My husband and I found a nice, affordable house in a good school district. It has banister rails on the second floor that overlook the first floor. I didn't think to measure the height, but I would say they are about standard. They are a tiny bit rickety, and we are willing to replace them right away if we buy the house. But I am wondering if banisters are too dangerous altogether for small children. I have one son now and he is never out of my sight for more than a few seconds, but I guess you can't keep your eyes on them forever. Are banisters a good reason to pass up on an otherwise perfect house? I also have a cat.
I just wanted to add... I am not worried about heads sticking through the spindles. It was actually my husband who suggested the kids might pull up chairs to climb over. I know you need to teach kids to stay away. But I looked up the same question on google and I found a yahoo answers site in which every single respondent said that a house with banisters wasn't worth the risk. But thanks for the reassurance. I actually don't think it's an issue, but I am never going to hear the end of freaking out from my mom when she learns about them.
There are the shields for banisters that have a wider spacing in the spindles, so kids don't get their heads or other body parts stuck. Definitely replace or repair them if they aren't solidly attached. And don't put anything kiddo could climb on in front of them.
You should be good if you do all that.
I had a town home when my boys were around 3 and 2, it had stairs and a banister.
I just trained them not to mess around, showed em things dropping off of it and such, they got the hint.
I had a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs as a reminder to them not to use the stairs without mom.
Never had a prob.
Everything can be dangerous to a little boy--So you just have to be observant. We have a log house with a cat walk that goes from one end of the 2nd story loft to the other side. Double sided banisters for 30 feet. When our kids were babies were installed a black net on them to keep from falling through, and now that my kids are older I just have to keep an eye on them, to make sure they don't climb on them (they like to dangle strings/ropes from them to "catch" stuff). I worry more about what they come up with next. I caught my two boys (6 and 8) trying to get a rope over our beams near the ceiling so they could play tarzan! So, in my opinion it isn't the house but the boys that are dangerous:)
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of course not.
you do whatever you need to do to make the bannisters safe.
it's not like it's a foundation issue or mold or anything.
it's a simple construction fix.
khairete
S.
We've had banisters in all of our homes and friends homes. The only baby proofing we do is the outlet covers. We teach our kids to be careful and teach them how to function in our world rather than not teaching them to be capable. Our 13 month old can climb safety upstairs, but hasn't tried to climb down backwards or at all, really. He will turn around and scoot off of things backwards. My SIL asked me for a safety gate for our stairs when her son was 3. I was like, what????? teach him stair safety. Our kids are also excellent swimmers and can survival float. I'd rather have our kids know how to be safe in ANY environment, than to coddle them in a few environments.
Feel free to change the banister, but really....just teach him to be safe.
If I had a house with stairs, I'd rather have banisters than not have them!
You make sure the spaces between the rails are close enough that a little head or even hand can't get stuck in them. You make sure the banisters are sturdy (which is what you're thinking about now). You can even "net" the railings so nobody can drop things from upstairs to downstairs. And you teach your children how to use the stairs and the banisters. If your child isn't old enough for that, you install a baby gate at the top and at the bottom. Once children know how to walk, they'll want to try using the steps, and you'll teach them. You'll make a rule that "we don't do steps without Mama or Daddy" for a while.
You might think of carpeting the steps, at least in part, if they aren't already.
When you mother sees the protective measures you're taking about this, she won't be as worried.
My in laws just replaced their banister, and the spindles are much closer then the old ones. My son couldn't pray to fit through them. I'd say they are as close together as a crib. With that said, they make netting and shields for banisters, as well. It's a good idea to teach them to not use the stairs without you, and to invest in a really strong baby gate. Oh, yes...I agree with below. Don't put anything in front, that they could climb on. I wouldn't even worry about the cat, they can take care of themselves :)
I would never pass over a nice home in a good district, because of banisters!!
They have childproofing kits (nets or clear plastic panels) that work quite well for railings and bannisters.
We had an iron railing that our son could climb through till he was about 3 (we kept the nets up a long time) and besides keeping child safe, it kept balls and other toys from going down the stair well most of the time.
You just teach your child to not play with them.... same as you teach your child not to run in the street, not to swim alone, not to play with matches... get my point..
You can place protective shields around them. We have 20+ ft ceiling and a bannister overloooking the foyer. It is in the library area where daughter has never played, etc. It is simply a library area.
No parent can watch a child 24/7. You do the best you can to protect your child but sometimes accidents happen... falling off a bike, etc.
I would not pass up an otherwise perfect house because of a bannister. The pros of the good neighborhood and good school outweighs the cons in my opinion.
No, you put up a safety gate or net and teach your child how to behave. We have open iron railings on our stairs and blocked it with an ugly but serviceable net and blocked the top of the stairs with a gate so she's stuck in the main living area.
You can modify or replace banisters. A good school, good neighborhood and affordability are much bigger deals.
Do you mean the spokes on the stairs under the banister? Those can be dangerous if they're wide enough to fit a head through. They're not made like that any more. Even my house, which was built in 1924, has banisters where you can barely fit your upper arm through. It's stairs that are more dangerous, but are you going to avoid buying a house with stairs? Instead you have to childproof the staircase and buy your perfect house.
There is an easy solution. My neighbor has a beautiful house with banisters looking down to the front door at the foyer. She has 3 little grandkids who visit often. Because she didn't want to have to worry about the stairs or the banisters, she had a company install a custom gate at the top of the stairs, at the bottom of the stairs, and plexiglass where the spindles are. You barely notice the plexiglass - it is really well done!
The older child doesn't need this anymore, but there's another grandchild on the way, so she will leave these up for several more years. Having it done custom will ensure that it fits perfectly, won't pinch little fingers, and will look good. I highly recommend that.
If you look at the cost versus a few ER visits, you will know that this really is affordable.
For the rest of a house, just babyproof as much as you can and do your best not to worry too much!
Dawn
We have bannisters and have not had a problem with this. And my 2.5 yo is extra active, curious, and mischievous. If she hasn't had a problem with it, most kiddos wouldn't.
I wouldn't pass on 'The Perfect House' just b/c it had banisters but do be careful with them...my daughter fell through our banisters onto the front entry way when she was about 2y/o...she was fine, Thank Goodness... but boy was that scary!
I think if you replace them and maybe look into those clear shields which will prevent fall-through, it should be fine.
No, banisters are not dangerous. Not anymore dangerous than stairs.
Put up gates where you need to, but I wouldn't go overboard on construction or plexiglass. They're going to grow out of their curiosity for climbing over things like that, as long as you teach them no to do it.
I wouldn't see this being an issue for my own daughters (8 and 5) because they are scared of everything. They'd be more scared than me! lol! If you have a particularly adventurous little one, I'd just have very sturdy banisters professionally installed, and install a gate so they can't climb on the stairs when you're not aware of it.
No, banisters are not dangerous. I understand you are overprotective of your son. I get it. But if you think that banisters are dangerous - you are going to see everything as a potential hazard for your child - is everything a potential hazard? who knows!!
No. I would NOT pass up a "perfect" house because of the banisters. You can replace them yourself. You can find out through the house inspection if they meet the standards - and if not - the seller can be made to fix or replace them.
And it's the not height you need to worry about - it's the distance between the spindles...kids LOVE to stick their heads through things!!! :) No, I didn't say that to make you panic or give you an anxiety attack. Kids do the darnedest things!! There will be some that throw you for a loop and wonder "how did they do that" and others where yeah, you are madder than a cat on a hot tin roof, but then later laugh about it.
Look at the house as a whole!! If it's RIGHT for you?!! GO FOR IT!!!
