How can I babyproof this problem area?

November 7, 2013 11:03 AM

We have a half wall in our living room that borders the staircase and we need to babyproof it.

Photo here -

Our twins are almost a year old and already very mobile, so I foresee the climbing stage coming soon. Of course we will remove anything from that area that they could climb on to reach the top of this wall but we'd rather be safe than sorry. I've had a couple of ideas - spindles that reach the ceiling, glass blocks in a checkerboard pattern (although those are really expensive) - but I don't want anything that looks like bars and it would be great if it could be temporary so we can take it down easily when we're ready to sell our condo. Or if it's unique enough we could keep it up and add some wow factor to the living room. Regardless, we need to do something and fairly soon. All ideas and suggestions are welcome.

posted by Nathanial Hörnblowér to Home & Garden (16 answers total)

How about strong woven blinds with a decorative natural texture? They can look nice and you can sort of see through most of them. You could install and permanently lower them by fixing the bottom to the wall thus creating a barrier.

Then again, based on my what I have been told about my own exploration skills as a toddler, it's probably safest to go with spikes and electric cattle fencing.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 11:22 AM on November 7, 2013 [3 favorites]

I'd probably wait until climbing became an actual issue. Some kids just aren't climbers. Mine isn't. He's a very cautious kid. His cousin that is 10 months younger was scaling anything with a foothold as soon as he could. All kids are different, and before I spent any money or time (because who has spare time with toddler twins!) on renovations, I'd wait to see if there was an actual reason to do them.
posted by chiababe at 11:29 AM on November 7, 2013 [8 favorites]

Maybe a couple tall bookshelves on the left side, where the fall would be longest. You'd want to fasten them to the wall at the bottom so they couldn't be pushed over. They might then try to climb the shelves but that would be a bit more difficult.

If it were me I might get a nice which picket fence and attach it to the wall but then again I'm the sort of guy who wouldn't mind having a white picket fence in the living room.

I might also just wall it off with some studs, drywall, and paint and then tear it out again when the kids are old enough. I'd guess it would take no more than a weekend to do.
posted by bondcliff at 11:31 AM on November 7, 2013

I found the best way to protect my kids from the dangers of stairs was to teach them how to navigate them as soon as they became interested. Really didn't take long, kids learn that stuff very quickly.

Same principle held true for a great many things in the house and the world.
posted by trinity8-director at 11:40 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is the concern that the staircase goes down on the other side of that wall? Because, honestly, I don't think they'll get up there so long as you keep stuff away from the area directly underneath it. It looks like it was about the same height as any baby gate would be (mid-thigh, yes?) so without some way to get a foothold it would be very tough to get up there. (I suppose they could climb on each other?)

The other option would, indeed, be to put some bookcases in front of it, but my experience (I have only one child, but he was a big climber) is that the bookcase is a more tempting target to climb than the wall would be, simply because there is more of a natural space to step on.

So, yes, count me with the folks who say "don't make it an issue until it's an issue".
posted by anastasiav at 11:44 AM on November 7, 2013 [6 favorites]

You could install turned spindles from the top of the half wall to the ceiling.
posted by Ideefixe at 11:58 AM on November 7, 2013

We had a very similar set-up (@1977 house, I presume?) and we set up the TV on a credenza type stand, cattycorner and obstructing part of the knee wall. It didn't keep the cats off, but the littlest Darling never showed any interest in climbing. You could also get bookcases or those toy bin holder units that are slightly higher and position them in front.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 12:00 PM on November 7, 2013

I wouldn't put anything low in front of the half wall that enables them to stand on it and look/lean/crawl over. For that reason, I'd shy away from bookcases. Only one time (so far) has my daughter (now almost 3) tried to climb a bookcase which was during an exciting 26-month-old, rattle-the-walls tantrum. I freaked out so loudly at her that I think she gets that bookcases will, at the least, cause her mama to go to 11 instantly. At a young age, she was a climber but now she seems less interested, now that she has some inkling of self-preservation. So, I agree with wait and see and behavior policing.

Anything that you put on that half wall that isn't structurally sound, like bolted or attached in a structural way makes me nervous that if they did climb up to it there's this false sense of security. Kind of like, a screen in a window won't actually prevent a child from falling out of a window though some people think that it will. It only might. And even temporary stuff can mar and leave marks.

Check out the Redi-screens at Crestview Doors for a really attractive solution. They can be custom ordered any size and then you could work with a contractor to integrate it solidly into your rail and ceiling. May require a little extra bracing in your ceiling or drop a soffit down to catch the top. You might do two or three panels side by side or just at the "highest" end. Integrate it with your crown-moulding and you have something beautiful that is a net-positive for your condo and improves the resale. You could also work with a local craftsperson to make a screen that fits your aesthetic.
posted by amanda at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

I can see why you would be nervous, I imagine that's a long drop on the other side. Sometimes you don't find out your kid is a climber until they're already doing something scary (like when I found my 2nd child 12 feet up on an adult fitness climbing frame at a park).

I like hairy lobster's idea of the blinds, if you fix them very well at the bottom. I imagine that not blocking the light to the staircase would be good. If you google for decorative screens, you might find something you could mount to the top of the wall and the ceiling, to create a pleasant looking barrier that lets light through.
posted by Joh at 1:23 PM on November 7, 2013

Could you put some plants in front of it? Maybe an indoor green wall or just some tall potted plants.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:42 PM on November 7, 2013

Response by poster: Yes, my concern is that they will crawl over the top and fall down the stairs on the other side. We can keep large things away from that area but I've known kids who can push their toy chests around the room in order to climb on top of them to get to higher areas. Of course we don't know if our kids will be climbers but I'd at least like to have an idea of what to do so we can do it when needed, rather than scramble around for something quickly when we realize they can get up there.

The Redi-screens look nice, that's a good possibility depending on cost. We're in a two bedroom condo and hope to move in another year or so, so if we can do something somewhat low cost that would be ideal. Spindles would be easy and inexpensive but I'm concerned it would look like bars.
posted by Nathanial Hörnblowér at 3:22 PM on November 7, 2013

My (now 23 year old ) son would have taken any and every opportunity to dance on that half-wall. First, remember to never, ever, EVER put anything near it (like that walker or bouncer in the picture). Spindles or... something... are in order. Good luck.
posted by brownrd at 4:57 PM on November 7, 2013

Response by poster: Brownrd, they aren't walking or climbing yet, but yes, as soon as they show the first interest we are moving the exersaucer.
posted by Nathanial Hörnblowér at 6:41 PM on November 7, 2013

I have twin nieces - age 15 months - that are fantastic at helping each other climb. If that were my house, I think I'd be choosing something that there's no way they could break / knock down / climb over. And I *would* do something, long before they were capable. Out of my four kids, I only had one that was a frequent climber, but the others all had their moments, and with a setup like that, it'd only take once.

As for spindles - or whatever you choose - decorate them. That'd help to make it look less cage-like. I'd be tempted to suggest lattice, but I don't know enough to know if it's strong enough. Or some built-in, narrow shelving, for standing picture frames or dvds?
posted by stormyteal at 11:08 PM on November 7, 2013

One simple solution would be to simply put an angled "roof" on the ledge, eliminating its attractiveness for objects and most climbing/sitting. You could do this cheaply with some (sanded) lumber (optionally painted white), or you could have a finish carpenter give you chamfered joins for a more polished look, all designed to be removable via countersunk screws at the right age.
posted by dhartung at 11:43 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

So, I don't know where they got it or what to call it, but when my parents were on Trading Spaces Family, the decorator in their house used some sort of faux wrought iron thing spray painted white on top of a half wall to make it resemble an old New Orleans balcony. It was about four feet square. Something like that, combined with spindles, seems right up your alley. I'll see if I can find a picture of it when I'm not on my phone. (Although I'll note that you may never find something that would prevent them from getting up there in the first place - our almost three year old stands on the window sills, and they're about 3/4 of an inch deep.)
posted by linettasky at 12:10 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]