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Parenting

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Original poster

Do I NEED to put up stairgates?

24 replies

ilikeyoursleeves · 30/01/2009 16:21

DS (15 months) has just worked out how to climb stairs and has mananged to climb the whole flight now! We are always right behind him in case he slips, obviously, and don't let him into the hall himself now. We don't have stairgates yet, we are going to put one at the top so he can wander about upstairs but do we need to put one at the bottom? Surely they need to be shown how to go up and down stairs safely and if there are always stairgates up how would they know what to do with stairs?

Do you have stairgates at the bottom? If not, how do you exactly teach a baby to climb and descend stairs???

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PlumBumMum · 30/01/2009 16:26

I would put one at bottom just cos you can't watch them all the time but when your going up and down stairs always let them do it they will still learn

PlumBumMum · 30/01/2009 16:27

Although I think I didn't have one at bottom when I only had one dc I twas when no2 arrived I put bottom one on

EldonAve · 30/01/2009 16:29

I have stairgates everywhere

But if you don't think you need one at the bottom then don't bother
Lots of people manage without them altogether

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littleboyblue · 30/01/2009 16:30

We have stairgates at my parents' houses so I don't have to spend all day running after him.
Tbh, there are no rules are there, but for me, I would always use one on the bottom too just so that I could turn my back without having to worry and wouldn't need to keep all doors closed, but it doesn't have to be closed all of the time.....

Or could you possibly put a gate on (for example) step 5 so your ds has a few stairs to work out what to do but not going up enough to seriously hurt himself?

Tamarto · 30/01/2009 16:30

Stairgates don't stop babies climbing stairs They just stop them doing it without an adult, if you think there is no chance of him climbing the stairs alone, then don't have one, if you think there is even the smallest chance that he could get one.

Onlyaphase · 30/01/2009 16:30

You might find that now your DS has worked out stairs he will become obsessed with climbing them for a few weeks > in which case a stair gate at the bottom will save you many a heartstopping moment.

If your DS climbs the stairs with you each time he will work out how to go up and down. Once he is fairly steady you can take the gates away - we moved house when DD was 18 months old, and I didn't bother with putting stair gates up in the new house as she was pretty competent and less obsessed by then.

mileniwmffalcon · 30/01/2009 16:31

we have gates top and bottom. 5 year olds have fallen down our stairs - it's not just about being physically able to climb up and down, it's paying attention etc. our are particularly steep and uncarpeted and personally i'm not prepared to take the risk.

dd2 is 20mo and has been climbing up the stairs for months, but has only just figured out how to come down. i literally showed her where to put her hands and feet, and she knows "babies go backwards" because we had to teach her how to come down the ladder from dd1's cabin bed in the same fashion (only more urgently as she was up it like a rat up a drainpipe the second you turned your back).

every time we go up she climbs and i follow behind. now she can climb down i go first, cos they slip and lose concentration often ime.

Winebeforepearls · 30/01/2009 16:33

We survived without any but in hindsight it would probably have been easier to have one about 5 steps up.

ohdearwhatamess · 30/01/2009 16:49

We don't have one at the bottom of our stairs. It just isn't possible with the stairs we have (scarily open plan). Ds2 now goes up the stairs but I just try to ensure that he is supervised.

Much easier to teach them to go up than down, ime.

MadMarg · 30/01/2009 18:58

My DS learned to go up and down the stairs very well, but I still have stairgates up. Even now if he's not paying attention he can stumble and fall, especially with just one or two steps to go.

Don't forget they become braver! Once they learn to get up, they try coming down, then they try walking holding onto the wall, walking without holding onto the wall, walking holding umpteen number of items in their arms.... it doesn't stop!!!

nappyaddict · 30/01/2009 19:25

Nope never had them at the top or bottom. I just made sure all the doors were shut upstairs so he couldn't get into any mischief whilst I was downstairs.

Blondeshavemorefun · 31/01/2009 00:15

stairgates are handy to have - def have one at top of stairs and depending on your house lay out one at bottom is a good idea

children learn to go up and down stairs by showing them, turn them round and help move their legs/feet donw a step

they learn to crawl up stairs a lot quicker than crawling down them

edam · 31/01/2009 00:20

Falling down stairs is either the first or second most-common cause of serious injury to toddlers. Definitely worth investing in stairgates. Of course, you still teach your child to come up and down safely while you are with them. But no stairgates = risk of nasty, avoidable accident.

thumbwitch · 31/01/2009 00:22

I have two flights of stairs and gates at the top of each, but not at the bottom of either. So far DS (14mo next week) has been content not to attempt to climb up them [not taking this for granted emoticon] but it won't be long, especially with the lower staircase.

What makes our situation more awkward (and potentially dangerous) is that there are no banisters on either staircase (although there are on both landings!) and no newel post at the bottom of the bottom set. But DS is managing quite well with the step down into the kitchen and the bathroom - still trying to decide whether to put the lower gates in!

edam · 31/01/2009 09:38

let us know how it goes, thumbwitch! I had bannisters put into this house when we moved in. Ds was 7 months and I knew it wouldn't be long before he was attacking the stairs with gusto. I have VERY clear memories of the pain of falling down the stairs as a child. (The house was 1970s complete with horrible wooden stairs with no uprights between each step and what felt like VERY sharp edges.)

Children don't always concentrate on what they are doing, get easily distracted, stumble, etc. etc. etc. Just felt too dangerous to leave it. But of course that's just my opinion and experience, am sure other things work for other families.

Watusi · 31/01/2009 09:49

Erm, has it not occurred to you that if he can access the stairs from the bottom, he can get right to the top anyway, and therefore fall from there - so not much point putting one at the top to prevent this if you leave all but the top step accessible from the bottom anyway!!

Yes, you need one at the bottom. I am a firm believer in letting them learn to climb but that means a degree of supervision initially at least. They love to go up and master it very quickly and can do it at a good speed.

Coming down is way harder for them.

I was very laissez faire with ds1, he tumbled down a couple of times, was Ok, he is a fast learner and didn't really have any problems after that. I was quite laid back with ds2 as well - left the gate open while my back was turned and he fell, huge bump on head and grazes to his nose etc - went to hospital and they were quite worried but luckily he was Ok.

There's just no point taking the risk until you know they are confident coming down.

Watusi · 31/01/2009 09:51

That was the bottom gate I left open btw.

Gorionine · 31/01/2009 10:00

I did have stair gates (top and bottom) until we had a guest staying in our house who always forgot to close them. I chose to take them off and be behind DD1 all the time rather than thinking it was closed when it probably was not. I carried on the same way with the other DCs, as I was not confident that DD1 would think about closing behind herself, but addmittinglywith the "no gate method" you can not let your eyes off your DC until he/she can go up and down the stairs on their own.

I am glad your ds2 was ok Watusi!

ChasingSquirrels · 31/01/2009 10:03

had one accross the hall for ds1 - but mostly used it to spot the dog getting to and eating the mail.
didn't bother for ds2.
Just kept doors closed.
Depends on your layout.

nappyaddict · 31/01/2009 11:49

My friend has long steep stairs with a corner to turn and tiles at the bottom and they don't have a stairgate either. The only time I would have a stair gate is if my stairs weren't carpetted I think.

kiltycoldbum · 31/01/2009 11:52

defo at the bottom, frankly im too busy mn'ing sometimes to want to constantly jump up and down

llareggub · 31/01/2009 11:56

I have them top and bottom, and there they'll stay for a good few years as DS is a sleepwalker. Why would stairgates stop a child from learning how to use stairs?

mileniwmffalcon · 31/01/2009 12:05

dd2 is remarkably good at shutting the stairgate when i inadvertently leave it open

Watusi · 31/01/2009 12:27

Thanks Gorionine

We have moved now to a flat without any stairs - apart from into the cellar which is a curved, wide stepped staircase and he'd have trouble getting hurt too badly on it - we keep the door closed anyway.
However I still use our old stairgate, this time in the kitchen doorway - it's invaluable if I am in the kitchen and need him to not be under my feet, for instance when cooking with hot pans etc. Also brilliant when I leave to go in the dining room or living room and the oven has recently been on - it stops him wandering in there and potentially getting burnt.

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