A fireplace comes in handy in fending off the cold and keeping your home warm especially during winter and at night. Whether your fireplace relies on coal or wood to emit heat, it will still leave your scared stiff if you have a toddler in the house. The primary goal of every parent is to keep their baby safe. Proper precaution measures should be put in place by every fireplace owner to ensure the safety of their toddlers.
How to baby proof your fireplace
You can secure your fireplace by pulling a “do it yourself” move:
Wire mesh
A piece of wire mesh which is just big enough to fully cover the entrance of your fireplace can be handy in ensuring that your kid does not crawl or trot right into the fire. Putting a wire mesh in place will not affect the amount of warmth produced by your fireplace. You can also get a wire mesh on your way home in your nearest hardware shop. All you need is a couple of dollars and the right measurements. However, this DIY is only effective for short-term use and an unattended to a kid can touch it and suffer burns or pull it away and gain access to the fireplace.
There are other more reliable means of protecting your kid from sauntering into the fireplace:
1.Baby gate
This is a meter-high structure which you put up to secure your fireplace. It is made up of co-joined bars which your toddlers can’t squeeze themselves through. It usually secures your fireplace from end to end like a fence leaving no space for your kid to get to the fire. A baby gate has to be firm to ensure that the kid doesn’t pull it down or lean on it and hence fall towards the fire. It also has to be a sizeable distance from the fire because the kid can put its hand through.
2. The play yard
Appears like a cage but its more of a pen designed to confine your baby and keep them away from the fireplace. It is made of bars, mostly firm metallic bars made up to create a fence like enclosure. Your kid can comfortably play in this play yard while you go about other activities. It also restricts them from wandering all over the house. Always ensure this play yard is closed since your kid can exit and head towards the fireplace. There are however mobile play yard structures which double as baby gates. They are easy to fold into either structure as you please to serve as either a baby gate or a play yard. They can also be used to secure the baby in other places like outdoors, from the stairs and machines.
3.The fireplace screen
This is an enclosure that stretches all around the fireplace. It bears a screen which is embedded on the wall to prevent it from falling off. It, however, leaves a small securable entrance which you can open add more fuel to the fireplace. It protects your baby from burns as they roam around the house. The baby gate that could accomplish the job is “The 3-in-1 super yard metal gate” which a multipurpose pen. It can firmly secure the fireplace as well as confide your toddler in play yard if you so, please. It is collapsible can be used to block hallways and doors.
The safety of your child is paramount and as you ensure that they don’t get into the fire, also have in mind that fireplaces do produce carbon dioxide. The amounts produced can be unsafe to your kid and pose an imminent danger and lead to nausea, vomiting, headache and sometimes suffocation to death. It is prudent to install a carbon dioxide alarm and keep windows and vents open whenever the fireplace is open.
A fireplace will provide your household with much-needed warmth. If your fireplace is wood, coal or gas fueled, you will need to devise ways of ensuring that the dazzling flames don’t attract your child. You can secure this fire using a wire mesh, which is less effective or the more convenient means of if a baby gate, play yard or the fireplace screen. Either way, the unsafety of your kid does not entirely lie on burn but also the poisonous carbon dioxide gas produced by burning fuel. A responsible parent will secure their kid from the fire and also from the gas by keeping vents open as well as have a carbon dioxide alarm in place.