Baby guards - corner tv unit

[CrackedNipplesSuchFun]

Please can you give me some tips and advice.

I have a 10 month old boy who is now pulling himself up and crusing left right and centre, which is fantastic but he is obsessed with the tv unit and all that is on and in it. It is a low corner tv unit and at the moment I just smother it with cushions to distract (cushion head should he fall, which he does). I know full well that he won't be fooled this easily for long and as such am looking for a guard of types to section this off.

I have heard of the baby playpens that are hexagonal and can also be opened out. I've looked online and all I can find is extrememly expensive ones. That said I am crap at searching the Internet so it could just be me!

If anyone has any recommendations of a guard that is fairly inexpensive and can do what I need it to do that would be fantastic. Also any other suggestions as opposed to the hexagonal guard, both DIY ideas or other items I could purchase would be so appreciated.

Thank you.

I think the expensive ones you've seen are by Babydan. I'm sure i read somewhere on here very recently that they may be available at asda as part of their baby event loads cheaper than the normal price. We had to get one to screen off a massive open fire place (had dreams about baby disappearing up chimney!) - would definitely recommend but they have to be fixed to the wall and the bars may make your tv viewing a bit stripey!

There are a few cheaper alternatives. You can get a false front for videos and dvd players to stop dcs shoving things in. If they are on a shelf you can also use luggage straps to stop the boxes being pulled off - not beautiful, but hey. Can also use get a strap that attaches to the back of a flat screen tv to stop them pulling that over. We also just turn everything off at the socket so that if buttons do get pushed they can't wipe all your channels.

If you haven't already have a look at safetots website. Good luck - i do sympathise!

I will defiantly look into Asda. I haven't looked on the safetots website either, so will definitely look at that too.

Thank you for responding and sympathies - they are little buggers aren't they, albeit incredibly entertaining ones!

Defiantly - dam my lack of spelling skills and auto-correct... Definitely not defiantly!

I got that one of those hexagonal babydan playpens off eBay - it still wasn't cheap but it was half the price of a new one. It came with a tent thing and now is currently having a revival as a wendy house. Ikea do really cute and cheap rubber corners to put on furniture to protect heads when falling (I'm sure you can get them elsewhere too). Can you move most of the stuff on the unit upwards for a little bit? Or at least until they begin to understand what they are not allowed to touch (yeah right )

Thank you ipanicked', they always want to touch and play with everything that they are not meant too! I can remember when he used to stay in the same spot and not move much and I'd be saying to DH "I can't wait for him to be mobile, will be so nice for him"... Ummm, regretting that statement! It IS lovely that he has his bit of independence but bugger me the hard work has ramped up no end! He's become a danger baby over night it seems.

Good idea about putting things up out of the way and I think that's what we are going to have to do if we cant find anything of a reasonable priced nature. It does make me laugh as it already feels like us adults live in the upper half of each room (iykwim)... Whilst waist height down is bare with only toys and cushions, oh and a rather nervous cat (best crawling / walking aid ever!).

Yes it was me who mentioned the babydan adds offer as I'm saving for it myself!
Baby event starts on 23rd April and it'll be £60 when it's usually £70.
I've looked on eBay too but there's always loads of competition and I don't have the patience to definitely win things!
It seems resale values are high though (over half of rrp) so I'll buy new then sell on when done with it.
Good luck with the baby proofing, it is my new task too

Thank you for the info TinyD. Good luck with the baby proofing too!

Umm, it may be worth considering whether it's worth the bother and expense. I don't know anyone who's fenced off the tv or the fireplace and all our babies are just fine. If you place something out of reach you just make them obsessed with it - also 10 months is plenty old enough to know what 'NO' means. That plus distraction generally works.

You are onto something there Octavia. I was so relieved that ds could no longer crawl into the fireplace when we put up the babydan guard, but now he is obsessed with getting all the other stuff I squirrelled behind it thinking that would fox him. I did feel it was necessary to fence it off though - it's a big open fireplace with pokers, logs, firedogs and godknowswhat, and a baby who is half whippet - too many near misses.

I put all the fire-having stuff in the shed during the summer when we're not having fires. I find that when we are having them it gets too hot for them to venture anywhere near it - children are far more sensitive to heat than adults and they can't get within feet of it.

Octavian that is a good point of view to be fair. I have that type of attitude with many things, teach him as opposed to block it off. But its the DH that has the main issue with the area being unguarded!

I am going to have a lot at getting something but I am setting a price limit on it and if I can't something then DH will eith have to put it out of the way - I don't much care for his PS3 lol or he can just aid me in teaching him no.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I really do appreciate it.

We just put a couple of cheap ikea wooden toy boxes in front of the TV so they couldn't reach it and by the time they were capable of climbing over they were old enough to understand they weren't allowed to. Worked for all 3 of ours and many years later we are still using the toy boxes too.

flaime, also a very good idea too and v inexpensive, I like it! Thank you.