Anyone live in a 2 story home with a loft space?

kfriscia

We have been house hunting and fell in love with a home that has a loft area that overlooks the downstairs. I took my mom there today and she is worried it could be a safety issue with little kids? That if they could find away to lean over the railing ( it's pretty high though) and fall. Anyone live in a similar set up? I told her they wouldnt be up there unsupervised anyway.

smilejenn

I don't have a house like that, but when house hunting we did look at several that had that set up. I never really considered it a safety issue, but now that you bring up the point, I do see how slightly older kids could stack up a chair or toys against that small wall/railing and potentially fall over...

kfriscia

After some pretty extensive googling I found some pretty creative childproofing ideas. My 3 year old can turn everything into a stool so it is a concern.

RHitch

We don't have a loft at the to of the stairs, but we do have a landing that overlooks the foyer.  I have never had an issue with my kids leaning over it, but they are only 3 and 6 months.  To be honest, I never let my kids play around the stairs, so I think it would be fine.  Now that you posted this, I wonder if I should research safety concerns

Pesky

I have that.  I have the railings covered with this netting to prevent the kids from sticking their heads through the spindles (older home with greater spacing between spindles).  Otherwise, I have just been sensitive to furniture placement -- i.e. I don't have chairs or anything backing to the railing overlooking the den or entry-way areas, making it an easy step for them to hop up and fall over.  We have had an issue with sometimes them throwing things over the railing but right now, they cannot reach the railing and are not big enough to get the leverage to fall over.  We've also consistently taught them NOT to play on the railings (like swinging from the bannister) so they tend to ignore them.

schnappycat

I have exactly that (actually mine is worse because I have a loft on one side and the upstairs landing is also open to below, so we have railings over a huge area in two spots)! Although, ironically, I'm actually beginning construction next week to convert it to a regular bedroom. Not because of safety issues--just because it's being wasted as a space and we really need a guest room more.

Anyhow, I've had moments of concern, but overall, it's not a huge issue. We just make sure not to place anything they can climb on near the railing. DS actually goes up there often and will stick his feet through and let them dangle, but the spindles are too close together for him to get his head stuck. We haven't had an issue. Hopefully DD will be ok, too.

However, my cats can fit through and have come very close to jumping. LOL! 

PhilsWife07

We have a loft in our upstairs. It's not a traditional railing deal, just a half wall. We're planning to close it up and make it a 4th bedroom.

chicsub

We have a small loft space upstairs, but an actual wall there, not open railings.  However, DS is such a climber that I plan on clearing it out completely.  Too bad b/c it would have been perfect for a little play area between the kids' rooms.  I guess I could find something that can't be climbed for them to play with?  I'm just not taking the chance.  Maybe if I had a less physical kiddo that would be another story.

mbritto4

I have one that is a room with half wall open to the second half of the staircase going upstairs. It's DD1s play area and she's never flung herself over the wall. I am usually in my sewing room or on my computer in the loft too. My Dad's house has a lofted area that is just railings on either side over the foyer & family room and it's more like a wide hallway between the master suite and other 2 bedrooms. I don't let my kids play up there. But if I had small kids I'd probably not want his house.