Gap under stair gate

[Summerdays2014]

Hi,

My nearly 9 month old has just started crawling so we've just put a stair gate at the top of the stairs. However there is a gap at the bottom of it because of the skirting board. This doesn't seem right to me? He wouldn't be able to crawl/slide through it but I'm worried he might get stuck or poke his legs through. Before we install the rest of them (this one took a good hour!) does anyone else have this problem? Or can anyone recommend a stair gate that has worked for them? Or am I being silly? Thanks all.

Photo attached...

Stair gate is a just in case thing, presuming you don't allow your 9month old free rein to crawl about the landing alone then I wouldn't worry too much about them having time to get trapped in the gate.

We had one of these at the top of the stairs. It was originally on DC1's bedroom but we got sick of having to step over the pressure mounted one at the top of the stairs. So when DC2 came, we used this screwed on wall one. We noticed a gap but it was ok, for a while. Then DC2 started putting her legs through it and once she nearly slipped down when rolling around the floor on the landing. Luckily, DH was there to catch her. That night, we put back the old stair gate on the top of the stairs. You can never be too safe.

We have a lindam pressure mounted one now. It's got a bar at the bottom and is mounted lower because you don't have that wall plug on the wall. We bought it 5 years ago so not sure which version we have. But it's similar to

www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3798742.htm

I do let my baby crawl on the landing. It's far too easy to not be 100% with her all the time. Same with having all the chest of drawers attached to the wall upstairs.

We moved ours so there was less of a gap it was set slightly over the top step but that reduced the gap so he couldn't fit through

I know it looks like there is a large gap there but there isn't when we had it at the very top of the stairs he could easily slip under

Thanks all. I don't intentionally let me son crawl on the landing but he is following me everywhere at the minute so I want to make things as safe as possible. Thanks for the link headdreamer, we are going to get one like that now and see if it makes any difference!

Sorry to be boring but you really shouldn't have one with a bar at the bottom (pressure fit) at the top of the stairs - it's a big trip hazard.