Stair gate on stairs or bedroom or both?

[blossom27]

Hi everyone, DD is 2.6 and has now switched to a toddler bed. Our stairs are very steep, and I’m debating whether or not to have a stair gate on her bedroom door, or just have one on the stairs. Opinions/ experiences?

We just had it on the stairs so they could go to the toilet

We got rid of all stair gates by age 2.

We had one at the top and bottom of the stairs for years! We had three young children and one always seemed to be at the wobbly toddler stage! Also our eldest son was a sleep walker from the age of two when we took the bars off his cot bed and although I was happy for him to climb into the bath during the night,mi was not so keen on him wandering around downstairs after we found him standing on a chair trying to open the back door while still asleep!

We never used any stair gates, just taught them to use the stairs safely and to stay in bed / call out if they needed help in the night. Eldest moved from a cot to a standard single bed aged 2.5y when baby sibling arrived, now 9m. Youngest, 9mo, is just starting to learn climbing the stairs. Eldest's bedroom is up 2 flights of steep and narrow stairs (Victorian terrace).

Bedroom

We have steep stairs as well. We had a baby gate on their bedroom door as well as on ours as they often came into our room, that way they couldn't get up to the second floor either.

We didn't have them due to fire risk but if we did stairs only

We have one on the bedroom, and a potty in his room for night time.

Most stairs gates say only certified to 24months. So he’s probably too old at 2+ to start using one.

Mine could def climb over or just open them himself by 2.

@KnowledgeChest - that gate isnt suitable. It says in link ‘Perfect for children 6-24 months’
Op son is already 2.5 years.
Very few are designed for the weight of child over 24 months you can run at it, push it or climb it.

My twins are two and I have a retractable gate on their bedroom door. It's high so they can't climb it. They both sleep in sleeping bags and I don't like the idea of them waking in the night and going down the stairs with their bags on and having a fall.

I don't think you need one. She should be able to use the stairs at 2.6? Even if they are steep it's fine. She can use them can't she?

• @KnowledgeChest - well that munchkin ones says ‘This safety barrier must not be fitted across windows or at the top of the stairs as per the instructions.’, and ‘Warning:To be used under the direct supervision of an adult’ - so shouldn’t be used ever at the top of stairs regardless of age, and only use when constantly under adult watching? What’s the point of that.

Thank you for all your replies! I should have said but DD is autistic and isn’t aware of danger, because of this she is not able to safely use the stairs yet- although we are trying to practise going up and down safely.

We did just a gate on the stairs. Eldest also ASD and was in a bed by that age. I think it depends on the needs of the child. He wasn't a climber and was non verbal at that age. He generally slept well but would often come into our bed in the morning when he got up so it worked fine for us. We just made sure the route was safe but he was pretty predictable. We found with him that once he could open the gates, he was also able to navigate the stairs safely.

I wouldn't do stairs just the bedroom door. My dd was not a climber until that one day she was! I wouldn't want to risk the fall from height down the stairs.

We only used our stair gate at the bottom of the stairs for the first couple of weeks of her crawling. Once we were happy she could climb the stairs carefully it was clipped open and only used on the odd afternoon where she was insistent on climbing and I was trying to do dinner

She's 3.5 and we still have one at the top of the stairs. It's open during the day and only shut at night. I will keep this for a long time to protect us all from falling down the stairs in a sleepy haze. My mum had a fall down the stairs a year ago and fractured her back in 2 places and is likely to be in pain from this fall for the rest of her life as it has caused scoliosis and she has lost 2 inches of height. Opening a stair gate in the morning is a very minor inconvenience compared to what she has gone through.

Top and bottom of stairs and all doorways except our bedroom lol. We have twin 2 year olds and a 3 so they come in very handy lol

My dd learnt to get out of her cot by pushing herself up with her arms and then using the weight of her head to tilt forward and land on her head! Luckily she had a bean bag to land on but it was only her second attempt that my son saw that made us realise. Straight into toddler bed!

in that basis we decided a gate at the top of the stairs was dangerous as she was likely to try and climb it so we left it there for a few weeks but not locked so it would act as a barrier if she was wandering but she could get through. In your situation I would get one on the door.

We had a stairgate on the bedroom and kept it on well beyond two - DS1 wasn't a climber but did sleep walk on occasion and his bedroom was right at the top of the stairs. He was perfectly capable of opening the gate, but I felt that I'd either hear him do it and be alerted or that it would be difficult enough that he would wake up with the effort!

Never on bedroom but top of stair was quite near bathroom so kept it on there until about 3 I think. When in bed so could come to our room if needed . Also meant they could mill around on that floor in the morning and bedtime etc with one less risk

We’ve had both; had one at the top of the stairs since DC were crawling. DS is 3 now and we moved to just one on his bedroom door now.