When did you stop using a stair gate?

[Kia123456]

My DD is 2.5 years old and I don't know if it's safe to stop using a stair gate. The one we had broke and I'm undecided if we should replace it or just go without. DD has never had an accident on the stairs but with it removed the top of the stair looks very open now. I'm worried I'm being irresponsible to not have a stair gate. When do people normally stop using one?

[BITCAT]

Most stairgates state they are suitable up to 24months so I wouldn't waste my money on another tbh. I had to.take mine down at 18months as my dd1 used to turn her toyboy over and climb over them so it was actually more dangerous to have one than not. I'd say 2.5 years is perfectly acceptable to stop using.

[GlitteryFluff]

Slightly off topic but how do you contain them with no gates ie what's stopping a 2.5yo waking in middle of night, going down stairs and opening kitchen cupboards, going in toilet, watching telly all night etc?

[BITCAT]

I've never had that issue I must admit. I had locks on cupboards. I would usually wake up if I hear them moving around. Never had any of them go watching TV. I mean you can't keep stairgates up forever and they do learn how to get through them or over them fairly quickly.

[DPotter]

Stopped using a stair gate when DD started climbing over it - reckon that was adding at least 3 stairs to any fall....she was about 20 mths and we put her in a bed at the same time as she would climb out if the cot. She did wander atound her room as a couple of times we found her sleep on a chair.

And what stopped her going downstairs at night - the dark, closed kitchen door which she couldn't open, tv turned off at the wall she hadn't figured out. She much preferred coming into our room and climbing up from the bottom of the bed under the duvet.
Main problem was remembering to remove her cd player at night as she would play nursery rhyme cd at full blast at un-godly hours of the morning, and then claim her toys had woken her up for a party. Now I've read kids can't lie before they are 5 or so, and she made this claim on at least 2 occaisions, so either she was very forward or...........
We laugh about it now she's 16.

[ShelaghTurner]

I find that the little beggars co-sleeping till they leave home stops them wandering around the place at night! DD1 moved out at Easter and 8 years old, DD2 is 4.5 and still in residence! 😤

[georgetteheyersbonnet]

We took our ones off from the kitchen door and the bottom of the stairs when DD was just 3, still have the upstairs one on and close it at night though (it's one of the screwed into the wall ones), just to stop any potential sleepwalking down the stairs. My sister and brother both sleepwalked and as a teen I'd often find them going up and down the stairs!

DD is a bit of a liability though and careers about all over the place, whereas I know friends who took theirs off earlier for their toddlers.

[BITCAT]

DPotter 😅 the toys waking her up for a party. Kids and there imaginations

[Kia123456]

Thanks everyone. I won't run out and buy a new one. Hopefully I won't find her downstairs eating her way through the chocolate biscuits in the middle of the night!

[Flisspaps]

We have one at the top of the stairs, DS is 4.

This is to stop DS belting along the landing, tripping up one randomly placed step and then hurtling down a flight of stairs onto a solid concrete/tiled floor. I wouldn't bother if we didn't have the random step.

[Christine88]

My son broke our 1, we used 1 and moved it to where we needed it. He used to use toys and climb over it then one day he snapped it! He was coming up to 2 then and I thought it's probably safer that we don't have 1 for him to climb on...same reason he was in a toddler bed at 18 months little monkey!