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Original poster

Court of Mumsnet: Would you put a stairgate up for a child approaching 2

25 replies

Twiglett · 24/04/2006 08:18

decorating the hall .. took down the stairgate .. DH bitching and moaning that it should go back up because DD is into everything .. I think we should fill the holes in and paint over it and let DD get accustomed to run of the house

she'll be 2 in May FFS .. we never had a stairgate for DS at all ..

oh its not a safety issue .. its a convenience issue .. containing her downstairs so we don't have to run upstairs all the time (I reckon we can just keep doors closed)

OP posts:

niceglasses · 24/04/2006 08:20

Personally no. I have been very lazy on this one and didnt put stairgates up at all for the younger 2 - they never bleedin' fitted properly!!
No major falls. Lots of running up to get them. Used to paritally block it off with double buggy when they were quite small.

beansprout · 24/04/2006 08:22

I have a different take on this as both me and my brother fell down the stairs and had broken legs when we were 18m and 6yrs respectively!
That said, if you are used to managing without one, then go for it.

lahdeedah · 24/04/2006 08:26

I would put it back up myself, but that's just because I'm lazy and hate having to run up and down stairs!!! It will be easy enough to fill in holes etc at a later date (if you were wallpapering obviously would be much more difficult)

HandbagAddiction · 24/04/2006 08:30

We have never had a stairgate on the bottom of the stairs...but then dd never really showed any inclination for trying to get up them. Now that you've taken it off.....it probably makes sense to leave it off and provided that you think she is physically capable of going up and down safely, I don;t see any problem with her having more freedom to move around the house. You can always shut the doors of the upstairs rooms that you don;t want to go into without supervision.

We have always had a stair gate at the top of our stairs and still do, but this is definitely a safety issue - as they're steep....

Seashells · 24/04/2006 08:30

dd 2 hasn't got a stairgate, but we have just put little hooks on all the upstairs doors except her room, as closing them wasn't enough, she grew tall enough to reach the handles. So she can have the freedom to go round the house and to her own room to play but is kept out of the rooms where she might cause trouble.

PiccadillyCircus · 24/04/2006 08:38

We haven't got (or had) a stairgate at the bottom of the stairs. If you can block it off if necessary then I think it'fe fine not to have it.

Jimjamskeepingoffvaxthreads · 24/04/2006 08:42

Nope, never had any for ds2 and have none for ds3 (now 15 months). DS3 is very safe on the stairs now (and super quick). We do have a playpen though, but if you have a room you can leave your dd in while you pop upstairs can't see the need for stairgates.

MadamePlatypus · 24/04/2006 21:43

Yes, but our stairs are so steep that DH and I have fallen down them!

Rhubarb · 24/04/2006 21:51

My friend's ds fell down the stairs once and crashed into the stairgate at the bottom - he broke his arm in two places!

If you can keep the door shut, then I would go with that. I think crashing into a stairgate is worse than just falling down the stairs.

Put one at the top of the stairs by all means, but just at the bottom is asking for trouble.

Greensleeves · 24/04/2006 21:52

No... no point in my opinion. You'll just end up leaving it open all the time and she'll swing on it and drive you bonkers

nzshar · 24/04/2006 22:33

Havent used stairgates for ds (22 months) for about the last 3 months. We close all doors apart from his own room (which is toddler proof as much as possible) upstairs. He can come and go as he pleases, though he is far to nosey and only really wants to be where the rest of the family are anyhow at the moment.

ja9 · 24/04/2006 22:55

we recently moved house and haven't put stairgates back up. ds almost 20 months. he doesn't tend to go upstairs much unless someone else is there...

just leave them off...

joash · 24/04/2006 23:06

Personally, I would use a gate. I never did for my three after they turned about 2 years old - but the stairs at this place are so steep and I have lost count of the number of times my neice has fallen down their stairs (one month older than GS) that I felt it to be safe rather than regret it later.

joash · 24/04/2006 23:06

sorry - forgot to add that we now have GS who is 3

Ledodgyherring · 24/04/2006 23:07

why not just get one of those travel ones that are made out of material and won't damage your walls?

kiera · 24/04/2006 23:25

Took ours down when we decorated when ds was about one and they never went back up. He's now 2 1/2 and has not had a fall yet. I think stairgates are more dangerous than safe as apart from the fact you can trip over them and fall kids never learn how to go up and down them safely. Our house is pretty baby-proof these days though so he can safely go anywhere.

joash · 24/04/2006 23:37

You can get gates that are not a tripping hazard. Each of our steps on the stairs is 10 inches high whilst the treads are only five inches - scary for me let alone kiddies.
GS can actually open the gate - he just can't be bothered with the hassle

CKMUM · 25/04/2006 08:05

all the gates I have seen say suitable up to the age of 2; i have known children fall and break bones from falling dow as there isnt a gate there but also from climbing over the gate when they are aged 2 and falling over the top of it and down the stairs

Uwila · 25/04/2006 08:16

I have a stairgate at the top of the stairs. It is closed at night to keep me 3 year old from wandering downstairs in the middle of the night should she decide to get up and go play. During the day, its purpose is to keep the baby from falling down the stairs. But, I definitely think it comes in handy for the 5 year old as well.

Dottydot · 25/04/2006 09:29

nah - but then we're v. bad Mummies, particularly with ds2, who's never seen a stair gate in his life (and only fallen down stairs once. ahem.).

Ah - just seen it's not a safety thing. I'd still say no - hopefully she's getting big enough to not flood the bathroom/tear up the bedrooms/find a pen and go mad on the wallpaper..!

We let our ds2 who's just turned 2 roam the house - it's lovely when both ds's go upstairs and entertain themselves for a while - but then we've got a very rule-loving ds1 who comes and reports all minor offences immediately!

eidsvold · 25/04/2006 09:38

I think if you can keep the doors closed that is fine...

we have internal stairs going down to a play room etc with a midway landing and ending on concrete - would have never forgiven myself had either dd fallen down them. We put hte gate up when we moved into this house so been there for 2 years. Ours is a pressure one that you can open and shut as you need.

Dd1 ( 3 1/2) is fine going up and down the stairs, dd2 ( almost 18 months old) is okay going up but not down.... so the gate stays for now.

Uwila · 25/04/2006 09:43

I just noticed I typed 5 year old. I meant three year old. Don't have a 5 year old!

SoupDragon · 25/04/2006 10:31

When we moved house with DS2 aged nearly 1, I didn't want to put up the proper stairgate again so I used 3 sections of our Baby Dan BabyDen thing and attached it to the radiator and the bannisters with toyties. Enough to stop him going unaided up the stairs. I also do this now when we have smaller children visiting and will do it again when BabyDragon is crawling.

I'd (*) invest some time teaching your DD how to go up and down stairs properly and safely and ditch the stairgate. She's a Neglected Subsequent Child, not a Precious Firstborn :o

Not me, personally, I think you should do it yourself

Bozza · 25/04/2006 10:45

She'll be fine. We took the downstairs gate down months ago. Then we started leaving the upstairs gate open (was slightly concerned due to location of stairs directly opposite DD's bedroom door). I would have taken it down ages ago but DH was resisting but even he gave in about 3 weeks ago. A week too late, mind you, as the week before I bruised the entire top of my foot and my thigh on it. My foot is still slightly sore. The stairs are so open now, it's lovely.

Not that convinced about containing her downstairs. Even if she can't open the doors surely DS will end up leaving them open?

Ellaroo · 25/04/2006 11:06

We have one at the top of the stairs that we leave open all day (ds is 2) but we have not taken it down as it makes dh & I feel as if there is something between us and the burglars when we shut it each night!

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