It seems like kids can find a way to make just about anything dangerous! Am I right?! Deciding what to child proof, and what not to, in your house is challenging, but the ultimate goal is to strike a good balance for your family somewhere between “bubble wrap all the things” and “fingers crossed they survive.”
Obviously baby proofing is no substitution for good parental supervision, but there are some dangers that are just too great to overlook. In our house – that danger is the horizontal railing in our second floor hallway, right between our boys’ bedrooms.
When we bought the house, this railing seemed innocent enough, but the moment we had kids, I realized it was really nothing more than a ladder begging little boys to climb it… and then fall to the first floor.
Not only is this a serious danger, it’s also one the kids won’t outgrow quickly. I can see this railing being just as much a climbing temptation to an 8 year old as it is to a 2 year old. Which is why we knew that we HAD to find a way to child proof this railing in a manner that we could easily live with for many years to come.
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One thing that I quickly learned about baby proofing is that there are a lot of options to choose from, but find products that actually work for the configuration of your house can be a major challenge.
Baby Gates for Difficult Areas
Take baby gates for example. Putting a gate on the stairs is one of those baby proofing staples, especially in a house with three sets of steep, 20 step staircases! But finding gates that actually working on our stairs proved a huge headache!
Most safety gates can’t attach properly at an angle – but due to the height of our baseboards and the positioning of our hand rails, an angle was a must. I finally found super sturdy option that gave us the flexibility we needed and we installed these baby gates on all three sets of stairs in our house.
Thanks to these gate clamps {which we painted black} we were even able to attach a gate to our black banister without drilling into our metal railings. Best of all, the latches on these gates are secure enough that the kids have never been able to crack them!
Child Proofing Railings: Works for Horizontal Railings, Cable Railings, and Unsafe Railing Spacing
Options also abound when it comes to ways to child proof railings. One popular product is a railnet – basically a netting that your stretch around the inside of railing. While this probably works great for vertical railings because it would stop kids from putting their head between rails that are spaced too far apart or from dropping toys through, netting is stretchy and really wouldn’t be able to stop a kid from putting their feet on the horizontal rails if they were determined to climb.
Finally I found the perfect solution for our horizontal rails – a roll of thin, durable, shatterproof, clear plastic that creates a shield around the railing while maintaining an unobstructed view!
I measured the length of our railings, and then ordered a 15 foot roll of the banister shield.
You’ll notice that the roll looks to short for our railings, but it’s actually just the right height to cover the span from the top rail to the bottom rail, leaving just a small gap uncovered below the bottom rail and the floor. The roll of plastic is 33 inches tall.
Simple Tools to Install Banister Guard
- Banister Shield
- 11″ Black Zip Ties (or other color to match your railings)
- Sharpie
- Measuring Tape
- Scissors
- Hole Punch (use your own, not the flimsy one that comes with it)
- Yard Stick
- Pliers
How to Install Banister Shield
We started by unrolling the banister guard and measuring the length of one side of our railing. We marked the length using a Sharpie and used a yard stick to mark a straight line. Be sure to draw your Sharpie line on the side of the plastic that is covered in a removable, protective film.
The plastic is very easy to cut through with just a basic pair of scissors.
The process of installing the banister guard is quick and simple. Use a hole punch to create holes in the plastic and use zip ties to secure the plastic to the railing. Be sure to place the side of the plastic with the protective film on the outside, so that you can easily remove it after installation.
Installing the banister guard is easiest with two people – at least until you get the top corners secured in place. You’ll need one person to hold the plastic in place while the other person uses the Sharpie to mark the location for punching the first two holes for wrapping zip ties around the top rail and side rail {as illustrated in the photo above}.
Once you have the top corners secured, flatten out the banister guard, and mark the spots that you’ll attach the banister guard along the sides and bottom of the railing. Once again, don’t worry about leaving Sharpie marks, because you’ll later remove the protective film.
Use a hole punch to create a hole in the spot you marked.
When I purchased this plastic, it did not come with a hole punch, but more recent reviews on Amazon mention that it comes with a flimsy hole punch that doesn’t work very well. I recommend using your own hole punch. We used a standard one from an office supply store and had no problems.
Then wrap a zip tie through the hole and around the side rail.
You’ll want to make sure the zip tie is tightened as much as possible, so use a pair of pliers once you can’t tighten it any more by hand.
Once the zip tie is secure, use your scissors to trim of the excess. I recommend positioning the trimmed end on the outside of the railing to ensure that there are no potentially sharp spots in reach of little fingers.
With both sides of our railing covered in the plastic banister guard, but before protective film was removed, it looked like this…
After the installation was complete, we were ready to remove the film. Starting in one corner, we slowly peeled away the film to reveal the crystal clear plastic.
With the film removed from the right side, but not yet the left, you can see the drastic difference. On the right side, the plastic banister guard is almost invisible, but for a few reflections here and there.
Now I don’t have to worry at all about the boys climbing these railings!
Of course you know that I love solutions that are both functional and stylish, so it’s a great added bonus that the clear plastic banister guard isn’t an eye sore. It is nearly invisible, and even the zip ties virtually disappear against our black metal railings.
It’s so great having piece of mind that these two little men can safely run and play in this hallway and without the temptation of climbing the horizontal railing.
I used to look at that railing and see nothing but a dangerous ladder, but now I can rest easy knowing it’s impossible to climb!
Update Five Years Later:
December 2019: We’ve had this banister shield in place for five and a half years. Our boys are now six and eight, and I trust them not to climb the railings, but since we still have friends with younger kids visit often. The railing shield still looks as good as new – meaning it’s still nearly invisible – so I don’t plan to take these railing guards down anytime soon.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cardinal Gates Banister Shield:
I get emails and questions about this banister shield fairly often, so I thought it would be helpful to address some of the FAQs here:
- Is this plastic flexible enough for curved railings? Yes! This product comes in a roll and is very flexible. It is much thinner than plexiglass, but is still plenty strong to stand up to kids and pets.
- How durable is it? Does the plastic bend or tear easily? It has been very durable for our family. Our boys are not overly rough, but after five and a half years, including adding a dog to the family two years ago, this plastic shield has shown no signs of wear or damage. We’ve had no tearing at all, and no cracks or bends in the plastic, despite the kids liking to “drum” on it frequently.
- Does the plastic scratch easily or show finger prints? After more than five years with two boys and a dog, our banister shield does not have any scratches. I assumed it would show a lot of finger prints (and nose prints), but finger prints are much less noticeable here than on our stainless steel fridge. We clean it once every couple of weeks with a soft cleaning cloth and that’s really all it needs.
- Does the banister shield make a lot of noise? If our boys, or our dog, hit the banister shield directly, it does make noise, but it’s nothing that has been a problem for us. I’ve read Amazon reviews that say it makes noise if you even brush lightly against it, but we’ve not had that experience at all. We made sure the plastic was very taut when we installed it, and I think that has probably prevented any excess noise. If it were installed more loosely, I suspect that might lead to more noise issues because the plastic would move much more easily.
Marty says
I've never seen stuff like that before. It should work on upright rails, too. Some kids think they should stick their heads through — even when they don't fit — and some older homes have upright rails spaced just right for little heads
Evelyn says
What a wonderful solution and you almost can't see it!! Smart girl!
Robert Smith says
It's really help people for keeping their child safe. Thanks for sharing and caring about kids. I love your blog.
Dirty Karma says
Very lovely work you have done for your kid's sake:) Thanks for the inspiration
Tamars Jones says
Gorgeous. The article is quite detailed and specific, step by step guide to making a handrail stylish and innovative as this. I think this idea will be a lot of people make, especially families with children. Thanks for sharing your article
Jacek says
To the family having kids, stairs may be one of the most dangerous threat because the horizontal railings could be the equipment for kids to step on and falling out. My uncle also used a wooden-proof to cover such railings. Grateful that you have cover them for your kids’ sake.
Billi L says
Are these flexible? Our upstairs is curved so do you think these could work?
Angela, Blue i Style says
Yes! It's very flexible! It comes in a roll, so it wouldn't be a problem at all to wrap it around a curved railing!
Michael Mathis says
That looks awesome but I'm concerned my child may move a chair over to the railing and climb up.
Angela, Blue i Style says
That's always a possibility with any railing. This was only my solution to prevent the railing from being a ladder that would encourage the kids to climb, but we also take other precautions in our home to keep our kids safe as well. For example, we used to have a chair right next to the railing, and I rearrange the furniture to move it further away.
Sarah says
we have a 10 month old and need to babyproof our lofted second floor soon as his bedroom is upstairs. right now i'm trying to decide between using something like this or plexiglass. obviously there's a big cost difference between the two (and i'm not wild about having any sort of plastic/glass in this location but the alternative is even worse to imagine). has this product held up for you? do you think it's sturdy enough? thanks for your thoughts! 🙂
Angela, Blue i Style says
Sarah, I totally understand that debate. We've had this solution in place for a couple of years now, and it's holding up great. It still looks just the same as it did on day one, and has been perfectly durable with our now 5 and 3 year old in the hall near the railing constantly (the railing is positioned between their two bedrooms). Our boys aren't overly rough, but they do like the sound this plastic makes when they drum on it, and even with that drumming we've had no issues at all.
Sarah says
Thanks for your reply! I'm glad to know it has held up.
hilary says
Thank you so much for sharing this! We are building a house and I love the look of a horizontal railing but have been really struggling with this decision because of safety as we have small children and because I'd always worry anytime small children would be visiting at our house. You've had success with this and no problems then, correct? Have your kids damaged the banister guard at all? I guess it wouldn't be too hard or cost effective to replace it if that happened.
Angela, Blue i Style says
I'm so glad it was helpful to you! I had the same concern when we bought our current house knowing we would be having kids some day, and I was so happy that we were able to find a good solution. My boys (ages 3 and 5) like to drum on the banister guard soemtimes (because it makes a "good" noise), but even with the drumming we haven't seen any damage at all. Other than the occassional noise making, they pretty much just leave the railing alone – which is exactly they way I like it! It's worked great for us!
Unknown says
This is great. Would you be willing to share any details on the gate you installed? We have a similar set up and I have been struggling to find a good solution with our railing.
Thanks
Meredith Brister says
THANK YOU! I am looking to have many banister walls in my 3 story home replaced with steel cable but I'm also going through IVF. I'm glad to have a "mind your own business, I got this" solution for all the know-it-alls 😉
Angela, Blue i Style says
Meredith, I'm so glad this post was helpful to you! Sending you lots of good wishes for successful IVF! Lots of people will have opinions about EVERYTHING, but just do your thing – you'll know what's best for your family!
Shaylee Packer says
I never thought about putting a shield in front of the horizontal handrails before. My grandparents live in an house with these types of handrails, and my boys are always tempted to climb them. I will have to see if we could do something like this in their house.
Anna says
This is so helpful! Thank you for this post.
Olga Laster says
Hi! Thank you for this! Do you have any recommendations for a wooden bannister that does not have the traditional horizontal lines? I can’t use zipties for all of the sides because they are directly attached to the walls. I wish I could send you a photo of what I have! I have a 1 year old and I wake up every night in a cold sweat with the image of her falling through…
Nashville says
Ooh! I love this idea! Thanks for for going so in depth with your photos and descriptions. I am constantly hearing worries from customers about their safety concerns over this thick type of railing or cable railing or whatever. The thing I love most about your method is not only does it solve the problem, but the plastic will also double as a protector against the railing, preventing marks and scuffs that are sure to appear in a family household over time. I had no idea this product even existed! I will definitely share the idea and point folks back here for installation tips. Thanks.