Toddler Going Through Banister Spindles

[theweebee]

Help!!! My 21 month old just figured out she can squeeze her whole body (including her head) between the spindles of our upstairs banister! Our house is only 6 years old, and I thought they had building codes nowadays to make sure spindles were close enough so that can't happen, but I guess not...

Any suggestions on what to do? I see the KidSafe website sells a plastic sheet you attach to the spindles. At this point, I can't have her upstairs at all unless she's in her crib or I lock her in a room--she is great at opening our doors and now runs laughing right away from me to go squeeze herself through the banister--was so fast one time tonight that she got halfway through before I caught up to her. So I need help ASAP!!!! Thanks.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Ok, yikes. I have some netting that ties onto spindles, but I dunno if that would do the trick. What about gating her into rooms you're using or using door knob covers inside the room- temporarily?

Having a serious talk with her about it might help, with close monitoring whenever she's around? At that age, I didn't think DD understood a lot, but she really did. Yours probably knows right/wrong, but finds it interesting and sees it get a big reaction.

[MamaMolly]

We are using the netting too but I don't think I'd trust DDs life with it IYKWIM. It is stretchy. I've heard of people putting sheets of plywood up over the railings or using plexiglass if the plywood look is too ugly. Or you could paint the plywood to match your walls? HTH, good luck on this one!

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

That reminds me of our house growing up. It's over 150 years old and the staircase is gorgeous. the stairs go way up and then theres a turn at the landing and then a second set of stairs (we rarely made it to the second set). Not only did my smaller sister squeeze through but we used to climb the whole staircase to the top from the outside. So imagine a 5 year old balancing about 25 feet in the air with just her toes on the molding of the step and the very outside of the stair and holding onto the railing to get to the top to slide down. Tons of fun for us. I really don't know how my mother survived all of us.

While I don't recommend this activity I will say that noone ever fell. Not sure about the barrier,hmmm. What if you just wrapped the spindles in saran wrap, I mean like one continuous wrap from one end of the stairs to the other .? I know it sounds crazy but she won't be able to pass through. It should hold. And it won't put any screw hols in you banister or spindles. You'll need a LOT of it, but it could work.

[o_mom]

Help!!! My 21 month old just figured out she can squeeze her whole body (including her head) between the spindles of our upstairs banister! Our house is only 6 years old, and I thought they had building codes nowadays to make sure spindles were close enough so that can't happen, but I guess not...

Any suggestions on what to do? I see the KidSafe website sells a plastic sheet you attach to the spindles. At this point, I can't have her upstairs at all unless she's in her crib or I lock her in a room--she is great at opening our doors and now runs laughing right away from me to go squeeze herself through the banister--was so fast one time tonight that she got halfway through before I caught up to her. So I need help ASAP!!!! Thanks.

You are correct that they shouldn't be wide enough - they should be like cribs where you can't fit your hand through.

Anyway in our previous house (built in 60's), we had this problem and used plexiglas to put over the railing. I had a babyproofer do it and it was around $125 installed for about 10 feet of railing. We were going to do it ourselves, but DH cracked two sheets of expensive plexi trying to drill holes in it.

If you want to DIY, what he did was get the pieces cut to fit at a custom place, but you could see if there is a close size at Lowes, etc. Then put it up and mark a spindle about 3-6 inches from each end and one in the center if it is long enough. Then you want to drill holes on either side of those spindles about 4 inches from the top and 4 inches from the bottom. Use plastic cable ties threaded through the holes and around the spindles to secure it to the railing. You don't want to get too close to the edges because of cracking. If you can find a drill bit made for plexi, then get it. Make sure you have plenty of support under it when drilling, but it still cracks very easy.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Another thought... is there an area you could gate off down the hall before the spindles start - to keep her away from that area? I've seen babyproofing be done away from the staircase, just where there are two good walls to mount a Hands Free gate, creating a safe area for the toddler to roam on that floor.

[Mikey0709]

We had the same problem! I actually bought that kidsafe plastic - and i have to say it has worked well for us. Our living room is upstairs and there is a metal bannister from the 60's installed. We put a kidco gate at the top of the steps and the plastic the legnth of the railing up to the gate. We have installed the plastic (which is really pretty sturdy) with wire ties and it's not going anywhere. It actually comes with the wire tires and a hole punch - - but we used a drill to put multiple holes where we wanted them. We installed right down to the floor because you could crawl UNDER our railing also. With my husband and i installing it - it is VERY durable and sturdy - no-one can get through it. It made me feel a whole lot better about my kids being anywhere near that railing. (and have had comments from visitors that it was a great idea) We have even replaced it once since the dog leans up against it to look down the doorway all the time and it was getting pretty beat (probably after 9-12 months of the dog beating it - we have a LARGE dog). I wipe it down regularly with windex becuase it does show little fingerprints - but i still love that it's clear and everyone can see through it. Since it's so sturdy i really trust this stuff... i don't think the mesh one would have worked for us AT ALL. The plastic is expensive, but for us it was worth it.... and i even found the replacement roll at a consignment sale still brand new!

[BeachBum]

I think the plexi-glass is a great idea and would be my first choice.

On our second story balcony, we used a small mesh wire instead. We didn't want to block the breeze (like plexi would) but wanted to make sure that DS couldn't climb the decorative parts. It worked well for our situation.

[mominmarch]

I think the saran wrap is a great idea. We have the kind that comes on a big roll that we have used to wrap things that are getting moved in (it is much bigger than Saran wrap, but it is like industrial plastic wrap), such as paintings and mirrors and stuff. I think we might try that when the time comes. Our house is over 100 years old and like a PP, has a staircase that goes up three floors that is all exposed. My 17 month old kid can't fit through the spindles now -- they really are very close together -- but she is just the type of child that I can vividly see trying to climb up the outside of the staircase!~!

[sdbc]

Saran Wrap is a major suffocation hazard in and of itself. I wouldn't recommend going that route!

[Nyfeara]

I was just browsing the One Step Ahead site & saw this:

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=353763&parentCategoryId=85183&categoryId=85215&subCategoryId=86205

We will likely try something like this ourselves, in the near future. We don't have it yet (nor is DS mobile yet), so can't really comment on whether it works or not.

[aa2mama]

We had a problem with our stair railing being a safety hazard, too. Our bannister and spindles are metal, though. We got sheets of plastic lattice and anchored it down with heavy-duty cables like you use to tie cords together. It is quite sturdy, and we haven't had any problems with it. Although with an extreme climber, I could maybe see a kid trying to scale it. We actually get compliments all the time on it. People actually think we did it for decoration!!!

[mominjune]

We just went throught this same issue this week visiting my in-laws. Our 16 mo old DD could literally walk right through the rails! IT was really scary as she kept doing that downstairs at the same railings that separate the kitchen and the family room.

We bought a rail guard at Buy Buy Baby for $39, that was basically a roll of plastic, but very hard plastic more like thin plexiglass than saran wrap. It cam with a hole puncher and self locking ties and was easy to assemble. Not the prettiest thing but definitely did the job. Not sure if my in-laws are going to keep it up until our next semi-annual trip or take it down.

DD would stand at the railings and bang on it and it was fairly loud like banging on a toy drum, since it was so stiff. We were so glad she couldn't step right off the 2nd floor through the rail!

[neeleymartin]

friend of mine went to home depot. they sell the plexi glass much cheaper that the "made for safety" stuff. she had it cut in the store and then drilled holes in the plexi, two at each fastening point. then attached it to the ballister with a heavy duty plastic zip tie(also at the depot). through plexi around ballister back through 2nd hole and fasten. no damage to your ballisters.

worked great for her and was super cheap and easy.

hth, n

[o_mom]

My 17 month old kid can't fit through the spindles now -- they really are very close together -- but she is just the type of child that I can vividly see trying to climb up the outside of the staircase!~!

One thing you need to check (and I never thought of this until DS1 did it) is that they cannot get their body through. Most people check that they can't get their head through, but the bigger danger is that they can get their body through but not their head. DS1 could do this at our old house and it was scary to think what could happen. The spacing should be 4 inches or less between uprights to prevent this from happening.

[lisams]

Just make sure that whatever you put on it, that a child can't dig their foot in and climb it. I'd stick with something smooth and non-pliable like that heavy plastic or plexiglass for areas on the second floor.