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We looked at a house and really liked it except my concern over the two story staircase. The second floor opens up and hanging above the first floor living space, and there is a staircase railing made of metal. The second floor looks nice and airy because it opens up to the rest of the house, however what if my daughter (6) decided to climb the railing?? I know she might not, but what if her friends especially boys come to play and get crazy?
Do I worry too much ?(I noticed I don't like height)
I'm always fascinated by that train of thought often expressed on that TV show House Hunters and often wonder how children have survived prior generations where such "child safety" issues weren't addressed. Interestingly enough family pets like dogs and cats have managed to not kill or seriously maim themselves in similar situations and one would like to think the hopefully somewhat more intelligent children can figure it out too.
It would concern me too. You'd hope a six year old would be smart enough not to do this, but honestly with kids you just never know what can pop into their heads. IMO it's better to eliminate places where one stupid decision on their part can lead to severe injury or death. My dad climbed on the roof of their house once when he was 8 or 9 to see how far away he can see, could've killed himself if he fell off. My mom remembers how the kids in their neighbourhood were jumping off a shed roof with umbrellas, thinking they would act as parachutes; one girl broke her leg, could've been much worse. Kids can be silly, that's why they're kids. I mean there are certainly some kids that you can trust around this kind of stuff - I was one, I was afraid of everything so it would never have occurred to me to climb up. My son however I would not trust around it.
I have the same setup in my 1956 split level. I also have a 11 month old. I sometimes look at the original wood post and rail and wonder if it's safe enough but like a previous poster stated. Many children grew up in this house and lived to tell about it. .... I just plan on putting a gate so my Lil girl won't get too close to danger when I'min another room.
my biggest concern is heating all that empty space for the open room. We looked at a lot of homes with cat walks, open main floor, etc and nixed them right away for cost of heating as well as noise level. We have always lived in 2 stories with young kids but never one open like that. Every two story house will have some safety issues when kids are involved wuth a 6 year old should be able to handle stairs.
A 6 year old would be in Kindergarten or 1st grade, so I hope they're smart enough not to jump or fall over a staircase railing.
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