Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Funny you should mention this!  When our first two were born this was
    one of my major concersn.  Our second floor landing looks out over the
    foyer, and the rails are about 8 inches apart - enough for babies to
    scoot through with ease!.  I went to the fabric store and bought
    several yards of strong nylon mesh, tied it to the first rail at the
    top of the landing, wove it in and out the rails, down to where it
    seemed appropriate to stop.  Then fastened it in place with ties and
    thumbtacks on the outsides of the rails (wehre kids couldn't get it). 
    Make sure to fasten the lower edges of whatever you get.  My kids
    always tried to lift up the netting, but it's held down with the
    thumbtacks.  You are definitely right to be concerned, they have no
    concept of height, and will be crawling before you know it!
    
    Luck!
    

    We had also looked at buying some Railnet, but were put off by the high
    price-per-foot. Exploring alternate solutions, I decided to purchase 
    screening material from my local hardware store. You can choose either
    fiberglass or aluminum mesh, and can pick widths from 24" to 48" (usually 
    in 6" increments). They'll cut the material to your desired length.
    
    For my deck, I needed approx 48 feet of screen, and chose the 36" width
    (which is the height of my railings). Aluminum screen would have cost
    approx $.95-$1.00/ft,(and is harder to work with) while fiberglass cost 
    me approx $0.60/ft. Since the gaps between the slats is only 6", the 
    fiberglass screen is strong enough to hold back a child.
    
    I installed the screen to the slats with a staple gun, and 'banded' the
    screen along the top and bottom with pressure-treated 1x3 strapping.
    The screen is stapled to the strapping every 4 inches. Also, I ended
    the screening approx 2 or 3 inches above the floor of the deck. This
    bottom space allows me to sweep leaves and other debris off of the deck,
    but is small enough to prevent my son from doing any harm to himself.
    
    We've had it in place for approx 3 weeks, and have been happy with the
    results.
    
    Best of luck with whatever method you decide on...
    
    Freddie

    We had similar concerns for our son.  We've got an open iron railing
    across an upper landing, and were afraid he'd take an eight-foot
    plunge through it.  We just wrapped it tightly in a sheet.  Since
    he couldn't even see through it he didn't realize there was something
    on the other side and didn't even bother trying to get through it.

    Railnet is available at Tiny Tot Land in Manchester, NH.
    
    I got it a couple of weeks ago and have it in place now. But my
    daughter hasn't really moved enough to get into it.  I sure hope it is
    worth the expense!
    
    One suggestion if you put in your own, the Railnet calls for closed
    loop type screws in the floor, rather than the thumbtacks called for in
    a previous note.  This way, the screws are secure in the floor.  I
    would be concerned about a thumbtack getting loose and either stepping
    on it or having the child try to eat it.
    
    We screwed them into the floor, at an angle so the hole is under the
    carpeting.  This way we didn't totally ruin the woodwork.
    
    judy

I checked out Railnet on our deck and looked like it was exactly what we need to keep
Mackenzie from climbing thru the rail and landing down 2 stories into the yard.

I bought a 10 foot section for test purposes first before I made a large investment.
We needed about 80 feet of it for the deck so I had this great idea - I called Railnet
company out of Boise Idaho directly THINKING I would save $$$ over Toys-R-Us or the Right
Start Catelog. Boy was I surprised!!! 

A 10ft section from Toys -R-Us was 25.99
" "     "       "   Right Start was 29.99
" "     "       "   RAILNET was 32.99 !!!!!

Needless to say I have returned my original 10 foot section to Toy-R-US  and I am off to
the fabric store for nylon netting and gromets and strapping cord!

Thanks for the alteratives listed in this note!

Dena