Child-proofing /Safety Gates

Updated on January 05, 2010
B.R. asks from York, PA
7 answers

I am realizing that my 6 month old will be crawling soon, and I need to start child-proofing quickly! Our basement/playroom is one large open area with a tricky staircase that we need to gate. Here's what it looks like:

There is a wall along one side, but the other side is open with a metal railing (screwing a gate into it would be tricky if not impossible). The last 2 stairs come out into the room past both the wall and railing, so from the bottom of the stairs looking up, the wall and railing do not even begin until the 3rd step. A straight gate would still allow a baby to climb 2 steps, and the floor below is ceramic tile, so a fall is too big a risk. Does anyone know of a gate that would work? Maybe something for open staircases? Thanks!

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D.C.

answers from Pittsburgh on

When my oldest was little we also used a superyard which can be closed into a playpen type of enclosure or stretched out as a very long gate. We blocked off the fireplace and the computer desk with ours and it worked very well. All you'd need to do is tie wrap it to the railing and attach it to the wall somehow and it would work fine as the sections came apart rather easily to use as a gate. Either that or you need to find some way to pad the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

S.Y.

answers from Pittsburgh on

www.retract-a-gate.com
These things are AWESOME! Little pricey, but WORTH IT! :)

T.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

I agree with Jen! The superyard was great for our house. My youngest is two and we still use it around our fire place where there are really sharp corners.
You can adjust them to fit any scenario in your home!
Good luck!

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J.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

I know you really want a gate that will fit but I don't know of one. Here is a suggestion. Some say that you should gate off after 2 steps so a child can learn how to go up them. If you do so you can get a banister kit to attach the gate to and then put some padding at the bottom of the steps where the ceramic tile is. you can get this padding at home depot. good luck.

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L.G.

answers from Philadelphia on

I loved the gates by Kid Co. www.kidco.com Go to their site, and check out the ones for irregular spaces. I have one at the top of my steps that goes from the wall next to the steps, around a metal railing (that heads fit through so we had to cover it, it is over the second half of the steps) and connects to the wall on the other side. It takes up space in the hallway but I don't worry about my kids falling down the steps or going through the metal railing and onto the steps. Our steps go up 7 steps, and then we have a landing and then up another 7. I loved Kid Co because their gates are sturdy, well made and designed for all kinds of spaces.

Good luck!

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J.D.

answers from Philadelphia on

you could use something like the superyard... we used ours for all sorts of scenerios! we gated an area for her to play in, but you could also arrange it to go around the bottom of the stairs.
this is a metal version. I had the plastic one which is about half the cost, but the description for this said it's heavy enough for the baby to pull up on even if it's not attached to anything.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2963260

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