A fireplace is sometimes probably the unofficial center of the house. People often get drawn by its warm ambiance as it rekindles the cordiality of everyone. That is why it is often the convening place for the get-togethers that happen from time to time. But albeit the positive warm assets of a fireplace, is an impending danger it poses. These fiery portions of the house are also eye-candies to your beloved toddlers in the light of their curiosity to explore every inch of the wonder it installs in their minds. This is actually a common concern that everyone wishes to address. How do you exactly “baby-proof”indoor fireplaces?

First of all, we shouldn’t be blaming our babies for ever getting near the fireplace. Pretty sure, they still do not know so far that a fire burns as much as an ice freezes. And like all babies, they are very enthusiastic to find that out. It is our job then to thwart and protect them from the occasional hazards of discovery. Apart from getting scorched, there are also other different baby-related concerns a fireplace invokes. For example, child concussions derived from fireplace’s hearth’s sharp edges, getting toppled by log racks, cinder-ash inhalation and what not.

There are a several potential ways and tips to baby-proof your indoor fireplace and here are some of them.
1. Put your fireplace tools out of reach –your fireplace tools could be sharp and potentially harmful to your kids if instances like it get knocked over them. We really don’t want that to happen anytime. A helpful tip to this is to keep these tools into places that are far and out of your children’s reach. Putting them on secure high places like on wall cabinets perhaps or the topmost shelf of your cupboard would be good hiding places for these items.
2. Fireplace Gates –the installation of this gate is customized accordingly to the fit of your fireplace’s hearth. Moreover, this gate is composed of materials that will stand up to the heat when your fireplace is lit so it wouldn’t be a problem having it installed. It will protect your children from ever getting anywhere near places within the fireplace that might burn.
3. Lock the Doors –after the gate’s installation, it is imperative to always keep them locked before and after the fireplace is lit or at all times when the fireplace is not in use. It prevents the kids from getting into the furnace.
4. Hide Flammable Items from Line of Vision –Apart from the fact that there will be a potent danger of accidental combustion; these items are also very toxic. An intake of these items may lead your children in harm’s way, even yourself. So make sure you keep them away from your kids’ line of vision in order to not entice them to touch out of their curiosity. Constructing or purchasing a locked compartment for these items can be helpful.
5. Soften Hard Edges in your Fireplace –Dangers in fireplaces doesn’t only come when it’s in heat, often they just stay-put there waiting for you to bump on them. And we don’t want our kids to indulge the wait. Sharp edges of bricks in your hearth may cause concussion or worse to anyone who will take a hard hit on them, especially kids. It would help to smooth these edges to dull so that it won’t concuss.
6. The Jedi Sight –Or the “All-Seeing-Eye” -this practically means you assume every perspective to a given condition or situation. In this case to see through your kid’s eyes or point of view. This is a very helpful tip in identifying anything that might pose threat to your kid. You can then take notes of anything you find out to be dangerous and eventually, put them out to a safe place.