cot to cotbed - stairgate across doorway or small barrel bolt?

[ForcesSweetheart]

Thinking about moving DD to cotbed from cot after Christmas and just trying to get the practicalities figured out. Is there anything inherently unsafe about using a small barrel bolt on the outside of her bedroom door rather than fitting a stairgate? The reason I ask is that there's already one on the door (don't ask me why - we're in army quarters and it was there when we moved in) that we've never used. When I said to DH that we'd need to fit a stairgate, he said we should just pull the bolt across when she's in bed, but I'm sure there must be some kind of safety reason why people use stairgates instead. Unfortunately I can't think of a single one right now to counter his argument. She sleeps with her bedroom door shut tight anyway and has done since she moved into her room at 6mths - and when she wakes up plays quite happily with teddies til one of us gets her up. Anyone?

i would say if theres a fire it could be a risk having a bolt there!
we have got the stairgate top of stairs.
my ss had army quarters and her families officer helped her with sytairgates she had one top and bottom of stairs!

do you mean bolt the door closed?if so i would definatly say stairgate and have the door open for safty reasons.was in a horrific house fire when i was 16 and i can honestly say open doors make all the difference hope im not being morbid just bolted doors are a safety hazzard imagine firemen trying to look around a smoke filled house or any kind of emergancy

One thing strikes me right away, if wakens up in the night and needs you she would not be able to get out of the room.

Our DD almost never gets up but DS does, he wanders around quite often. Last night I found him in our bed when we went up the stairs.

With a stairgate, you will be able to let her play upstairs without worrying about her falling down the stairs. It is not just about when she is asleep.

Our youngest was 3 in July and we have only just taken the stairgate down as I was worried about his nightwanders.

we use a stairgate across the door, but its really just to stop him escaping, but then his door has never really shut properly and he likes a bit of light, also it allows for air circultion (his room is either boiling in the summer or freezing in the winter).

I dont see why you couldn't just bolt the door, except for the fact she might not like it, i.e. being able to get out of bed but not out of the room.

my only worry would be in an emergency i know that ds is able to force the gate open or climb over it if he really wanted to, if it was a bolted door he def wouldn't be able to get out.

I wouldnt like to lock my lo's in their rooms. I dont even like stairgates across their doors - too much like being trapped. We have a stairgate at the top of the stairs (we cant get one for the bottom as the bottom step juts out and a gate wont fit it - we keep the doors to the hall closed instead) and that means that both dc's can have the run of upstairs in safety when they are awake.

I struggle to rationalise the difference between a stairgate across the bedroom door and a shut door with a bolt because essentially it's the same difference. the child cannot leave the room.

but, the thought of locking a door to a childs room from the outside (or inside for that matter) makes me feel really really uncomfortable!

i am moving to a flat in a couple of weeks and intend to shift dd out of cot and into cotbed after christmas too.

no longer any concerns about stairs as it's a flat but i do have a stairgate that i am tempted to put across her bedroom door to discourage nighttime wandering. am still undecided whether to use it tho.

at the mo her bedroom door is open a crack all night but i think that will have to change when we're moved as all the rooms go off the same hallway. i still feel uneasy about shutting her door entirely tho! i can't figure out why the shut in thing makes me feel so uneasy tho!

Definitely don't lock her in!! If she wakes to find something wrong she won't be able to get out. Get a stair gate at the top of the stairs instead.

DS3 has just moved into a bed - after the first few nights he stopped trying to get out of bed and wander around upstairs. We have a stairgate at the top of the stairs to deter nocturnal wanderings. I must admit I do shut his door when we go to bed because he has a habit of waking up in the middle of the night and singing/chatting to himself quite loudly and I don't want him to wake the other DSs. I wouldn't bolt his door though - I just don't really see the point.

Bolt on outside of child's bedroom is a Social Services red flag, I have been told.

ds moved into a bed recently and tho i meant to get the door fixed beforehand it didn't happen, so he can't open the door as it drags on the carpet.
not for long i'm sure until he figures how hard to pull it but for now it's a godsend.
i dunno about a bolt, makes me uneasy too but can't explain it?
but i'm well up for locking them in to start with. i mean he couldn't get out when he was in a cot so no real diff. now he gets out of bed and plays with teddies (or emptying the laundry basket or pulling out all the wipes, etc. ) until he's fed up then he tries to open the door and we hear that so we get him.
obv when they are potty training then they need to get to the loo.
and obv if there are stairs it's sensible to have a gate at the top for when they aren't entirely awake and wandering.

dunno if this helps at all sorry!

If a bolt on the outside of a bedroom door is a social services red flag, I better not invite them around here anytime soon.

We have a bolt on every single door in the house, accept for the living room (including under stairs cupboard doors).

No choice with DS1 who has ASD and has been able to vault stairgates easily from a very early age.

I have bolts all over the place too, but not their bedroom because they don't actually have a door!

My dd's have gates across their bedroom doors, because its not possible to have a gate at the top of the stairs its an old house and I was worried about them coming out of their rooms and falling down them when they are not quite awake. I dont like the idea of locks on doors

sorry if I'm repeating others - just skim-read the thread but IMO...

I wonder if it might backfire if you bolt the door. If, one night she tries to get out and the door is bolted, she might never let you shut her bedroom door again.

I think I'd go for the stairgate every time if there was a need to stop any midnight wondering. My DD1 sleeps with her door open and she is fantastic - no gate needed. I think things are going to be very different with DD2

wE HAVE A STAIRGATE ON KIERANS DOOR AND ON TOP OF THE STAIRS, JUST INCASE! oops, sorry for the caps lol

My ds (2.6) has been in a 'big boy bed' for 2 months and has not yet attempted to get out of bed! We have a stair gate across stairs just in case. Perhaps just see how she is.How old is she? [Waves hello from our army quarter to yours!]

In many houses built in the 1930s -- ie loads of the suburbs - most of the doors were designed with the handles relatively high - ie 2/3 way up rather than 1/2...so same ourcome as a bolt for the children...would you then recommend getting new doors...??!!