When did you take the stair gate off?

[lifesnotaspectatorsport]

Just that, really. DS is now 2 and 4 months but very tall, strong and co-ordinated (most people assume he's 3 already). He's getting annoyed at the gates being closed but we have tiled stairs, no carpet, and I'm afraid of him falling. When did you take yours off?

We've just put a stair gate at the bottom as dd has learnt to walk (18months).

Until she can go up and down reliably without me worrying the gates top and bottom will stay

We moved house when DS was 17 months and didn't bother putting the stair gates up in the new place. It's a carpeted stairs with a turn near the top so much safer than the deathtrap steep stairs in our old house, and he could manage them very well by that stage.
We left them up much longer with our older child - I think she was past three when we took them down.

I'm my area the health visitor assistant does a home health and safety chat/check if you want it and she said at 2 they come off as by then they can climb over them which is more of a risk.

Thanks all. We're abroad so health visitor not an option unfortunately. DS is very confident now going up and down stairs; he's just liable to get distracted sometimes or muck about. Honestly I think if we had carpet I would take them off. As it is, I think I'll wait a bit longer. No sign of him attempting to climb them as yet.

My son is 16 months old, we just moved and didn't put our gates back up for the stairs. He's delighted by being able to go up and down whenever he likes!

We only ever had one set at the bottom, that came off just before she was 2. She's been able to go up the stairs safely for quite a while, but because they're really steep she's only just started managing to get down alone safely (She's 2.3 now).

We moved when youngest was 18 months and couldn’t fit a stair gate so made sure they were competent at climbing and descending. We did put it across their bedroom door though in case of nighttime escapes (could climb out of cot, but not over the stair gate).

DD is 2 and 2 months and I don't plan to take it off anytime soon (we only have one at the top). She's confident enough on the stairs, I just worry about her falling when she's running around upstairs, and would be worried about her walking around at night without one once she's in s bed.

We've never had them on the stairs, just taught DD how to climb and descend safely (she has
to go down on her tummy unless there's an adult with empty hands in front of her)

We recently put a stair gate on her bedroom door in anticipation of going into a bed. She'd worked out how it opened in less than 24hrs and had the actual ability to open it in less than 48 hrs. She's 2yrs9mths.

Wow, @WombOfOnesOwn @ChippyMinton were your stairs quite safe? As mentioned, ours are tiled and fairly steep (turn half way, so 10 steps in each flight) - I'd have been scared to let DS on them alone when he was under 2.

@PurpleGoose What an escapologist! It never seems to have occurred to DS to figure out how they open 🤞

Our DD has never showed an interest in climbing stairs so the bottom one came off when she was about 2.5 but we have left the top one up as her bedroom is right next to the stairs and I have a fear she'd come out of her room at night, stumble and accidentally fall down the stairs. Not sure when we'd remove it but as I've got a baby on the move now too they'll be up for at least another 18months!

We moved house when DD was 19 months old and only put the top gate back up. We only use it at night, just in case she decides that she wants to attempt a nighttime escape from her cot. She's 2 & 2 months now and hasn't tried to climb out yet.

I've worked in several homes where parents have not used stair gates at all. My current family have a three storey house with a tiled floor at the bottom, the children have been taught right from them beginning to crawl how to negotiate the stairs safely, the 21 month old goes up and down on her own now. In six years and three kids they've never had a fall on the stairs.

1.5 and 2.5yo boys. No chance am I taking the stair gates off. They're a liability when together

18 month old daredevil, ours will probably be up until he works out how to scale them.. which probably wont be long

Never had one, just shut the door, but mine were super confident physically (shame about the language!)

All gone by 2.5 but my girls were pretty sensible and cautious

We never had them. Just taught DS how to climb and descend safely. I was a bit worried when we finally moved him into a bed at 22 months (as he could climb in and out of his cot easily) as his bedroom is at the top of a flight of stairs with a turn on the floor above ours. But was more worried about him climbing over a stair gate at the top of a flight and then really tumbling down, as he’s a real monkey and can climb anything. In the end it was fine - he used to trot into our room in the middle of the night and we’d hear a thump, thump as he whomped down on his bum. Now he just walks at 2.5 and despite coming in to see us about 50% of nights he’s not fallen.

We put a gate on the stairs when DD was 7 months, as we discovered her halfway up them one day. Our stairs go straight up from the living room, no doors. We took the bottom one off when she was 4 & the top one a year later. (Worried about falling down them at night - it would be open all day).

Ours are, I would say, relatively safe, but also have a turn in the middle.

Both my children have been fairly cautious about heights/stairs/etc., so perhaps there are children out there that this would be the wrong move with!

My ds is 2 and 4 months the gates will be up for a while yet. He could probably manage to do the stairs fairly well despite them being so steep. But he's just so naughty I dread to think of the devastation up there if he could go up there alone.

My youngest is nearly 4 and we don't have one at the bottom any more but have kept the one at the top of our steep straight down stairs and close it at night or if they are running around upstairs as sometimes it's just nice to know there is no risk they are going to fall down the stairs!

I think DS was about 2. I was terrified of taking them down until I realised that every other house we went to, there were no stair gates and he hadn't fallen down them 🤷‍♀️

I took it off when DD2 climbed over it at 13 months!

Our son has just turned 2, the gates will be up for the foreseeable (unless he tries to climb them, but he is only tiny possibly about the size of 12 month old so can't see that anytime soon)

We are keeping them more to keep him contained, he is capable and safe on the stairs, I just want to be lock him up or down depending on what we are doing 😂😂