Childproofing Our Home, and Need Top of Stair Safety Gate Recommendations

I am not sure of the brand, but we have one that actually bolts to the wall and opens and closes. It has worked great for us.

Dear A.,
We had wonderful safety gates for the stairs and for around our wood burning stove. I can't remember the brand. I'm sure you will get great advice, but Google and see what you can find on-line.
This may sound strange, but also look at pet stores. They have some of the best stuff as far as gates and enclosures.
Best wishes!

Make sure the gate is one that has a frame that fastens to the wall and then the gate locks into the frame rather than a gate held up just by pressure. I daughter fell against a pressure gate at around 1 year and the whole thing popped off! she tumbled down 3 stairs onto the landing and was fine, but it was scary!

We mounted the plastic Lift and Lock gate from Safety First. It has been great. We got a 2nd one for the bottom of the stairs that we just pressure mount to removed when we want.
http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Home-Safety/Gat...

I used The Child Proofer, http://childprooferstore.com/index.html. They did an excellent job in explaining and installing all of the safety equipment in our home. You should really give them a call.

HI A.,

We used the regular wooden gate that actually gets screwed into the walls. Like you, I didn't want by son falling down. He's only going to get busier, and begin to pull himself to a standing position and maybe doing up against this gate. So, you want to make sure it is VERY secure.

Also, my youngest boy was into putting things on or around his head (and still is at 6 yrs old). It began with the Blind cords. You know, after you open up any blinds, then the cord gets longer. Well, put those up if you have them!

Funny, I remember removing, or moving around all coffee tables or end tables that were not ready for a baby. Either they were not sturdy enough, or sharp corners, whatever.

Oh yeah, I don't know if you have a pool, but crawling babies like to bring themselves to stand against the screen door to the outside. Make sure that is sturdy and not about to fall off the track :O)

OK, that's all I can think of for now! Have fun with your little wonder of mischief :O)

~N. :O)

I cannot remember our manufacturers name but One Step ahead's website lists theirs and the purpose reviews. We did drill into the wall and wood..and believe in stair gates..know about injuries..before you know it, around age 2-3, you are done unless a sibling..and then..later, patch, paint..voila!

Hi A.,

I researched all of the top of the stair gates and we decided on the Evenflo top of the stair gate, $39.99. You can view it on babiesrus.com. It is basic wood, but effective. We painted ours to match our banister. It is not a pressure gate; you will have to attach it with screws. We have a banister so we also used the $10.00 banister attachment also from Babiesrus. Our 20 month old bangs at it and trys to climb up it and it is secure. Good luck!

S.

I don't have any stairs but thought I'd mention "Tot Loks". They are for your cupboards in the kitchen. Children learn how to push down the lever to open the other locks. These are magnetic and requires a magnet to get the door open. They have a lever that you can flip up or down so that you can disable it when you are cooking or doing dishes etc., so that they do not become a pain. Here is a link so you can get an idea of what they are.
http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Magnetic-Deluxe-Starter/...

I'm not going to recommend any particular safety gate for your stairs, but just mention to you what the state licensing lady repeated a number of times for us when we had our inspection for home childcare... "none of it is 'childproof'." If your child can't figure out how to open the gate, he might figure out how to climb over it. Whether you use a gate or not, I think you need to spend a lot of time teaching him how to safely ascend and descend the stairs on his own.

A.,
I have a gate at the top of our stairs and it is great to keep kids safe and pets downstairs when appropriate. If it is possible for you, I would not use a pressure mounted one but use a hardware mounted one for safety reasons. Our son is now 3 1/2 years old and we still use our gate. This is the one I have :

http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Hands-Free-Gate/dp/B000...

They also sell it at Target.

This one has a foot pedal that you press down and then you use your knee to push it open. It is great if you are carrying the baby or laundry.

Anyway, with all little babies / toddlers, they will want to hold onto the gate and pull themselves up or try to climb up the gate. (Because it is meant for safety doesn't mean that they won't try to use it as a mini jungle gym piece.)

I hope this helps, we are very happy with this one.

Be sure to think about the bottom of the stairs too since climbing up stairs is a lot of fun and before you know it you are at the top of the stairs. Learning to climb up and to go down feet first facing the stairs is a really good and important skill which can be taught as soon as he starts climbing up...I think it does give babies a sense of caution as well as the thrill of accomplishment. Do you have any places where there are just two steps to practice on?

We have a retractable gate and love it as there is nothing to step across and you can open it with one hand. I have pictures posted on my blog:

www.mamabeartales.com/2009/06/products-i-love-retract-gat...

Good Luck,

B.

We have this one at the top of our stairs... http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Works great and is very sturdy. We also put one at the bottom so our little one can't climb up when downstairs.

good luck!