nightime safety - stairgates

[crumpet]

We've just put dd into a big bed, and so far so good. But I'm wondering what people do about possible nightime wanderings? I have a fear that she'll fall downstairs in the middle of the night. I don't want to put a stairgate across her door, so the only solution would be one across the top of the stairs. Is this what everyone does, or do you not worry about it?

She's 2.5 and not a nighttime waker (at the moment). We've not had a stairgate up for months and months, so in the meantime I'm cobbling together a barrier with one end of her old cot!

[Tommy]

we have a stairgate across the top of our stairs for this reason. It's also useful if I'm doing something upstairs (like housework - although this doesn't happen very often!) and I don't want the DSs to go downstairs. A friend has one across her DD's door way - hasn't been a problem.

[crumpet]

thanks Tommy. Does anyone have solutions which don't involve stairgates? (Can't think of alternatives myself and think we'll have to bite the bullet...)

[Nemo1977]

i have one over both. ONly because his door one is shut when we are still up then as we go to bed we open his but close the one over the stairs.

[alison222]

Apparently my mum used to lie a chair down at the top of the stairs so we'd trip on it rather than fall down the stairs if we got up in the night. I guess this depends on the shape of your landing

[crumpet]

Oh dear, it sounds like the stairgate is going back (will break the news to dh gently). Trying to avoid a gate on the door unless it becomes impossible without, as I'd prefer dd to come to us in the morning rather than go and get her (not that I'm lazy...).

Until then though - its the cot side at the top of the stairs rather like alison222's mum!

[DaddyCool]

i thought a stair-gate at the top of the stairs was a just a standard thing to do. if we didn't have a stairgate, ds would literally launch himself down the stairs head first if we weren't looking.

[elliott]

But surely at 2.5 she's pretty competent on the stairs? So why should she fall down them? We do have a stairgate at the top of the stairs but it is rarely closed now. I have to say if ds1 had ever felt like wandering about in the night a)I would have heard him and b) he would have wandered into our room rather than go exploring down the stairs. It really wasn't a concern of mine. he went into a bed when he was nearly 3, btw.

[chicagomum]

we had a retractable (roller blind type) stairgate at the top of our stairs whcih i used at night and during the day if i wanted to keep dd upstairs whilst i was up their doing things, at 3 we decided she was old enough not to need it anymore and the first night we left it open she got up (usually sleeps thru the night) and fell down the stairs catching her arm in the bannisters and we spent half the night in a&e, so for your peace of mind (and as much sleep as you can get at night) i'd recommend a stairgate

[elliott]

ah well, there's always one to prove the point

[DaddyCool]

we've got those retractable roller blind ones as well. they're brilliant. double the price but brilliant.

[chicagomum]

not trying to prove a point elliott, just letting people know my experience i wouldn't want anyone to go thru that ,finding your 3 year old half way down the stairs with her arm twisted backwards through the bannister screaming in pain, particularly when i could have prevented it

[alison222]

What about when they start getting themselves up to go to the toilet in the night and they wander around on the landing half asleep. We always closed the top stairgate on DS for this reason because he always headed for the toilet and we often didn't hear him until we heard the toilet seat slamming