Putting a stairgate on a toddler's bedroom door - controversial?

[DitaVonCheese]

Every morning 3 yo DD comes and climbs into bed with us. This is lovely. Unfortunately she does it 30 min before the alarm goes off and is hellbent on waking us up - chatting, jumping up and down, opening the curtains etc. This is infuriating. Nothing seems to get through to her that actually mummy and daddy really really need those 30 minutes of sleep. How in hell's name two nightowls produced a bona fide morning person I do not know.

Anyway, I have just suggested putting a stairgate on her bedroom door until she's let out in the morning. I wasn't actually serious, largely because I don't think it would work, I think she'd just howl, plus I do actually like cuddling her first thing. I'm just a bit taken aback by DH's response - he was absolutely horrified and said it was probably illegal, or ought to be. I thought it was really common - so is he right or do I just hang out with a lot of scary parents?

I did it

I don't care it it is controversial or not

Why is it controversial? You now have a room sized cot... (although at three, it won't be long before she can open it herself). We've done it when moving the dses from cot to bed - safer than them wandering around at night/ getting into stuff while we're alseep.

Local fire brigade said this was safer as gates at the top of stairs can hinder escape in an emergency!

My nearly 3 year old dd has a stair gate over her door. Her door is right next to very steep stairs and the gate doesn't fit over the stairs (tall, skinny terraced house).

Why Woukd it be controversial?!

What exactly does your DH have a problem with? It's far safer having a gate on their room to stop them being free to roam the house unsupervised surely?

is your H getting mixed up with the lock on the outside of the dc bedroom door scenario ?

My 2.3yo DD can open the gate herself. We can no longer contain her!

Ha. Thanks MNers. I didn't think it was controversial, was doubting myself for a minute there. He thinks it's the same as locking her in her room. I said it's not like we're shutting the door on her or anything and he said that it very much was like that. I can see his point in that the net effect is the same - she can't get out of the room - but having solid wood and airy bars seem very different to me.

(She is a sensible toddler though - we've only put the stairgate back at the top of the stairs recently when she moved to her own room and only to stop her falling down the stairs if she comes into our room while it's still dark, think she can open it probably if she wants to.)

X-posts - he seems to think they're roughly equivalent, AnyFucker

I am completely irrationally with dp on this one- I hate the idea of effectively locking people into places.

I've always had a gate on my littlest's rooms. They're used to it, they're fine with it, no problem.

ThInk your dh is probably feeling a bit silly now. Bit of an absurd overreaction.

I can't see why not as long as she doesn't try and climb it.
We have bolts high up on the bathroom, our room and spare room doors to stop DD1 waking from her nap and quietly creating havoc. She would have piled up toys and vaulted a gate on her door. Fortunately she had the sense not to try and climb the one on the stairs.

We did it. DS did just howl at the door until we came and got him, so we soon took it off!!

toddlers need restraining physically for their own safety

without a gate over the bedroom door, I was unable to sleep for visualizing my child going head first down the stairs whilst having an early-hours wander

We've put one on DS's door now that he's started crawling.

We think it's safer than putting it at the top of the stairs.

I knew it. So shall I go and prod him awake to tell him of my own rightness or wait until morning and spell it out in muesli?

shave it into his eyebrows as he sleeps

Now you mention it, AF, he has a beard

I did it. DS was a good sleeper once he was asleep but as a toddler he kept wanting to come out of his room to play. Worked for us.

It is a good idea, especially when they decide not to go straight into your bedroom and instead wander around, there may be things they should not touch.

As for the extra half an hour, you will probably just hear her complaining and have to get up to open the gate.

We have one ready to do it as soon as DD manages to climb out of her cot and needs to go into a toddler bed, she is 2.2 so sure it wont be too long now - we have a tiny postage stamp sized landing, both bedroom doors open onto it and she is in the habit of legging it across the gap between our room and hers with abandon - she needs it for her own safety, as otherwise she would take a wander looking for biscuits in the middle of the night. Same reason we put a gate on the front garden.

Your DH is being silly.

AFAI am concerned its a damn sight safer than letting DD scale the bookcase on the landing or wander into the bathroom to mess about in the bin as she gets up long before us and can turn the door handles if we shut the bathroom and other bedroom doors.