to wonder why having a stairgate is such a bad thing????

[LoveBeingAMummy]

OK, moving on quickly from this being a thread about a thread , HOWEVER why is having a stairgate seen as a negitive thing? I don't get it, really, why would you not have one?

nappyaddict - that's a good question - I wonder how long they have been around? my mum had one for us (it was green!) and I'm 30 but I don't know much past that.

I think that with one you can allow your DC a certain amount of freedom - without it you have to be with them all the time.

Mrsruffalo, I appreciate that. Though not sure what it says about me as I never used it to shield the kitchen or had cupboard locks or socket covers or any of the other safety stuff. Though I have needed reins for one of my three so, yes, child's personality does come in to it I guess.

But, back to my question; was I over cautious in the night? Do most people not worry about them falling down stairs in the night when they're up every night and walking past the top of the stairs in a sleepy state and not yet 2/just turned 2? I'm not suggesting anyone else is slack. This is a genuine question.

My brother fell downstairs when he was 3 and went to the toilet in the night. He cut his head and had to have stitches. It is so much simpler to have a stair gate.

So there really is no answer to this question

It hadn't occurred to me that anyone wouldn't want a stairgate until I read this thread-I still can't see why anyone would have an objection.

We have one top and bottom. No attempts made to climb over them has ever been made so far.
However, we don't have a fireguard and my SIL thinks we are totally mad for not having one. We don't have the fire on during the day and when dd used to head toward it we said "no" and she stopped trying! Never had one with ds either.

There is no way that I would have not have had a fireguard when they were young! They were very good when told not to touch things, but DCs having fun don't bear these things in mind. The DSs played-they weren't thinking of safety. I think it much preferable to have the safety things in place and then the DC has freedom. Not having a fireguard would mean that they couldn't be in a room on their own.

Sorry-I see you didn't have a fire on in the day-in that case there is no need. We did have a fire on in the day.

We never had a fireguard either. My step-brother had one and DS constantly tried to climb on it or pull it over.