When did you REMOVE your top-of-stairs baby-gate?

[morningpaper]

DD is 2.5 and although she can't get downstairs by herself she doesn't try either. I wonder whether I should remove the babygate - it would make the hall less cluttered!

When did other people do this?

[Louise1980]

I did it when I moved house in december. My boys were 4 and 2.5.

[Louise1980]

Saying that I still panic a bit through the night as ds1 is a wanderer and ds2 comes downstairs to watch telly!

[TrophyWife]

my ds is also 2.5 but we have left the gate upat the top, as hes up early and likes to play in his room, so by closing the gate we know hes safe and can go back to sleep. or at least try...

[Flum]

my dd can get down stairs on her own and is 15 months. is that early then? mp?

we don't have a stairgate as was thinking of getting one and then she learnt stairs. crawls down backwards.

[mrsflowerpot]

when I caught ds trying to climb over it and very nearly succeeding we decided that it needed to come down. He wasn't even 2 I don't think.

[morningpaper]

I do have a secret worry that she might climb out of bed and fall down the stairs in her sleep.

She's never even tried it when she's AWAKE of course...

[Flum]

you're scaring me now, I'm gonna get one. she is always really careful though.

[morningpaper]

My daughter is about 3 inches high but also has an aversion to anything which might look like exercise.

[Evesmama]

dd can do the stairs herself its just as safety thing incase they trip or something!

[TrophyWife]

i would leave it there at least untill shes old enough to tell you what hurts when she falls down them. not trying to scare you, honest

[tarantula]

I think it depends on the stairs too and where they are in the house. We have 2up2down with really steep stairs that are between our room and dd's so will be leaving ours up for quite a long time jsut to be on the safe side. Ive nearly fallen down the stairs myself a few times when getting up in the night to see to dd.

[hoxtonchick]

we have never had stair gates & live in a 3 storey house. ds learnt to go up & down stairs very early, maybe even before he walked. he's 3 and a bit now & totally safe.

[janeybops]

ds is 18 months and it has just fallen off the wall due to him swinging on it. So don't intend to replace!

However, he is able to get himself down the stairs safely on his own, and has done for at least a couple of months!

[nutcracker]

Last week, ds is 2.4 and could open it so it was really pointless having it there.

Guess what Ds then did 5 minutes after we'd taken it down ?????.................


Yep you've guesses it, he fell down the stairs.

[SoftFroggie]

when it fell off the wall.

[trix]

DS is 18mo and can get up and down stairs OK but Ive still got mine up to stop him wondering off and getting into too much mischief elsewhere.

[WideWebWitch]

We've never had one, laziness more than anything. Dd is 18mos and can do stairs up reliably but has only just learnt going down and I wouldn't let her do it without being behind her to catch her if she falls. So I reckon give it six months and she'll be able to be left to it.

[mrspink27]

never had one! glad not the only ones! dd1 is 2.11 and dd2 is 9m

[smellymelly]

Still there coz I keep having kids!!!

Ds is 5.5, dd is 2.5 and she cannot open it yet, although I'm worried she may throw herself over it when she has a tantrum!

It is one that has no trip you up bar at the bottom though, so I just forget about it.

Only just took the one off the kitchen door recently, and I'm regretting that.

[polly2]

i am in the process of getting rid of it. have a tiny hallway, and yes, no banisters, but my 2.5 yr old is fab at stairs. i leave it open and let her know it's open...in the hope that i will one day not have do a hudini act just to pop to the loo.

[polly2]

gosh is that the time, must wake mine up, lazy little blob, has been asleep since 3. should i be waking her up, any answers?

[assumedname]

Never bothered having one.

[polly2]

have got them all over the place for a 2.5 yr old. am i mad?

[assumedname]

I think it depends on your child/ren. I just shut the door of the room onto the hall and they didn't bother trying to get up the stairs.

One thing I did have was a stair gate for dd's bedroom. Found that really useful. I used the bedroom as a safe environment for dd to play with her toys when I was upstairs doing housework, on the phone etc.

[motherinferior]

Never had one. In fact the only stairgate we've ever had was across the kitchen door and that was mostly to stop DD2 trying to eat catfood.