I have no idea where to post this but I though this forum would be as good as any.

I’m a proud poppa, first was born (it’s a boy) January 1, 2008. Like most visiting AVS my hobby/passion is home theater! I’m now just sitting back waiting for the day I get the bad news. The day I learn my boy chucked the remote through the plasma or kicked in my 3000.00 sub.

I have a friend whose little guy dropped two ping pong balls into the ports on his $1800.00 Totem speakers and who spilled a glass of juice on his Bryston amp. :mad: ........ but really :D

He still loves his child to death and I know nothing my little man does will change the way I feel about him.

Still, I thought a horror story thread would be fun. Maybe we can all laugh… now that’s it’s after the fact!

So tell us all what surprise’s you little ones had in store for you! :)

Congrats! My second is due any day now. My daughter is 21 months old. The worst thing that ever happened wasn't actually her; it was a playdate that was over (similar age), who spilled a glass of water on my open Dell laptop. Motherboard fried. I was just slightly pissed :mad:

Other than that, a few handprints on the bottom 3" of my old 32" Wega CRT, but that's it... so far :o

Congrats!

Never had a problem really with the TV but with the scene in Nemo when divers take him. Child rushed the TV and started hitting the screen to have Nemo! Luckly at 2 years and me being quick nothing was really done at all.

When I was setting my my speakers she put bags in my subwoofer. Thought my speakers where blown out the box. After a week I discovered what she did :)

Just make sure you stuff (Remote, A/V stuff) is up high and you will be fine.

Other than that, a few handprints

+1, but make it hundreds of fingerprints on my HDTV...the main reason I'm going with a DIY laminate screen for my PJ.

I have no children yet, but have three medium sized dogs (golden retriever, white shepard-X & collie-X. In the past, my dogs have licked the screen and fought and knocked over my 4' tall side speaker.

A friend of mine has a 3 year old, and he loves stuffing junk into the DVD player slot. His son finally wrecked his DTS decoding DVD player (he has a super old reciever with no decoder), amongst other components. It worked out for me since I sold him my old DTS decoding receiver, so he can replace it with a cheap DVD player.

It's not the first one, but the second one you have to watch out for. The second learns all sorts of stuff from the first, but at a much younger age understands less.

LOL, this thread brings back memories.

My kids are now adults, youngest is 19.

However, I have had my eldest when was about three 'cleaning' my VCR player liquid soap because it was "yucky", I have had my daughter at two posting peanut butter toast into the VCR and a new DVD player, because the toast was not cooked enough. All rather expensive trips to the repair shop.

I have had toddling nieces and nephews falling over and literally bouncing off my woofer cones in the speakers (In the days when big was good).

I can not really blame the kids though, I was the one who put that stuff within their reach. I smile now, but then . . . Apparently the look of horror on my face was priceless.

Teaching a young man (mine is 8) about the power and glory of a good unversal remote is priceless.

To date, he has never broken anything!

part of my basement includes a most fabulous playroom for my little girl (2). that way we both have a spot in the basement to chill out. later.

I remember a few years back someone here posted pictures of a smashed plasma. His little guy (three or so years old) is a huge baseball fan. They were watching their favorite team and his boy was so excited he grabbed an ornament off the end table and pitched it through his plasma. This goes back to when Plasma displays were 5k. :eek:

Oh snap to see the look on daddy’s face would have been priceless!

For the cat I use a water bottle. When he gets close to the speakers or TV he gets a shot of water in the butt. As for the kids, now 10 and 4, as soon as they learned to move it was engrained in them. You don't touch Mommy's pretty's on the tables and you don't touch the speakers or TV. It was frustrating for them at first but even at 6 months they are very intelligent and learn quickly:). Congrats on the new arrival!!!

I was working on my system and had the center channel sitting on the ground. I came in and found my 3 year old using it as a platform to jump off of. Nothing got broke.

The teach-them-and-they-will-learn method has keep my 2-year-old from trying to touch the TV (anymore, anyway). Also, "hiding" all of your components away in a cabinet is another good idea (both for you from an aesthetic perspective and for you you from a keep-the-kids-out perspective); at first, he really wanted to "play" with the stuff in the cabinet, but we ended up getting an identical one which sits on the other side of the room (it gives the room a nice symmetrical balance) that has his toys in it; now he knows "that one" is daddy's and "this one" is his. The one nut I haven't been able to crack is the sub. Because of the room layout, I have to have it near the end of the couch down by "his cabinet". It's downfiring to keep him away from the cone (on purpose), but it has a GIANT port on the back that he's really enamoured with. We're still in the process of trying to keep him from using that to hide little people in....

--Mav

I think one of the best solutions I saw was a finger print recognition lock on the door to the dedicated HT.

BIGmouth, sometimes it's tough to tell when your joking and when you're not...are you? If not, I would LOVE to see which "finger print recognition lock" you use.... This is the best suggestion yet, except I'm afraid my 2-year-old might become enamoured with the fingerprint recognition device itself and try to get his grubby little thumb in there -- particularly if it turns red and tries to snag him if there's not a match!

--Mav

Other than a few fingerprints on the screen, mine has been very good around the electronics. I even let her use my URC remotes and she knows how to watch movies in the media room. (She is now 7, but has been able to since she was 4)

OTOH, my neighbor called me one day asking for help mounting his plasma because one of his daughters found mommy's lipstick and that screen was just too temping.

Another friend has to buy remotes from the cable company 4 at a time because his boys lose them. He does find them, but ususally it is with the lawnmower.:eek:

Both our EQ closet and the theater are behind locked doors. They are not going in there unless I go in there too!
Our plasma sits out, but we bought a counter height cabinets for it, so it sits about 40" off the floor, the rest of the components are inside the cabinet, where they can't get too.

The fancy plasma is only 2 months old, no harm yet, except for the Best Buy delivery folks getting big fat hand prints on the display. The Pioneer 2007 Kuro Elites have a sensitive anti-reflective color filter that is easily damaged, if not by prints, by cleaning them off. Fortunately, had success. So far, the 12 and 15 year old have managed care, but they have shaky reputations. So far they have demonstrated the training of using Wii remote wrist straps.

Previous TV had its remote chewed by the dog. Keep the remotes out of reach. Also, choosing brands that are popular and have apparent longevity increase the likelihood of finding a replacement at the 5 year mark or greater. Yeah, there are universal remotes, but they don't perform all of the needed functions for your specific model.

Previous previous TV got, um, recalibrated by a large toy horseshoe magnet when the kids were toddler+. Fortunately, it was a free hand-down and had plenty of mileage.

When I was a youngster piddling with electronics, I "borrowed" several resistors from my Dad's portable amplified speaker.

BIGmouth, sometimes it's tough to tell when your joking and when you're not...are you? If not, I would LOVE to see which "finger print recognition lock" you use....

Just FYI Smarthome has 14 models to choose from (http://www.smarthome.com/_/Door_Locks_Access_Control/Biometric/Door_and_Gate_Access/_/7/1zz/1Qn/nav.aspx).

I have a cousin that's 9 years old. About 2 years ago (he was 7 then), he got frustrated because he couldn't figure out how to use the remote to change the input to Video 2 (for his PS2). He got fed up and threw the remote at my uncle's brand new Plasma TV. It cracked the screen, but my uncle didn't get that mad. I was surprised because I probably would have been pissed off. He paid to get it repaired since the repair costs were half of what it would have cost to replace the whole thing...

Great Topic

Just FYI Smarthome has 14 models to choose from (http://www.smarthome.com/_/Door_Locks_Access_Control/Biometric/Door_and_Gate_Access/_/7/1zz/1Qn/nav.aspx).

Oh, for the love of pete. I'm trying to think of something cooler than a biometric fingerprint reader access pad to the a/v equipment room in the house (you know, to keep the kids out and all), and I'm coming up empty. That is awesome and, frankly, ~$300 well spent. Does the door make an airlock-type sound when you open it? That would be even cooler. I love the 14 models to choose from, too.

I really do love this thread.

--Mav

Teach you kids what is off limits. I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 18 month old and have had no problems what so ever. Fingerprints on the TV but big deal, they clean right off. You have to watch your kids. They can just as easily stick a knife in an electrical socket as easy as they can stick something in your dvd player. I play guitar and have several and both my children know they are not allowed to touch them, except for one, the one I play mostly for them and teach them to play. Kids are smart, they will understand.

Nothing really.

We've had our theater for a bit over 3 years and have a 5 year old and a 2.5 year old. The theater, however, stays locked when not in use (it is an exterior door, after all, so it's keyed just like the rest of the exterior doors of the house). When it is in use, we're in there with them and they're usually in the back row. Most of the theater use is without them, however (how many times can pixar be watched?).

We have a big screen TV and 5.1 sound in the living room too, but they pretty much leave it all alone. When my oldest was about 3 he used to like to play with the buttons on the UPS (so I put black electrical tape on them) and my now 2.5 year old occasionally likes to put fingerprints on the screen and turn the TV off and on (via the front buttons).

I've even took off the smoked glass door on the equipment rack about 6 months ago (to give the DVR's some breathing room) and they haven't touched anything in there.

Teach you kids what is off limits. I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 18 month old and have had no problems what so ever. Fingerprints on the TV but big deal, they clean right off. You have to watch your kids. They can just as easily stick a knife in an electrical socket as easy as they can stick something in your dvd player. I play guitar and have several and both my children know they are not allowed to touch them, except for one, the one I play mostly for them and teach them to play. Kids are smart, they will understand.


No offense, but your kids are still a bit too young for you to totally understand. Children don't even understand the concept of consequences until they're over the age of 3 (look it up, it's a developmental statistic), so your 3.5 year old is just starting to understand and your 18 month old has no clue. At any time over the next 2 years, your 18 month old could grab a remote and throw it at the TV. Your parenting is not going to prevent that. Now, good parenting can minimize it, but it won't prevent it. To just state to "teach your kids what's off limits" is a bit near-sighted and just means you've been lucky so far (as have I).

Does the door make an airlock-type sound when you open it? That would be even cooler.

That all depends on how badly you want it (http://www.james.lipsit.com/home.htm); for example:
What’s really cool is having HAL play windows wave files based on actions in rules. Remember every door in the house is a sensor. In fact an opening door can fire one rule while the same door closing can fire another rule. You follow me yet? The Internet is filled with tons of windows wave files that can really animate your home. My front door plays a creaking door opening when it is opened, and a creaky door slamming shut when it is closed. The sliding glass door plays the elevator door sound effect from Star Trek when it is opened or closed.

It's nothing that I did wrong. I'm 25 now, but I remember when I was little and my Grandma used to come over and babysit, it was the funniest thing to watch TV. We lived out in the country - so cable wasn't an option - and had the huge 10' diameter (I think) dish. I remember that it was all motor operated, and depending on what channel you wanted to watch, you had to physically reposition the dish to another satellite. This of course was done using the remote and the dish receiver. I still remember that "Galaxy 5" was our "homebase" position for the satellite, but there were tons of different satellites to position to. Depending on the weather conditions (especially wind) it sometimes dictated what you could watch. You didn't want to move the dish in a direction that was facing directly into the wind becuase the dish would have a hard time maintaining a signal with the dish moving ever so slighty with the wind.

What made it funny was I was the 4 year old andcould run circles around my Grandma when it came to this stuff. My parents used to laugh because my Grandma would sit there with a blank stare on her face... having no clue how to use the equipment. Oh the good ole days!

Mine at 2 years old took a phillip's bit froma bit driver set and colored my 1 day old LCD HDTV LOL....it is now in the bedroom and we look back and laugh

Phil

Nothing's happened to my home theater stuff yet but my 6 year old did key the rear hatch on my black Porsche. She said she was finger painting and then apologized. It's a 33 year old car and it will most likely buff out, so I kept my cool and told her to ask me for paper next time.

I came home from work and went into the living room to see my nephew writing his name on my 47inch 1080P LCD WITH SHARPIE SILVER MARKER. I almost died. Thankfully I have a bottle of 71% isopropyl and water spray. Since the ink didn't really set it I wiped it down ...FAST. Thankfully it all came out. Then we had a nice talk. Was funny to hear me say OH MY GOD and the next door neighbors as well. Hehe.

so I'm watching the tv and can't figure out why the picture is all pink. I was really confused. Upon closer inspection I realized that the ENTIRE screen was coated in pink highlighter by my then 2 year old niece.

The only problem I ever had out of my daughter was her using the VCR as a piggy bank. Kept wondering why it wasn't working and picked it up to look at it and notice the sounds coming from within it. Thankfully I shook all the change out and it didn't really damage anything. She was small at the time so not much of a talking to could happen. Her and my niece both know though that they don't touch my electronics now that they're a bit older.

My 16 month old really like all of the lights and buttons. He has figured out how to use the Pronto remote to turn on the system. I think he likes watching the screen come down from the ceiling.

No offense, but your kids are still a bit too young for you to totally understand. Children don't even understand the concept of consequences until they're over the age of 3 (look it up, it's a developmental statistic), so your 3.5 year old is just starting to understand and your 18 month old has no clue. At any time over the next 2 years, your 18 month old could grab a remote and throw it at the TV. Your parenting is not going to prevent that. Now, good parenting can minimize it, but it won't prevent it. To just state to "teach your kids what's off limits" is a bit near-sighted and just means you've been lucky so far (as have I).

I totally disagree. I don't have to read a book to learn how to raise my children (no offense) but my son surely does understand consequences. I know a couple of 3 year olds that don't understand them but I also do not agree with the lack of discipline their parents practice. My 18 month old already reasons with me, makes decisions, tells me what she wants and most certainly wouldn't throw anything at anybody or anything. Home schooling is the way to go.

I have no idea what home schooling has to do with it, but your 18 month old is not reasoning with you or going through the decision making process as an adult would (although they do begin to understand reasoning and decision making at this age).
The fact that you can state with such certainty that your 18 month old will NEVER throw anything at a TV or a person illustrates that you're out of touch with how children behave.

And I never said you have to read a book to learn how to raise children, but there's some things children are incapable of understanding or doing. That's a fact. It's impossible to guarantee that your children won't one day mark up your TV or damage your equipment. I don't care how much "discipline" you claim to practice. It just doesn't work that way.

But you can keep patting yourself on the back if it makes you sleep better at night.