Hints about protecting equipment from kids

I've been on CPAP for about 10 days and it's going smoothly, at least as far as I can tell. However, my wife and kids have been at her parent for this entire time and will be returning this week. I had hoped to use this time to adjust to the equipment, which I have. However, my youngest kid is 18 months and loves to play with things, lamps, clock radios, and no doubt, will find a CPAP machine fascinating. My first thought is to put the machine in the shelf of my bedside table and create some sort of door that will keep him away from it. The problem I see is that with a 6 foot hose, this might be a bit restrictive. I see that CPAP.com sells 10 foot hoses, which might make this more feasible. Another thought I had was to install a shelf over the bedside table and move the machine up there. I really don't want to do that, though. I could move the machine every morning and night, but that will get old really fast.

Any ideas?

My suggestion: pack it in the case or close the bedroom door. Otherwise, the word 'NO' is effective if they know you mean it. Failing that, a bird or hamster cage (clean) with cover, and, if needed, a small padlock. How hard or easy depends on you and your kid.

If you use a humidifier, you don't want to put it up on a shelf; it should be below the top of your mattress. This way, any rainout (water condensation in the hose) will run back into the humidifier rather than into your face. Also, if your CPAP is lower than you, it can't fall on your head.

You may want to consider getting a nightstand with a drawer to put your CPAP into. I do this; and if I want to close it up, I just have to toss the mask and hose into the drawer and close it.

Here is what I did.

I have 10 grandkids, the oldest is 13 and the youngest just turned a year old. I have been on my machine for 3 years (at the end of August) and didn't want them messing with it. So I took them into my room and showed them my machine, explained it was to help grandma breathe at night, let them touch the machine, turn it on, feel the air coming out of it, even let them hold it up to their face. I then let them try the mask on (of course it was way too big) without the air (didn't want to take a chance on them getting hurt in anyway). I also explained that they weren't to bother it. Mine is left out all the time. It is situated on my headboard (I have an old waterbed headboard modified to fit our regular king size bed).

My grandkids are through my bedroom alot, since our only bathroom is off this bedroom. They do not bother it. The younger ones sleep with me when they stay over, and always ask if they can turn it on after I mask up. I let them since I am there.

My four year old granddaughter was just a year old when I got mine, and even she hasn't had a problem bothering it, even as a toddler.

Explain to them what it is (if they are a little older) and let them explore it with the understanding they are not to bother it unless you are there.

Yeah, sometimes those littles ones do exactly what we didn't expect them to do. When I lived alone I didn't think much about taking precautions. The kids were old enough to understand not to play WITH it. I should have specified not to play AROUND it either. Heard too much laughter coming from my room where they were watching TV and found them using my bed as a trampoline, hose and mask stretched across my pillows. Better safe than sorry. Even something as innocent as a little one coming to your bedside can result in tripping over the hose if it's hanging down and pulling the machine off. How you handle it partly depends on how attached you are to your existing nightstand and if you are willing to swap or modify it. Some velcro the machine to the stand. Others use drawers or decorative boxes. Just be sure any enclosure utilized while sleeping is adequately vented.

chunkyfrog wrote:My suggestion: pack it in the case or close the bedroom door. Otherwise, the word 'NO' is effective if they know you mean it. Failing that, a bird or hamster cage (clean) with cover, and, if needed, a small padlock. How hard or easy depends on you and your kid.

Pretty close to how things were handled when I was young and in my household. Do you mean put the XPAP in the cage or the untrainable kids? At my house I was the only kid, I was brought up with a large Maple tree in the front yard, we grew up together. When I needed training, the tree would provide a small limb that would be used to bind my lesson for all time. I did manage to use up a lot of limbs, but I wasn"t a slow learner one limb per lesson was usually enough. When I came back from military service the tree was dead and gone, it's job was done.

No, I didn't suffer child abuse, I suffered a training that allowed me to grow up knowing right from wrong, and knowing if I chose to do wrong, the price I would have to pay was earned by me, and I was to be held accountable.

Not training you child this, is child abuse. Jim

Trees were ever ready for training in my childhood also, but it was more for the threat, as I doubt they lost more than a few branches during the entire childhood of the 3 kids. I've known strict parents and lenient parents, but I've never known a kid that was 100% obedient even when no one was looking. Snoreguy's concern is for his youngest, the 18 month old. Didn't express concern about any older children. Let's not make this a parenting issue or a debate about discipline and corporal punishment. Many of us take measures to protect our machines from ourselves, so extending that to a baby in the household makes perfect sense. We velcro machines to stands, put them in boxes and drawers, secure hoses to table with scrunchies to prevent pulling the machine off in sleep... and who knows what all else. After expensive equipment is ruined and one is temporarily without treatment, it will be little comfort that the baby's consequences really taught him a lesson. I say let them learn those lessons by breaking my sugar bowl or (hopefully) the ugly figurine displayed only when the gift giver visits.

kteague wrote:Trees were ever ready for training in my childhood also, but it was more for the threat, as I doubt they lost more than a few branches during the entire childhood of the 3 kids. I've known strict parents and lenient parents, but I've never known a kid that was 100% obedient even when no one was looking. Snoreguy's concern is for his youngest, the 18 month old. Didn't express concern about any older children. Let's not make this a parenting issue or a debate about discipline and corporal punishment. Many of us take measures to protect our machines from ourselves, so extending that to a baby in the household makes perfect sense. We velcro machines to stands, put them in boxes and drawers, secure hoses to table with scrunchies to prevent pulling the machine off in sleep... and who knows what all else. After expensive equipment is ruined and one is temporarily without treatment, it will be little comfort that the baby's consequences really taught him a lesson. I say let them learn those lessons by breaking my sugar bowl or (hopefully) the ugly figurine displayed only when the gift giver visits.

I forgot to add, to make the lesson stick a little harder, after I got bigger, I had to go out to the tree and select the limb, knowing if I selected to small, I would have to get the stronger one. Rule #1, if it's not yours you don't touch it, at home unless you ask, public, never, without permission!!! Jim

snoreguy wrote:my youngest kid is 18 months and loves to play with things, lamps, clock radios, and no doubt, will find a CPAP machine fascinating. My first thought is to put the machine in the shelf of my bedside table and create some sort of door that will keep him away from it. The problem I see is that with a 6 foot hose, this might be a bit restrictive.Any ideas?

Simple...put a passage set on your BR door and this will keep children out!
When you want to get in - simply put a thing like a paper clip into the passage set hole and open.
Kids should not be in the bedroom anyway!!