Babyproofing Stand-mounted speakers

Dan I know you meant no harm, but with all due respect, some of us ARE contending with bigger issues. Issues that prohibit the expectations that you take for granted. Issues that are increasing at an alarming rate. And here's the important part, issues that usually aren't discovered untill after the age of two years. Even my most guarded attempts have not saved my child from some misfortunate accidents. Even if one is dealing with typical children, I honestly believe that a child should be within arms reach in the face of potential hazards or remove the hazard. It is my own opinion that it is unfair and cavalier to expect reliabilty during the learning stages. Pardon me if I prefer to err on the side of safety, I was only trying to save others the misfortune of dealing with a preventable accident. With that said, I do sincerely wish you and your family as well as all fellow Audiogoner's and their families health and happiness.

Small children and complex audio systems do not mix. Once a child attains a certain level of mobility, their natural inclination is to poke, grab at, slobber on, pull at, bite, etc. It's not a question of good/bad parenting. In most interactions between a child and an audio system it is the system that will sustain the damage. However, given the sharp edges, high heat and heavy weight inherent in most audiophile designs, there is always the potential for injury to the child. The solution is to prevent the child from having access to audio system. It maybe inconvenient, but it is foolproof.

It's simple enough to change a system to be child proof. Use midgrade or already cosmetically trashed electronics, a locking sealed cabinet with mesh airflow and floorstanding speakers with trashed or replaceable cosmetics (like vandersteens).

Kids and phono cartridges, exposed tubes or tippy speakers don't mix at all. Wait, didn't I own that stuff myself when I was a kid ? Hmmm...

Thanks for all of your responses. I am going to take a combination approach of filling the stands and moving them to a safer location when not in use.

Sounds like a reasonable solution.