Childproofing your system

Congrats. You can probably live for about a year with no issues. It is when they start to walk that problems can start.

I never did anything except tell my boys not to touch. To date they do not touch my system and I have never had any incidents.

Briany Queen of the Jews?

LP12 on a wall mount was all I did.
Like Lontano tell them what is in and out of bounds.

I'll add a third voice to that approach. Explain that 'daddy's toys' are out of bounds and not to touch. I had no problems with either of my two.

Gavin

I have never been a parent who keeps quiet because the baby is asleep. We always acclimatised our kids to normal living - therefore they always got a good dose of loud music when they were asleep. They always did, and still do sleep right through it (although these days it is me going to bed before they do)

Thanks for that, I am sure some good stories will turn up too.

Sounds like if you set ground rules, then they will understand. I have heard the same for not allowing them to sleep in your bed, otherwise they will just get used to it.

Everyone seems to have their own way of parenting, and I hope to take from those who I think have done a good job, which may include trying to get her to go to a Steve Hackett concert at ten?

We have decided on a name, one with a good musical overtone, indeed jazz overtone, Ella. Had it been a boy Thelonious was penciled in as a middle name, probably lucky to be a girl.

Congratulations !!!

This solution has successfully protected me from both of these little monsters.

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL_v2:
We have decided on a name, one with a good musical overtone, indeed jazz overtone, Ella.

We expected our second child to be a girl and had already decided on Ella, oh well, it turned out to be a Dylan.

quote:

Originally posted by MilesSmiles:
Congratulations !!!

This solution has successfully protected me from both of these little monsters.

And I thought it was to keep Mrs MilesSmiles out....

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL_v2:
which may include trying to get her to go to a Steve Hackett concert at ten?

Nine for our youngest! I was playing Please Don't Touch in the car with him at the weekend and told him it was Steve Hackett the guy we went to see. He said "who?" Oh well.

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:

quote:

Originally posted by MilesSmiles:
Congratulations !!!

This solution has successfully protected me from both of these little monsters.

And I thought it was to keep Mrs MilesSmiles out....

It does have its side benefits.

...and don't forget to invest in some nice headphones.

Never had any problems with childproofing hifi personally. A Paddington stare and a firm but loving "No" was pretty much sufficient. We did keep the grilles on the speakers though.

I know some people, though, have found an extending nursery fireguard has given them some peace of mind (but not the most attractive of things).



I'm with Lontano in the acclimatisation strategy. This has worked fine until the teenage years, when the teenagers yell downstairs for dad to turn the music down! (They are now 15, 17 and 19)

We went for the fireguard with seagull jr, I'll be able to tell Mrs S that I wasn't the only one!

For Miss seagull we just said that they were Daddy's toys. She was taught how to play CDs from a young age, we only lost the puck once. She did frighten herself once when she put on a CD after I had been playing a record and I had forgotten to turn the volume down!

The only mishap we had was with a visiting toddler who managed to knock one of my speakers over (he was of epic proportions though) fortunately it didn't fall on anyone and no harm was done other than a slight ding to the veneer (these were my KEF Q5s not my current speakers!)

quote:

Originally posted by seagull:
She did frighten herself once when she put on a CD after I had been playing a record and I had forgotten to turn the volume down!

Playing 'Lemmings' very loud when you had the house to yourself, by any chance?

Thanks for all the suggestions, one thing it did make me think that with one child it is probably fine, but when there is a party, I think the fireguard is probably a good idea.

I also like the idea that with fathers who own Naim gear, the old cliche of parents shouting at their children to 'turn down the music' has been reversed.

Leaving the grilles off my HB1s was a big mistake!

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL_v2:
Sounds like if you set ground rules, then they will understand. I have heard the same for not allowing them to sleep in your bed, otherwise they will just get used to it.

Oh dear you may have some surprises ahead of you. Do you also sometimes look at other people's badly behaved brats and think, "No child of mine would ever behave like that"?

The truth is that you may well end up doing anything you can to get a decent night's sleep. Sadly the brats won't have read the books you have so they don't know how they're supposed to behave.

My first son was a nightmare for the first ten weeks. He literally did not sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time during that period. It was a nightmare. At that stage we decided to put him into his own room and he immediately slept all night, apart from when we woke him up to check he was still breathing. Advice then was to wrap them tight, have them sleep face down, and feed to a routine, not on demand. We now know he was hungry all the time and that's why he was so restless at the beginning.

My second son was a dream for the first fifteen months. We were much more relaxed than first time round and by that time advice was to feed on demand. He would just lie back, gurgle, smile and eat or sleep. Until fifteen months that is when he turned into the child from hell. Suddenly he cried all night and there was no choice but to bring him through. I couldn't sleep with him in bed and for the next fifteen months I was disturbed every single night until eventually I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He teethed late and it looks like it was the pain from his gums that caused it.

They don't come with an owner's manual and you have to solve problems as they arise. People will say just ignore them and if that works great, It doesn't work for everybody. You will almost certainly develop the knack of snatching a half hour kip whenever you can and appreciate the joys of being able to sleep all night. The best things in life are free.

Good luck.

I'll play it by ear. I will certainly have something to cover the front of the hi-fi, even if it ends up only being used for parties.

I have no illusions that my child will be better than others, I am rather surprised by the comments posted that many people have not found it necessary.

Like your experience Tom, as friend had problems with his sons ears, he had to have gromits fitted at one point, and this caused him to behave very badly for a while from his frustration from the pain, and being unable to hear clearly.

Also a little disappointed that there are no good Naim repair stories about equipment sabotaged by children, perhaps it is the adults who do that best.

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL_v2:
I am rather surprised by the comments posted that many people have not found it necessary.

Jamie - it will also depend on the layout of your home. We moved into this house (the one you have been to) when my kids were aged almost 3 and 2 and at their most mischievous. We have always been able to have an "adult" lounge without kids toys etc (here and in Oz), and have another play room for the boys where they could go on a destruction mission. The only time they would have gone into the lounge room with the hi-fi would be when they were in there with me or Jane. They would not be left in that room unsupervised - probably makes a big difference.

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL_v2:
I am rather surprised by the comments posted that many people have not found it necessary.

Jamie - it will also depend on the layout of your home. We moved into this house (the one you have been to) when my kids were aged almost 3 and 2 and at their most mischievous. We have always been able to have an "adult" lounge without kids toys etc (here and in Oz), and have another play room for the boys where they could go on a destruction mission. The only time they would have gone into the lounge room with the hi-fi would be when they were in there with me or Jane. They would not be left in that room unsupervised - probably makes a big difference.

Space permitting, this is really the secret to success.

Space will probably be interesting, no separate room, so best to have some light covers at least.

The living room is pretty big, living in a converted stable (space for 3-4 horses, plus access/storage space) so there will be a lot of play space, but also the temptation of lights which they may discover change if you press them.

We have an all in one room , and still managed to avoid any child actioned disasters.
I think I've caused more damage.

Using the proper "voice' when talking to the kids tells them what is what IMO.

Safety must be an issue with a todler? i.e. tall speakers on stands and the ability to push over?

Big heavy floor standing Tannoy D300's, no great worry there. The covers are on, and will stay there for a few years now I expect.

Probably more of a worry to those on this forum, Nait 3 + D300's, they sound more like a rock PA than hi-fi, or perhaps the sledgehammer approach to hi-fi. I love them. When demoing my CD player the dealer asked if I minded him playing a live Whitesnake guitar solo through them, he got the sound I like completely, although prefer Fripp and Jimmy Page for the solos.

I digress.

quote:

Originally posted by Wazza69:
Safety must be an issue with a todler? i.e. tall speakers on stands and the ability to push over?

Definitely a risk. A while back someone posted here on this issue. There is a company that makes broad bases for speakers that screw to the bottom of the speaker and have extensions that stabilise the speaker. They are sold as sound-enhancing, but would also presumably add a safety margin.



Google "Brass and Granite Audio".

Cheers, Winky.

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL_v2:
Our arrival is due on 25th December, and will be a girl, and so we have decided against 'Brian, King of the Jews' for a name, even though we are both big Monty Python fans. Probably a good thing we are not expecting a boy.

Loretta? or Judith??