Locked room for breakables when grandkids stay?

Put not out!

The most precious things in my life are my family, and my relationship with them.

Stuff I want to look after, I put away when they were small. It has come out now they are adults.

We are all entirely relaxed in each others company - no stress.

Well, I don't know about grandchildren breaking things but we have a largish display cabinet which is full of china, not valuable but much of sentimental value.

My namesake (a baby one) just flew in through the patio door, avoided being caught and scuttled behind the cabinet. All has gone quiet. I've left a trail of seed and hope it comes out again but otherwise we're going to have to empty the cabinet and move it to find the little bird.
We're waiting patiently to see if it comes out.

Just put things up higher then the children can reach.
Keep an eye out, and as Visgirl says, take anything they shouldnt have away.

If you have some things which are not so valuable or breakable you could tell them they are allowed to play with those but not Granny's very special ornaments. That way, it will not all seem out of bounds and so tempting.
My granddaughters used to love playing with the Russian dolls, taking them apart, lining them up and putting them back together.

Ours too, though we have one of 24 which is quite difficult to put back together.

Are these breakable items small enough to be put on high shelves or in a lockable cupboard , or are they things like furniture that can be damaged or even pulled over onto small children? I would store moveable items in my own bedroom for the interim, or is the three year old destructive and won't obey instructions?

I would lock the room while the children are too young to be responsible for taking care about what they touch. Any breakages would not really be the fault of a little one. You, and they, will be much more relaxed. If you wanted to show them something precious, you could hold it and let them look but not touch except very gently. That would help them learn that gentleness can apply to things as well as people.

I actually remember vividly being entranced with my gran's china cabinet as a child. She was very poor for most of her life and the things in the cabinet were all gifts from family plus one very small china doll thing that had belonged to the aunt that brought her up. Sadly I broke it when I decided to look at things myself. Usually my gran would take things out one by one to show me them but this day no-one was around. I knew I shouldn't have done it and I was devastated. My gran was lovely about it but I got my backside well and truly tanned by my mother.

It's all very well teaching children not to touch but I would teach them on things that are not precious, until they are old enough to understand. Pack up the bits that really mean a lot and leave the rest until they are older.

When I looked after a godson once a week from he was four months until he was one, I put a hook high up on my bedroom door, and the loop on the door frame, as I had my sewing machine, and all my dressmaking paraphenalia in that room. The door was sufficiently ajar for the cat to go in there is she so desired.(She didn't as she was the kind of female cat with a Nanny-gene.) But there was no way, the child could open the door and get in there.

I also put a chain and padlock on the outer doors of a porcelain stove that was in use during the winter, so he could not open the doors into the actual fire, and kept the kitchen locked when he and I were in the sitting-room, as I knew full well how fast he could crawl.

It is far pleasanter both for the children, their parents and their grandparents if you have removed dangerous or fragile things to a safe place and locked the cupboard or room, than going around saying no and don't dear, for the duration of their visit.

We never had anything too valuable or breakable to fret over.

As others have said, put your treasures high up or hide them in boxes somewhere. Don't lock the children out.

I can remember visiting some elderly well off people who had an incredible collection of dressed dolls, with porcelain heads.

My sister and I, aged about 8 to 10, were invited to look at them but not touch. Literally just that!
I've never been so disappointed in my life 😔

Or lock the dgc up instead

When small children are in my house I put away or out of reach anything that I know would really upset me if it were broken.
People can be funny about your protecting your house from their children, though. My husband's son and daughter-in-law keep and insist that everyone else treats ,their own house like Buckingham Palace. When ,before one of their visits, I put a double thickness cloth on my coffee table to protect it from stickiness and from their and their children's reluctance to use coasters , they were a tad miffed.
Takes all sorts.

Franski

Or lock the dgc up instead

On a hook, on the back of the door.

It depends on the children. We have had 3, 2 were easy to manage 1 much more volatile!
It will be hard work having them to stay even if you are looking forward to it. It may well be stressful for you son and his wife too! They may appreciate you child proofing your precious possessions. The children may be fine, but why not play safe and have peace of mind ? In your situation I would definitely lock those sentimental items away. I think your son and DIL will thank you. It's only a week so make it as easy as possible. Its not worth the risk, think how you , your son and DIL would feel if the worst happened- play safe. Good luck.

Please bear in mind that these breakable items that have great sentimental value are the sort of stuff that in years to come will feature on the GN Decluttering thread as items that none of the AC or GC are remotely bothered about, and will end up in a skip when the time comes!

In the meantime, I would move them to a higher point in the room where little hands can’t reach them.

I remember proudly visiting my mum with the newly potty trained toddler.
She insisted on putting a plastic sheet on her settee.
"You won't need that anymore" said I, proudly. At that very moment a trickle came down the leg of his dungarees and onto the floor. Phew!

by the time we had 4 children under five, our house was child-proofed for our sanity . Nothing precious or dangerous within their reach. Cleaning products and medication locked away, covers on sockets, risks and temptations out of sight / reach. Everything the children used, washable and unbreakable.

When the grandkids were small, we did the same again.

Calendargirl

Please bear in mind that these breakable items that have great sentimental value are the sort of stuff that in years to come will feature on the GN Decluttering thread as items that none of the AC or GC are remotely bothered about, and will end up in a skip when the time comes!

In the meantime, I would move them to a higher point in the room where little hands can’t reach them.

I have things precious to me that will never be rubbish regardless of the passage of time.
For example a plate painted , gold -leaf edged and inscribed to myself and my husband twenty - five years ago when we married. It is invaluable and irreplaceable my late friend now having died.
It is literally locked up when any of my husband's grandchildren come to the house simply because of its value to me.

Packing your valuables away is for more subtle than a locked door.

Davida1968

Good grief, how much breakable stuff "in reach" do you have?
I agree with JenniRen. Simply put it all out of reach - unless you live somewhere palatial, which is so large that a locked room isn't even noticed!!

This, for now.

Yes, unless you have a huge house.

As they grow older what with all three of them you need a plan, ie a high shelf or easy storage of the most precious items, and the plan includes looking at Grandmas Very Special Things and learning.

When they were very small, I just put breakables out of reach.

I’d pack away anything particularly important to me, move less important items out of fiddling height, and enjoy having my family in the whole house, shutting down a room so you have less space while they are with you wouldn’t be an option.

JenniRen

Either move things up above the child's level or pack the precious breakable away when they stay.
Unless you live in a mansion of course in which case lock the room.

This……why can’t you pack it all up till they’ve gone then you won’t have to worry and your DGC will have more space. It’s only for a week or two. You’re going to put unnecessary stress on your son and dil and they won’t feel relaxed in your house. I would never do something like that. You need to relax and enjoy their stay with you.

Depends how much you have and what the items are. Could you box them away with newspaper somewhere safe like your own bedroom? Children do need to be taught to respect other people's possessions and property and learn that they can't access everything so say your bedroom is out of bounds.