I get that. I've got a 3.5 year old granddaughter but she's never going near this grill at this house. More concerned about her going near the hot Broilmaster on the deck of our beach house.I had a Traeger Ironwood for a while. I removed it, reinserted the screws to the hopper, then "rest" the guard back in place. I agree that the guard probably seems useless but now that I have a Grandson I'm starting to think about safety features more than before.