Пожалуйста, не ставьте манеж у батареи: там слишком жарко для ребёнка.

Because ставьте is the plural or polite singular imperative form of ставить.

Russian uses:

• ставь = tell one person informally
• ставьте = tell several people, or one person politely

So this sentence sounds like a polite instruction: Please don’t put the playpen by the radiator.

The ending -те is what makes it polite/plural.

This is a very common question.

In negative commands, Russian usually prefers the imperfective:

• не ставьте = don’t put / don’t place

This sounds like a general instruction or prohibition.

If you said не поставьте, it would sound unusual here. Perfective in negative imperatives is much less common and usually has a special nuance.

So:

• не ставьте манеж у батареи = the normal, natural way to say don’t put the playpen by the radiator

The base verb is:

• ставить = to place, put down, set

Манеж here means a playpen for a small child.

Depending on context, манеж can also mean:

• an indoor riding arena
• a training arena
• sometimes other enclosed practice spaces

But with для ребёнка in the sentence, it clearly means a baby’s or toddler’s playpen.

Grammatically:

• манеж is a masculine noun
• dictionary form: манеж

After у meaning by, near, next to, Russian normally uses the genitive case.

So:

• батарея = nominative singular
• у батареи = genitive singular

This structure means:

• у батареи = by the radiator / near the radiator

So the pattern is:

• у + genitive

Examples:

• у окна = by the window
• у двери = by the door
• у стены = by the wall

Not in this sentence.

In everyday Russian, батарея very often means a radiator or heating battery inside a room.

So:

• села батарея = the battery went dead
• горячая батарея = a hot radiator

In this sentence, because it says там слишком жарко, the meaning is definitely:

• у батареи = by the radiator

This is a very useful vocabulary point, because English speakers often assume батарея only means an electrical battery.

Там means there.

It refers back to the location у батареи:

• не ставьте манеж у батареи: там слишком жарко
  = don’t put the playpen by the radiator: it’s too hot there

So там does not mean a distant place in some dramatic sense. It simply means in that spot / in that area.

Russian often uses там this way to refer to a place just mentioned.

The preposition для takes the genitive case.

So:

• ребёнок = nominative
• для ребёнка = genitive

This means:

• for the child

So the pattern is:

• для + genitive

Examples:

• для мамы = for mom
• для детей = for children
• для дома = for the house/home

In the sentence:

• там слишком жарко для ребёнка = it’s too hot there for the child

Because жарко here is a predicative adverb/state word, not a regular adjective modifying a noun.

Russian often uses words like:

• жарко = hot
• холодно = cold
• темно = dark
• душно = stuffy

These describe the environment or situation, not a noun directly.

So:

• там жарко = it’s hot there

If you used жаркий, that would usually modify a noun:

• жаркий день = a hot day

So:

• слишком жарко для ребёнка = too hot for the child

Пожалуйста means please.

Placed at the beginning, it makes the command more polite:

• Пожалуйста, не ставьте... = Please don’t put...

Russian пожалуйста is very flexible. It can appear:

• at the beginning
• in the middle
• sometimes near the end

At the beginning, as here, it sounds very natural for a polite request or instruction.

The colon introduces the reason or explanation for the request.

So the structure is basically:

• Please don’t put the playpen by the radiator: it’s too hot there for the child.

The second part explains why.

In English, you might also use:

• a colon
• a dash
• or even a separate sentence

Russian punctuation often uses a colon when the second part explains the first.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

The original:

• Пожалуйста, не ставьте манеж у батареи: там слишком жарко для ребёнка.

This is natural and neutral.

You could also hear:

• Пожалуйста, манеж у батареи не ставьте.
• Не ставьте, пожалуйста, манеж у батареи.

These still mean the same thing, but the emphasis changes slightly.

The original order is good because it is clear and straightforward:

1. polite request
2. action not to do
3. location
4. explanation

Yes, ё matters.

• ребёнка is pronounced roughly ree-BYON-ka
• the stress falls on -ён-

The letter ё always indicates a yo sound and is always stressed.

In many printed texts, Russians often write е instead of ё, so you may see:

• ребенка

But the correct pronunciation is still:

• ребёнка

This is important because е and ё can change pronunciation a lot.

It is polite but firm.

Why it sounds polite:

• пожалуйста
• ставьте instead of informal ставь

Why it still sounds firm:

• it is a direct negative imperative
• it gives a clear reason

So it sounds like something a parent, caregiver, doctor, or staff member might say:

• polite
• practical
• not rude
• but clearly an instruction

Yes.

In this sentence, ставить can be translated naturally as:

• put
• place
• sometimes set

So:

• не ставьте манеж у батареи
  = don’t put the playpen by the radiator = don’t place the playpen by the radiator

English usually prefers put in everyday speech, while place sounds a bit more formal. Russian ставить works well for either here.