There are some child safety products that people think are unnecessary, and some may say a stove guard is one of them. Even so, I still wanted one to help prevent Andrew's sneaky little hands from reaching the hot stove top. And I must say--good decision, Lisa!
I chose the Babies R Us brand stove guard ($19.99) and I am really pleasantly surprised at the quality and effectiveness of the product. The three-panel guard expands to fit most any stove and it does a great job of blocking both curious little hands and oil splatters. And its simple to assemble--just thoroughly clean the area where you will stick the included adhesive tabs, attach the black panel clips to the stove with the adhesive, and slide in the plastic panels (slide them in from the side for an easier go of it). A big problem with many stove guards is that the adhesive included is often not strong enough. And, after three months of use, the adhesive on two of our clips is rock solid. The third clip, however, is starting to peel away from the stove a bit because I often forget the stove guard is there and knock into it with my arm while cooking/cleaning. But its such an easy fix: I plan to just replace the adhesive with a store-bought heavy duty adhesive tab when needed.
If you have a little one who is constantly pulling on the guard, however, you might have a problem with this product--the adhesive is eventually going to give way under the stress. Andrew hasn't realized he can pull on the guard at all, though, and, since I always monitor him when he's in the kitchen, I don't foresee this being a problem. Of course, toddlers do have a way of surprising us... !
That said, I really do feel this stove guard is a quality product and it has been totally worth the $20 we spent on it. Now if only we could find oven knob covers that worked!
