We have a 17 month old and I need recommendations on a top-of-stairs baby gate that is a door that swings open so adults can pass through and keeps an active toddler safe from falling down the stairs. The main issue is that one side is drywall (probably hollow but unsure) and the other side is a thick wood bannister pole. So, I know I will probably need one that mounts onto something on the dry wall side? Or maybe not necessarily? I've done some comparison looking online but just get confused on which one is best for the price. It really comes down to how it needs to be mounted. Some reviews of one gate I saw online said something about molding at the bottom of the wall that can be a problem for mounting. One I saw online was $60 from KidCo and that's not including the $40 mounting kit that goes around the bannister pole....So that's $100 right there. Are there any other ones out there for our type of set-up? And for less $? Any guidance would be great...thanks!!!
I'm with Kristin L - teach her how to go up and down stairs. By 17 months she should have no problem.
We got a curved plastic gate from Babies R Us. I forget the brand, but it was with all the other baby gates.
What we did was screw it into the wall on one side, and fix the other side to the metal pole for the railing with a bunch of big zip ties. Then we also secured the railing with a safety net. Not the most beautiful thing, but it works, keeps our daughter off the stairs, the curve allows the cats some footing when they leap over it. We can't have a gate off the ground for them to get under because one cat is literally as big as the baby (he's a 22 lbs). Hope that helps.
Hi - Sorry I'm late responding. I like the Configure Gate (http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...) because it lets you create a landing at the top of the stairs. That way if you're carrying stuff up the stairs or your daughter is going up ahead of you, you/she aren't teetering at the top trying to open the gate. I also like that it lets you work around banisters and hollow dry wall - you can find a stud and configure the gate to line up with it. It's one-hand operation and pretty easy to install.
We have a great gate at the top of our stairs (safety 1st smart light baby gate) We spent abt $60 for it at Babies R Us 3 yrs ago, but it metal, unclimbable, mounts to the wall and banister with molding, and has a motion sensor light. The light is great so if you are going up or down the stairs in the dark and the gate is closed, you see it, and after our girls are asleep it turns into a nightlight for the hallway when anyone gets up. It operates with one hand, but you need a little strength to open it, so the 4 yr old is completely out of her element even though she has figured out HOW to do it. We used very nice safety 1st mount gates through the rest of the house (abt $30), but wanted something more secure and the light for the stairs. Hope you find the right one for you.
S.
YOu may want to check out consignment shops. THey may have some that families grew out of and be a lot less expensive.
You could just teach your daughter how to go up and down the steps. My son is 15 months and he goes up and down the steps without a problem. He sits on his butt and scoots down. It great because its a back saver - we don't need to carry him - and we don't need to spend the money on gates.
We had the same problem because we have stairs. You need to get the gate by "first years". Its a regular wooden gate, but its the one that has the eye hole screws. It has 4 screws and 4 latches. We had to screw one side into the wall and one side into the stair banister. It works great! You just unlatch the top and pull up so the bottom unlatches. We have two...one for the upstairs and one for the basement stairs. We bought ours at Target and they are really cheap. I believe they were around $10. But its the only one that would work for us.
We use the "First Years Hands Free Gate" (we have 3 in our house) and love it. It has a foot petal for easy hands free use and it is not permanent so there is no holes to fix once the child is older. Even better for your situation is the fact that while it is pressure mounted, each of the four corners is independent so you'll be able to get a perfect fit. Also unlike most pressure mounted gates, this one is extremely sturdy ... even in the open position!! My 2yo son has gone charging into the gates on several occasions and they have never slipped, bent, or moved. Generally they are $50 (available at Babies R Us) but often there are coupons for 15% off gates and that helps. Double check the width before you purchase to see if you need the extension as well (we had to get extensions for 2 of the 3 we own -- but they are just as sturdy). Hands down this is the best gate for the price!!!
We have the Kidco Safeway Gate, which although was a pain to install is installable on either side and swings either direction you choose to install it for. It is sturdy and we drilled right into the banister. I was going to get a kit so we didn't have to drill into the banister but read another parent comment that isn't a few holes worth the safety, and that made me think maybe it wasn't such a big deal. I can understand though if you don't want to!
A friend of mine has retractable gates on her stairs; I just got one for the bottom of my stairs but those are more expensive. Good luck!
We used the kidco banister kit to avoid drilling into the wood. In past homes we cracked two banisters drilling. The banister kit we used had both round and square brackets that fit around the wood at the top and the bottom and the gate attatches to those.
I like Kidco gates. They are resilient and simple, and hard for kids to operate. However, we had a very hard to fit angled drywall and banister opening. We used the retractable fabric gate tha tis on the market. I forget wha tit's called and it is over $100 but it is great. I love tha tyou can retrct it when not in use. Although it does require some vigilence to remember to close it.
Hi there,
I had the same issue drywall on one side and banister pole, I've used the IKEA metal gates on top and on the bottom of the steps and never had a bad incident!!!! I think they are $30-40 I can't remember exactly but they worked great.
A.
