Kids with a stove

[Tx_300wsm]

Hey y’all

My SO 8 person tipi and stove came in a couple weeks ago and we are looking at taking our 2yo on her first camping trip. For those that have done it, do y’all have any safety tips to keep kids from getting too close to the stove?

My thought was some type of foldable fence type material that we could place around it but that would still allow access to stoke the fire. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tx_300wsm]

Obviously not talking a 6ft fence. I was more thinking of using a length of chicken wire that was just a few inches outside the stove.

 

[Trial153]

Nothing like burned hand or face of two year old against TI stove in a 100 Sqf tent to be a learning experience.

 

[archp625]

I'm interested in what others have done as well. I have a three year old and it makes me nervous to use my stove this spring with him. It doesn't make me nervous while he falls asleep and may roll over.

 

[swehrman]

I stack wood around my stove to prevent my youngsters from rolling on to it when they're sleeping.

-- Scott

 

[Lurch12]

Stack wood around in. I had my 2 year old around mine last weekend. Once I showed him that there is fire inside it he just says dadda hot and stays away.
We burn a wood burner in our game room all winter long. I do have a gate around it but he could reach it if he wanted. He always just says hot and stays away.. never had an issue with it.

 

[archp625]

I stack wood around my stove to prevent my youngsters from rolling on to it when they're sleeping.

-- Scott

Excellent advice. Thanks.

 

[archp625]

Stack wood around in. I had my 2 year old around mine last weekend. Once I showed him that there is fire inside it he just says dadda hot and stays away.
We burn a wood burner in our game room all winter long. I do have a gate around it but he could reach it if he wanted. He always just says hot and stays away.. never had an issue with it.

Your approach is excellent as well You take to them about it and them add some safe guards.

 

[Tx_300wsm]

Thanks y’all. I think I’ll try stacking the firewood around it. Ideally she’d listen when we said no, but we are still working on that. I’m sure sure she would learn after touching a hot stove, but I would rather avoid that if possible. Obviously an inherent risk, but trying to mitigate that if we can.

 

[goathunter]

I was going to fence off my barrel stove in my wall tent but never ended up taking the kids. I too have collapsible fence. Our kids are around campfires and home stoves but tents are more crowded. Stove surfaces get extremely hot touching or a stumble into that could be an ER trip in the least. The guy saying stove proof your kid obviously does not have kids and that's a jackass thing to say. Good question.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

I had a great uncle that fell into a wood stove face first when he was a kid. It was an old cast iron stove with ornamental roses on the door, that must have happened 60 years before I ever met him but he still had a rose branded on his face. Don't think he played around the stove too much after that but not the best way to learn a lesson even in the comfort of your own home let alone in the backcountry. Rock perimeter would be my choice, the rocks will retain and radiate some extra heat as well.

 

[Packin_packout]

I had no issues with stove and the kids but I made it rather clear to them that if they got near it they would burned but mine started at 4. The thing I ran into was having them get up to wander outside and take a piss at 2am after having drunk way too much hot chocolate. They do that without a headlamp on it can turn into a mess. Started mine out camping around 4 or 5 and the youngest one wanted to get a little further away to take a whiz on a tree. No moon...he started squawking when he could not find his way back and luckily I heard him and got up. I got in the habit of hanging small light outside next to tipi so they could always see it at night if they went out. Just things we take for granted as an adult. Especially when you have a sleepy kid...

Other thing is attach a glow stick to the back of their jacket...nothing like one trying to sneak off to go play by himself. Had a group of six dad's with kids for a campout and with mixed ages the younger ones can get left behind by the older ones.

Hopefully they take to the outdoors. Have fun with them!

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

I had a big wood stove in a 14x16 wall tent this past spring with a 1 year old and a 3 year old. Taught them not to touch it and not to play around it. Wasn't a problem 2 weekends in a row.

 

[Formidilosus]

The guy saying stove proof your kid obviously does not have kids and that's a jackass thing to say. Good question.

Actually, that’s exactly how children learn. That’s exactly how the young of every single mammal learns.

 

[Formidilosus]

Hey y’all

My SO 8 person tipi and stove came in a couple weeks ago and we are looking at taking our 2yo on her first camping trip. For those that have done it, do y’all have any safety tips to keep kids from getting too close to the stove?

My thought was some type of foldable fence type material that we could place around it but that would still allow access to stoke the fire. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Stacking wood around it so they don’t roll over on it at night is a good idea. Making a fence so they don’t touch it purposely is a bad idea. No matter what you do they will get through it and then the damage can be serious.
Teaching them not to touch it, is a much better path and does not have to be injurious.

 

[cjdewese]

I don't have a stove in a tent but we burn wood all winter as our only source of heat. Both my boys learned "hot" at an early age and have had no issues. You can even take their hand, gently and show them that it's hot. Don't need to touch their hands to the stove but they can feel the heat and see that you are serious it tends to work pretty good.

Outside of that try to keep the area around your stove clear or your tent fairly clean so that there aren't any tripping hazards to keep accidents from happening.

 

[goathunter]

Actually, that’s exactly how children learn. That’s exactly how the young of every single mammal learns.

It's not what was said but how it was said that struck me to respond. A fence may be overkill but falling into a hot stove inside a tipi is not the way I'd choose for a 2 year old to learn either. All other responses have been reasonable and good advice

 

[nitrobro2]

All good suggestions here. I would add to bring burn jel. I swear by it and have given my close friends pre-soaked burn dressings for their first aid kits. I had some in my FA kit when car camping and used a dressing when my daughter fell next to a fire ring and burned her arm on the ring. Scary, but no scar. I'm sure you'll do fine and never need it, but I was sure happy to have. I'll add that I hate sparklers now that I'm a parent!

 

[black dawg]

Actually, that’s exactly how children learn. That’s exactly how the young of every single mammal learns.

I have always had them touch the stove with a finger when it feels pretty hot to my finger, but not to the point of causing a burn. It always feels much hotter to them, and they will stay well clear of the stove. As far as accidentally falling onto it, that is always a concern, and when they know how hot it is they will be extra careful around it. I would definitely do something to keep them from somehow getting close to it while sleeping.

 

[Formidilosus]

I have always had them touch the stove with a finger when it feels pretty hot to my finger, but not to the point of causing a burn. It always feels much hotter to them, and they will stay well clear of the stove. As far as accidentally falling onto it, that is always a concern, and when they know how hot it is they will be extra careful around it. I would definitely do something to keep them from somehow getting close to it while sleeping.

This is exactly correct. Hiding or removing the potential source of danger, does not reduce the likelihood of that danger. It increases it. A controlled introduction into consequences creates an understanding of the issue at a sub conscious level.

Point in fact, if you want children to be safe- you do not childproof your house, you house proof your child.