?
Click to expand...

This is pretty much how I was raised, woe betide you if you didn't repect your parents valued property. As for going to someone else's house and getting into their stuff, it just never entered your head to do that. :yes:
 
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JoeESP9 said:
I've never understood why some parents seem to have an inability to teach their progeny that some things are hands off. My son was taught early on that some things were simply not to be touched by him. I believe in house proofing kids not kid proofing a house.

I have friends who have explicit instructions not to bring their children when they visit. Their only other option is to agree to replace anything their unruly children break. I suppose a lot of my attitude in this regard comes from my upbringing.

My mother collected Hummel figurines and other sorts of "chatchkes". My younger brother, sister and myself were taught early on that there were some things that were not to be touched. My parents used suitable reinforcement to emphasize this. The results were that my mother's Hummels and other things stayed on open display and were never bothered.

It's called respect for what isn't yours. Why is it so hard for some to instill this in their children?
Click to expand...


I was recently at my buddies house, he is also a pretty serious record collector/audiophile. We were listening to some records when his 8 year old kid came running in acting bonkers, his wife said to the him " Aven, the turntable is on" He says " oh sorry" and sits down with us for a couple of songs then quietly gets up and goes into his bedroom and played. It was by far one of the best example of parenting I think I have ever seen.

I dont have any kids but do have a tortoise, I cant keep anything green on the floor or he'll try and eat it. He's walking around right now and I swear he is bobbing his head to Charles Mingus. weird.
 
No kids, but we do have three cats, that can get into stuff. Luckily, nothing has ever been broken. I do keep the door to my listening room (office) routinely closed, as my collection of diecast and model aircraft are displayed in that room, and I'm afraid the cats might knock them off the shelves. I also want to avoid my L100T speakers being used as a scratching post.

We did have a Christmas party at our house this year, and I specified "no kids, please". Two couples (with kids) were delighted (nice to have a night out without them), but it was a big issue for another couple, who declined to come, because the wife will not leave the kids, under any circumstances (they home school them etc.) Kinda weird (and a little creepy) I thought.

I was raised in a house with fairly strict parents, and was taught early to respect art, electronics, etc. I had my things, but my parent's stuff was off limit. I can only recall breaking one thing (some kind of wall hanging sculpture) by accident, throwing a ball inside the house. I got a heckuva spanking for that offence.
 
My son is now 3.5yrs old and when he was little was told that the stereo was daddy's and not to touch. He is respectful of it however when his little buddies are over the rules go out the window for them. I have heard him tell them no that's my daddy's stereo which is the holy sh$T!! cue to see whats going on. Fortunately only my CD player is at toddler height. Tube amps and Mc gear is up above.

Someone said it before though as much as your kid respects your stuff you have to be careful. Kids are kids and it may not be your kid who pushes that dust cover or tweeter in, pains me to see that.
 
Seems like there are a lot of people with cats and turtles offering their opinion. Not really the same as children.

But seriously, while I'm exceedingly happy for all of you who knew all they needed to know about parenting when their first kid was born, there are a lot of different kinds of kids and different kinds of families. I'm still getting the hang of things 8 years in, but I can tell you that not all kids will learn with naught but a stern look from their father.

I love music, but more than that, I love my kids. Extremely trying though they may be, not the least of which is my 8 year old autistic son. I don't have TOTL gear or enough money to build a dedicated audio room. But I have kids instead. I spend most of my money keeping them functioning properly.

We all share the house. The living room, where I get the all too rare moment to listen, is sort of the hub. Anything within reach of the 30 little fingers currently occupying the space will at some point be destroyed. That's not bad parenting, that's a family.

The couches are sticky, there are stains on every porous surface, and the most expensive thing in my house is the vent for the pellet stove. Fancy things will get broken in my house. That's OK. I don't want fancy things. But we've managed to cobble together a livable space where we can all function to the best of our ability, and we occasionally have a nice time doing the things we enjoy.
 
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