fireplace concerns w/new baby

[blunt]

Congrats on the kid! Both my 2 children have been been bought up in a 'firewood' heated environment although my son spent the first 18 months in our old house which was heated with a gas fire. And you know what, he got every bloody illness known to kids in that first 18months. Since moving to my current house with a woodburner (been here 8 years now) never had any major illness's except the standard kiddie sniffles.

 

[wampum]

When we got our 1st woodstove back in 74 we didn't have any kids.In 6 years we had 4 My only concern was them falling against the stove and getting burnt.They stayed away from the stove because it was hot,but accidents can happen.I had a wrought iron fence built arond the stove with a gate that latched.It looked good and We never had any of ours or visiting kids burnt.When the youngest one got to be around 7 or 8 we took it out.The kids even hung their Christmas stockings on the fence.

 

[rxe]

Mine are 2 1/2 and 5, and they're just fine with woodstoves. There is a fair amount of evidence that open fires are good for health, because they draw air through the house. I'd agree with the warnings about CO, especially in a basement - get a couple of detectors.

As for guards, we've just taken ours off - both kids are well aware that they should never touch the stove, and the stoves aren't in rooms that they play in.

Kids who have been around stoves are pretty smart anyway. I was told off by the 2 1/2 year old last week for leaving the matches where he could reach them.

 

[cruzer]

We have a 2 month old and 13month old and i have been running both the fire place and the wood stove with no ill effects to either of them.

I have a CO detector near the wood stove and a Smoke detector.

Stew

 

[AngelofDarkness]

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't humans have fires in caves millions of years ago? And obviously there were children back then too. If wood smoke and smells were so harmful to children, do you think humans would have lasted this long?