Parents of multiple young children, your help is needed!

[Sian1989]

Hi,

Just a quick introduction, my name is Sian and I am a final year design student at Loughborough University. A large part of the final year consists of a major design project. The idea for my design is based around stairgates and this is where your help is required.

My initial thoughts, after observing a family friend with 3 children under 3 years, is that a stairgate is very fiddly when you've got your hands ful, whether that be with children, washing, bags etc. One that requires no hands to open would be very helpful in this situation. At the moment, the design is in very early stages and I need to gain a little bit of an insight into users needs.

Is this something that you feel would be helpful?

Do you find that you have to make more trips up and down the stairs as you cannot operate the stair gate without leaving a hand free?

Would it be something that you would pay for?

What is important to you when choosing a stairgate?

Is there anything would change about your current stairgate?

I would appreciate as much help and input as possible, any comments are helpful!

Many thanks in advance,

Sian

I can easily open our two stairgates with one hand if I hold one of my children. One gate is the Lindham one www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplay0_10751_-1_60666_10001
You ca see the lock. It is not that difficult to open it with one hand because adults have long fingers. My older son has to use his two hands to open it.
Another one is the wooden stairgate www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplay0_10751_-1_60469_10001
You just press a button and it opens.

It would be more difficult to open if your hands are not free. But then it does not bother me either.

For a stairgate that goes across the top of the stairs, my main criterion is that it shouldn't have a bar across the floor - obvious trip hazard.

Would be difficult to design a stairgate that could be opened with a knee/foot, but not by a toddler?

Umf, in my previous answer the 2nd wooden gate is desgined for the top of the stairs. It has no bar in the bottom, so pretty safy. It is also easy to use.

Thank you all so much for your help =]
If you could point other friends in the direction of my post I'd really appreciate it!

i think that multiple posts asking for research material should have first been approved by MNHQ.

agree with the bar across the floor. toddlers are very good at figuring out how to open a safety gate.

A gate I could open without using my hands would be useful, but I wouldn't buy it if it cost significantly more than a standard gate.

Hello,

Just a quick update, I am now developing my stair gate concept and would be very much appreciative if you could fill in my questionnaire below. It won't take more than a few minutes and it would benefit me greatly in the next stage of my project.

Many thanks

Sian

FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=mjj7c0fwknuv5pl847866

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The issue is with MN, a space is being put between p?sid= and mjj7c0fwknuv5pl847866

If you could remove this when posting the link to your browser it should work.

Sorry for all the hassle!

Your help is much appreciated :)