To ask if I can keep my kids safe without destroying my walls?!

[TammySwansonTwo]

I have 14 month old twins who've now managed to break out of their expensive toddler bouncers and their playpen. Nowhere is safe.

We have an open plan downstairs in our little terrace which I thought would be great and it is, but means there's nothing to stop them roaming wherever. I'd like to add a room divider (aka massive stair gate) between the lounge and diner and then the only thing I have to fix to the wall is the tv. However, it's a 2.5m gap and I can't find anything that width that isn't screw fix. The house is so nicely decorated, think the lounge diner is painted in lovely F&B paint and the last owners didn't leave any so will be a bugger to match it.

Realistically, if I install something like this, until what age is it going to stay there? For example, if it's going to be useless because when they're over 2 they'll figure out how to open or scale it, I'd rather find an alternative! If it will stay there for a couple of years at least then it's more worth I guess.

Any wonderful suggestions?

Do you have wallpaper? If not, the holes are easy enough to fill.

No, no wallpaper but would be a bugger to match the paint and would be in quite a prominent spot. I don't know how much drilling these things actually need, at present we only have pressure fit gates on the stairs.

Also not sure if the skirting boards around that bit of wall would make it difficult to fit, they're fairly deep.

Basically, if someone could invent an invisible force field, that would be great.

Surely the safety of your children is top priority over holes in your walls?
Personally I will only have screw fit gates as I hate the bars at the bottom of pressure fit ones, so unsafe.
You seem a bit precious to me. You can't have a show home with young children.

Can you make a baton with a strip of wood and screw into that? So brace wood between the wall and the gate edge?

They will soon learn to hop over a stair gate height barrier mine did!

Baton? Batten!

No stair gate has kept mine contained past age 3 unfortunately. If you're really unlucky you could have one like dd3 who could open them all before she was 2.

Make your diner child safe too? Give them free reign of the whole lot?

(Is it "reign" or "rein"?)

Mine could hop over stair gates at two, sometime piling up toys to do so. I imagine twins will simply boost each other over.

Yes, obviously my walls are more important than my kids safety

My point was, I don't want to screw up my walls if I'll be talking it down in a couple of months when they learn to climb it and it becomes more of a hazard, given they've managed to escape everything else so far! If this is actually a good solution longer term then I'd happily knock a bloody wall down for it if I had one!

There'll be wear and tear on your walls from other things soon enough, surely? I think it's probably easiest to put up a barrier and make one space as safe as possible, rather than have to try and childproof the whole space because you don't want to put screws in the wall.

www.mothercare.com/fireguards-and-playpens/hauck-baby-park-playpen---white/772313.html?cgid=fire-guard-play-pens#cm_mmc=Google--Nursery--MC-UK-BG-Exa-Nursery-Playpens%2F%2FNursery-Playpens-_-mothercare+playpens+-+e&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_category=Google+-+Nursery&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImu23kKTB1wIVDr7tCh2KcwRyEAAYASAAEgKwzPD_BwE&utm_content=Text+Ad&start=1

Would this work? You could even buy 2 to make the size you want- bit expensive but worth it with twins?

That needs screws surely?

Dig a moat or make a line of drawing pins and don't allow them shoes 😂
Seriously take a photo of your wall or scrape a bit off and take it to johnsons or b and q they will match it.

You'd be better off just anchoring your furniture to walls and dealing with the redecorating later.

They could get to four or five and still pull a heavy cabinet on top of themselves.

Pressure gates ruin paint jobs as much as screwed and I concur with PP re dangerous bar at bottom after I tripped over ours and fell top to bottom down stairs.

Incidentally ours is almost two and stair gates aren't much bother - nor are closed doors. Tricky little beggars they are and as PP said, with two conspiring...!

Thanks everyone - this is why I'm asking as I really know nothing about this stuff!

Unfortunately making the dining room safe for free roaming isn't going to happen - there's a heavy big iMac in there that my husband uses for work every day, plus a fireplace, free access to the kitchen, hall and stairs. If I can make the lounge area a safe space I can at least put them somewhere while I have to do tasks in the kitchen or use the toilet, and let them roam when I can wrangle them! There's no other furniture in the lounge - TV is currently on a built in shelf and need to strap the TV to the wall, but otherwise it's just the sofa. Once they can get on and off that safely I can at least do something in the kitchen without fear of them doing themselves too much damage!

Thanks so much for the suggestions, I'll investigate! Like I say, happy to do it if it's likely to work longterm (unlike the play pen, clever little monsters - teamed up on it and shook both sides til the gate popped open!)

Have also just ordered an extra play pen panel so there'll be no gate but then I can't reach them if they sit in the middle!

I really like the retractable stiff fabric ones, seems like less opportunity to climb or bet purchase, but don't know if they're any good and haven't yet found one wide enough, not sure they exist!