Front Door Fresh Air Query

[Kpo58]

Now the weather has gotten really nice, but we are all still under lockdown, I really need suggestions on how I can keep my front door open to let in the fresh air, but not allow my kids to escape. Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to do this without having to replace my entire front door?

Gotten is commonly used in parts of the U.K. quite offensive to pull people up on it and then cringe about the correct use of the word

I didn't know that

It was the word + unusual house layout that made me think USA

There are a lot of USA posters on here lately, so assumed op might be one!

Gotten is commonly used in parts of the U.K

It's cringe when we think we're American.

Would the same still stand if we all started saying "off of" like they do in America? Or are we still all allowed to be appalled at that?

Stair gate or pull a suitable solid piece of furniture in front of it (you know, a chest of drawers or whatever - it’ll look a bit weird but who cares?

I actually only have a front door- no back door to my house. It used to be part of a much larger network of cottages attached to a stately home, and when they were divided up, there was no back door put in. Have my front door open at least half the day when we’re in between roughly now and September. Hate stuffy houses.

No we aren't allowed to be appalled by it. In fact I don't even know in what context you mean.

And gotten was used in the UK before the US.

I've used off of many times but not so much now. I'm not in the USA.

For the sneerers, gotten is actually an ancient English word.

A stair gate is the obvious answer.

Chain on door, and something like a shoe wedging the door open a few inches?

A stair gate or a removable screen door seems easiest. A dog gate or similar could also work well. I'd personally worry about the security aspect but obviously you know your area best OP.

Not sure why so many pedants are derailing your thread

For the sneerers, gotten is actually an ancient English word.

Gotten rid of. For a reason.

Those that don't understand what's wrong with off of, you're taking the piss and I'm not buying it.

Not sure why so many pedants are derailing your thread

Boredom

Gotten is old English and still commonly used in both Scotland and Ireland, and probably some parts of England too.

It is neither wrong nor distasteful to speak a local dialect, nor indeed to be American.

Judging someone for the correct use of a word in the English language when typing in English on the other hand...

Gotten is commonly used here in the North.

I'd use a stairgate, OP. You can get pop up ones so they're easy to store when not being used.

Where in the North? It isn't used in Yorkshire.

Pfft, Yorkshire is the South to me

Northumberland.

Which, given that its commonly used in Scotland isn't surprising as there is a lot of linguistic overlap between Northumbrian and Scottish dialects.

Where in the North? It isn't used in Yorkshire.

In the regions of the North with a wider vocabulary. Lancashire for example :-)

Gotten is a perfectly cromulent word. LMAO at the Hyacinths who worry it might be foreign.

Gotten is in regular use in Britain. It's nothing to get sniffy about, it's just a gap in your knowledge.

We have a chain on our front door (it came with the house) and it's actually pretty handy on warm days. Put it high enough so toddlers can't fiddle, and put something like a shoe in the gap to stop the door slamming on little fingers.

Gotten is used in Scotland as others have said.

This reminds me of a time I said something on here. I can't remember what it was, but terminology commonly used in Scotland and ireland. The amount of people tripping over themselves to 'correct' me was hilarious.

DH is from Northumberland, and we spend a lot of time there. I have never met anyone who says "gotten".

OP, could you string some wires across your front door and attach a car battery?

Depending on the age of your children it should not take too many shocks before they are trained never to cross the threshold again.

DH is from Northumberland, and we spend a lot of time there. I have never met anyone who says "gotten".

You've never met an American?

You having never noticed anyone say gotten means nothing. Never heard the phrase ill-gotten, or gotten rid of something? People here say they do commonly use it, and there's no reason to doubt them, so what does your anecdote prove?

This reminds me of a time I said something on here. I can't remember what it was, but terminology commonly used in Scotland and ireland. The amount of people tripping over themselves to 'correct' me was hilarious.

Working class and colloquial language always sets the Hyacinths off. It's unpatriotic to know too many words.

Don't admit to calling someone pet, flower or hen; the levels of bile it unleashes are phenomenal.

I’m in Scotland and I can’t imagine what Op would have said instead of gotten. ‘Now the weather has got really nice’, is that what’s being suggested?! As that seems grammatically incorrect to me.

Sorry for the derail Op! Laughing a bit at the ‘tell them no’ suggestions. Stair gate seems the way to go, or you can get playpens in sections, maybe a couple of those as a barrier?