Protection of Speakers against kids?

[cbeshyam]

Anyone has any safeguard measures against protecting their speakers?

My son started using my sub woofer as his toys chest without my knowledge. He had been storing small objects like toys, watches, chocolate wrappers, coins,etc until one find day I heard a huge rattle while watching a movie. he had also poked a pencil on the sub woofer and the fabric was totally damaged.

Any pointers on how to protect, now I have a new set of speakers and a new kid who is 8th months old and loves to play with AV devices than his toys.

 

[vprasad84]

i have a tailor made black cover with velvete kinda fabric with nice chains & that i have put on my tower speakers, centre speaker & subwoofers to protect from my pets. It does well, looks good & my pets scratch too much on it but it is protecting 100% & whenever i remove the covers the stuff looks new without any marks on it. I play with all the covers on it & there is no compromise in the output

 

[ShaQ.Blogs]

this usually works for me to keep kids away from certain stuff

make em sit next to u. u go ahead, slowly being cautious, use that item and have an abrupt reaction such that it seems that you got hurt or got a shock or whatever. And then try it again and do the same again, once u have got the kids attention, try to explain in his language that you got hurt. Now hold his arm and use reverse psychology and try to make him touch it, when his arm gets close u push it away and mildly scare him such that he might have got hurt. Hold him and explain to him that if u use this u might get hurt, and then give him something that he is fond of tell him he can do whatever he wants with that. He will mostly not be curious about it again, depending on how u explained to him, from using it.
It has always worked for me, we used to have many kids around in our family.
It depends on how you do it, especially the reverse psychology part. (Of course, There is always this one exceptional kid, who will not listen, they are a different category altogether)

I used to do this to gadgets like electronic items, where they love to pull the wire, (very dangerous, if they pull the wire they could even rip the wire away from the plug). Some kids are very attracted to the holes in the switchboard.

You will face a slightly different challenge since he already knows that sub is his new toy. Try to give him another similar box and turn the sub around for few days, disconnected from power.

 

[srinisundar]

I have done a wooden cover(box) ( bottom open) and put over it, i am using the top as storage and when in use cover(box) will be removed and put on..

 

[Hari Iyer]

this usually works for me to keep kids away from certain stuff

make em sit next to u. u go ahead, slowly being cautious, use that item and have an abrupt reaction such that it seems that you got hurt or got a shock or whatever. And then try it again and do the same again, once u have got the kids attention, try to explain in his language that you got hurt. Now hold his arm and use reverse psychology and try to make him touch it, when his arm gets close u push it away and mildly scare him such that he might have got hurt. Hold him and explain to him that if u use this u might get hurt, and then give him something that he is fond of tell him he can do whatever he wants with that. He will mostly not be curious about it again, depending on how u explained to him, from using it.
It has always worked for me, we used to have many kids around in our family.
It depends on how you do it, especially the reverse psychology part. (Of course, There is always this one exceptional kid, who will not listen, they are a different category altogether)

I used to do this to gadgets like electronic items, where they love to pull the wire, (very dangerous, if they pull the wire they could even rip the wire away from the plug). Some kids are very attracted to the holes in the switchboard.

You will face a slightly different challenge since he already knows that sub is his new toy. Try to give him another similar box and turn the sub around for few days, disconnected from power.

I have a damaged aluminium dome tweeter in my DIY floor stander which was damaged by my daughter when she got more interested in its shine and sweetness. The result she pressed the dome material and still it remains pressed. Textile dome and silk dome even when pressed can regain back its original form.

 

[ruenigma]

I was very apprehensive of this when I we were about to have our first child. The way I dealt with it and recently repeated with my cousin's child is interesting. Remember YMMV

I get her to listen to things with me on the stereo setup, play her rhymes etc. and watch cartons on the A/V setup with her initially. Then when she's content and at peace with the entertainment explain her that these things are enjoyed best sitting here. If tinkered with they stop functioning and then no rhymes or cartoons. This will have to be done with a really sincere and honest expression. Once she became 3 I used to make her listen to classical with me at the stereo setup. A few times I myself removed the grilles and made her see the midbass driver pulsating. I let her touch it and once she was through with her curiosity after doing this a few times over a period of a couple of months she never went close to the devices.

The gist is to get them on your side.

 

[prash2k01]

my daughter used to put her ear on the gril with smile on the face with question....who is singing inside

 

[omishra]

I was very apprehensive of this when I we were about to have our first child. The way I dealt with it and recently repeated with my cousin's child is interesting. Remember YMMV

I get her to listen to things with me on the stereo setup, play her rhymes etc. and watch cartons on the A/V setup with her initially. Then when she's content and at peace with the entertainment explain her that these things are enjoyed best sitting here. If tinkered with they stop functioning and then no rhymes or cartoons. This will have to be done with a really sincere and honest expression. Once she became 3 I used to make her listen to classical with me at the stereo setup. A few times I myself removed the grilles and made her see the midbass driver pulsating. I let her touch it and once she was through with her curiosity after doing this a few times over a period of a couple of months she never went close to the devices.

The gist is to get them on your side.

+1, I used same trick with my son when he was toddler.

After few years he started enjoying his CD with my setup under my supervision and guidance - how to power on, volume control and remote controller usage. He enjoyed it lot.

Now at age of 10yrs he changes side of my LP records for me and has his own set of music too.

Bottom line: Show them what to do? how to use it. They will use it properly and help you.

 

[spirovious]

We can use grills made of stiff material like plastic,metals.It may not look good,but good protection.
Also we can make a firm cover made of ply with front side closed with metal grill.We can use similar sun mica to match original color of speaker.

 

[metalmickey]

Not yet married so obvious no kid!lol but this thread would sure make me future proofed! Hmmm actually yea my little nephew thinks he's a dj when rotating the volume knob up and down!

 

[anm]

I was always more worried about the other way round - how to protect kids from gadgets. For example, a stand mount bookshelf was and still is out of question as it may topple.
Kids touching high voltage or hot stuff like an exposed valve was also on my mind.

 

[technobhatt]

Not about speakers, but once my friend's 1.5 year old son threw his mini football on my LED TV ! Nothing was damaged, but my friend explained his son by showing a home made video, in which we friends were having a get-together party. He just said "Would you ever hurt your parents and all the good uncles with your football? The kid said.. No !! Then my friend stopped the video and asked the son to throw football again on TV (I was about to faint)...but believe me...Kid didn't throw the ball and said...No papa, it's not good thing to do ! (Yeh achchhii baat nahi hai..papa)"

By the way...Very nice thoughts and advices on this front !
Thread subscribed, as I'm yet to get married ;-)

 

[theredcommando]

If all psychological training(make sure that it creates +ve state of mind) fails OR if there are unknown kids(whom you cant train) then -
Subwoofer could be turned to face the wall(put some trolley underneath and lock the movement).
Put them(speakers) in cage for few years or protective covers. BS could be mounted at inaccessible height.

 

[malvai]

@cebeshyam:

I have a 20 month old son... a lil naughty, a lot curious.... what I have done with him is: training!


be firm. and be non-reactive. tell him its is his. and tell him the right way of treating the object. Believe me, it works, because these kids are intelligent and very very curious!

Imagine, i let my son handle the record player to some extent... he even has his own "collection" of walt disney spoken records (stories) and a few Amar Chitra Katha Records!

He now knows the entire rigmarole of playing them! HE pulls one from the designated space for his records on my LP rack, and gives it to me, he wants it played. Then pulls me to the RCM for cleaning, then, he 'guides' me with his tiny fingers to the Player, picks up the anti-static brush for me to do a once over on the record. Then hands me the Onzow stylus cleaner, so i have to clean the stylus, and after that as I put the stylus to the groove, he takes his place on MY listening chair, nd waves me to sit beside him!

He NEVER touches any of the equipment!