You might consider putting up the delicate dangerous ornaments until the children are older. I know people who suspend their tree from the ceiling when their children are small, so they can see, but not touch.

I switched to plastic - there are some charming plastic ones now. But to me, the hooks were the most dangerous thing because they fall and you never see them - but toddlers find everything.

So when DD was born, I also switched to hanging ornaments with ribbons. It's much easier and I love having no hooks!

I wouldnt change the tree over glass, you are right they need to be taught to stay away and not too touch just like the stove, toaster or woodstove. If they get cut they learn a terrible lesson but they were warned. My great grandmother never changed a thing in her house to child proof it and My worst problem was running under the counter and almost cracking my head.

Depending on the age, and any known or reasonably suspected neurological issues a tree should be made as safe as possible. Adults can break glass and get cut even when acting cautiously. A young child doesn't stand a chance without some help.

The problem is, aside from safety is that the severity of any 'terrible lesson' learned can affect the adults.

There are plastic ornaments, and ornaments of other materials and styles which can be placed such that _if_ a child got close enough to the tree that's all they could get their hands on fast. Ribbons to hang ornaments is a good idea. Another thing that can sometimes work with young ones who get the concept of 'mine' is to have a bowl or collection of unbreakable but beautiful to the child ornaments that they can touch (try to develop a pattern where they have to ask first, and then get to show them off and as the appreciating audience act impressed). Be careful of choke hazards if the ornament has small parts that a toddler could easily get apart.

people can reasonably 'know' their duties as far as age and stage appropriate supervision but that's not the same thing as being able to perform it on the fly as needed (as if they didn't also have their own needs, own ages and stages)... planning to have the younger or impulsive children watched and/or interacted with at all times can help and the older or more stable reliable people can take shifts

My DD and her friends understand 'dont touch' and they do not touch my breakables, which are left out.

However, the tree (changing glass to plastic and changing hooks to ribbons) was more for my own benefit. As a result of doing this, I don't have to worry.

I don't know about you guys, but I wake up in the middle of the night with all kinds of irrational fears of what might happen :-) without having to add to the list.

So now, at least I can sleep at night, and not wonder if I dropped a hook on the floor and didn't know it. :-)

I put the breakable and dangerous to baby (dd will be 9 months Christmas day) above her standing reach and have plush ornaments down low.... shw understands "no", but like TREkaren, I would rather not have to worry right now.... THe hoolidays are stressful enough all by themselves!

They have these plastic hooks that some of you may be intersted in. It's only $1 for a pack of about 30 or more. They are made into a sort of oval and have an opening on the side. We bought them a few years ago because we thought they would stay on the tree better and they did.

We have glass bulbs on our tree and a 2 1/2 year old in the house. We've always used them, even when he was a baby. We kept an eye on him an taught him not to touch them and have had no problems with him. Now the cats are another story and they knock them down but Shane doesn't bother with them. But we've also never totally put everything up out of his reach and neither did his grandparents. We taught him to be gentle and not to touch certain things and haven't had anything broken yet. Now that he's older, he touches the glass balls but he knows that you only touch gently with your finger tips and does that at his grandmother's too. No problems.

~Leslie~

This thread reminded me of when my dear, dear, adorable little son was around 3 years old. He's almost 11 now and it's a good thing he was so "dear, dear and adorable" at three!
My Christmas tree was downstairs and was OH! SO BEAUTIFUL! Decorated in all of it's glory with my most prized Christmas ornaments scattered throughtout the branches. The little glass ornaments were at least 30 years old, I had grown up with them and they meant the world to me. Each one was hand painted in a different design and each one was so beautiful and so very, very fragile. I was upstairs and my dear, dear, adorable son was downstairs in our family room...with our Christmas tree. All of a sudden I heard "clink, clink, pfooth!' And then another "clink, clink, pfooth." The feeling that engulfed me from my head to my toes made me rush down those stairs...somehow I knew exactly what I was going to find. Dear, dear, adorable little son thought that my precious little ornaments made wonderful little balls and apparently loved the sound of "clink, clink, pfooth" as they hit against the wall. I lost about half of my ornaments that year and was heartsick over it. I hadn't been worried because my children had always been surrounded by breakable things and always understood that they were not to touch. The ornaments had always hung on our tree, my daughter had never touched and my son had never touched - until that Christmas.
For a few years after that we had two trees every Christmas. One downstairs in the family room that would be decorated with kid's ornaments and such and then one upstairs on the main level with what was left of my precious little ornaments. Funny memory to look back on now, but, it sure wasn't funny to me at the time...clink, clink, pfooth! ~Pam

Well we just left all of our ornaments in the basement and let the kids (ages 5, 3.5, and 2) make them all this year. The tree is so cute! The whole bottom is decorated and so is one strip up to the top, the section where the step ladder happened to be. lol My 5 yo daughter went to TOWN on it...and you can tell she has a lot of pride in what she made, and each thing is different.

The tree seems more special than any other we have ever had, because they put their hearts and souls into it, and I've never once had to utter "don't touch". We're building memories here...I don't want those memories to be of scoldings or warnings.

Maybe someone mentioned this, not sure.
But if the children are around 2 or under I would put some plastic balls etc. on the bottom branches , that they could reach..but still have the rule of "Don't touch"
If the kids are 5 or 6 they are Way old enough to know not to bother things that are on the tree. Even a four year old should know better, and most three's too!!

But like I said you could put on the bottom branches plastic ornaments that look similar to the glass ones and strickly tell the kids "Hands off" on the ornaments.
If the parents are present when the kids are bothering the ornaments then "Shame on them" if they don't discipline them. It's your house so lay down the rules about the tree.
Christmas trees are to look at and not to play ( mess around) with.
~Lynn~