It's all over now, baby blue. Or is it not?

Some of my best memories were holding my boys on my lap while they listened to music with me. Once the pre-teen years hit, our music tastes diverged. I just stayed away from tube power amps to avoid any hazards, but they knew and understood to not touch- something young visitors seemed to not understand at times.

A leash and a muzzle?

Growing up in the 60's/70's I had three brothers and a sister. My mom and dad were always into music and we had several tube stereos and a large console set with the turntable, radio and speakers built into a beautiful furniture cabinet with tweed grill cloth covering the speakers. You could see the orange glow from the tubes in the dark and a warm comforting sound.

Every Sunday after church while Mom was making dinner Dad would be spinning Big Band~(Dorsey, Miller, Cugat, Kaye, Lombardo, Cunniff, Sinatra, Como, Basie, Ellington, 101 Strings.)

We never messed with the stereos. We knew it was something important and should be respected. Neither my Mom or Dad told us to "like" music. They did,~ and we got use to it as a normal part of family life. (There were only three TV channels back then!)... When we wanted to listen Mom or Dad would put on the record and push play.

When we each were old enough my parents bought us boys our own record player and my sister got one for her a her girlfriends to listen to. (Bobby Sherman, Hermans Hermits, Monkees, Dave Clark Five.) The boys listened to Rascals, Turtles, Yardbirds, Beatles, Stones, Hendrix.

Don't make a big deal out of it and let the child know that the stereo system is one of your toys and that you want him/her to enjoy and respect it for it gives you a lot of pleasure. Set boundaries and you will be fine. Hopefully you will share this passion/hobby with them for many years to come.

I am really missing my DAD right about now.......

Wait it out and see how it goes. My first never looked at my stereo once. My second made a bee line right for it as soon as he started walking. So I just went downstairs and turned off the stereo breaker and my rig sat there for 15 years or so without being played.

All my gear was along one short wall of a family room with the speakers a few feet in front of the wall. I set up a fence with a gate across the entire wall in front of the speakers -- all the off-limits equipment was behind the fence and out of reach. We could listen to music and I never had to worry if my child (or, more importantly, friends while on a play date) was/were about to hurt themselves or the equipment. The fence and gate came down eventually.

I found the fence/gate at a baby-proofing site. The product was originally intended as a fireplace gate. Here's an example: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=538171&parentCategoryId=85183&categoryId=85217. I guess there isn't a market for "audiophile gates."

Congrats on the family. You'll be amazed how much kids love music if you can find some way to have both in the same room.