How old before the baby gates can come down?

[minkajane]

DS will be 2 in January. I only have two baby gates, one at the bottom of the stairs and one in the door to the kitchen. I'm probably going to take down the kitchen one because DS can (usually) be trusted not to eat the cat food now. How old should he be before I take down the one at the bottom of the stairs? It's such a hassle trying to climb over them all the time. He knows not to climb the stairs without me and stops when I say no.

[phathui5]

I'd take them down after you see that he is pretty steady on the steps and you're not worried about him falling. It isn't as much about age as ability, though to get to that point he would need a chance to practice on the steps without you helping him.

[Bartock]

DS was 4, just to be safe

[minkajane]

I was thinking about getting one of those child rails that sits below the regular handrail on stairs. Anybody use those?

[christinadanielle]

the hand rails below the regular handrail. i heard they are easy to install and easy to remove. i would try it. was thinking of getting it for dd when she is older since she is sooooo short. it would come in handy to keep them steady and safe.

[jkpmomtoboys]

We never used baby gates and we have stairs. I think my two boys learned to use the stairs earlier than most because they were given the opportunity. I watched them closely, of course, but never needed the gates.

OTOH, if you really want to keep your stair gates, you could put the bottom one a few stairs above the bottom, so they could be practiced on...

[ZeldasMom]

3yo

[The Lucky One]

I didn't use gates with ds1. No need, he was literally my shadow.

With ds2, I think we stopped using them at around 18 months or so. They are the mesh retractable gates and we never have taken them down as they are convenient when we have small toddlers over to visit.

[SunShineSally]

Originally Posted by jkpmomtoboys

We never used baby gates and we have stairs. I think my two boys learned to use the stairs earlier than most because they were given the opportunity. I watched them closely, of course, but never needed the gates.

OTOH, if you really want to keep your stair gates, you could put the bottom one a few stairs above the bottom, so they could be practiced on...

My Ds could climb stairs as soon as he was steadily walking we have "stupid stairs" in our kitchen and he NEEDED to know how to go down them and really know that they are there or he could have gotten really hurt but I still needed and still at times need gates I have them in the hallway upstairs and for the bottom of the stairs My Ds would not listen if I told him to stay down stairs or told him to get off of the stairs he would just fly right up there. He also LOVES LOVES to jump and that is the most scary thing to see the jump off of 3 to 5 stairs yes he is a jumper: : We also have one where the litter box is every child is different some never even have to childproof their homes it just depends on the child my Ds is 2 1/2 and there are still many things that I can not have out or around him!

[nolansmummy]

We had a gate at the top of our stairs (we live in an upstairs apartment and our door is downstairs) and the kitchen. We took the kitchen one down when ds was about 2. He knows not to go in there, and if he is in there, he knows what he can and can't touch. We still have the one at the top of the stairs cuz he throws stuff down the stairs and this helps prevent it a little bit. We have the best gate, it just rolls up to the side when we arent using it.you can hardly tell its there. Really simple and safe. We'll probably leave that on until we move.

[witchbaby]

we didn't have any gates after k was about 15-16 months, then put them back up when m started crawling because he likes to eat cat food and play in the "sandbox" (litterbox), plus our kitchen cabinets aren't set up well right now. i'm planning on moving around the cabinets so the low cabinets are safe to get into and blocking just the laundry room where the litterbox and cat food is until he's a little older.

[TiredX2]

It totally depends.

We never used baby gates with either child. With DD we lived in an upstairs one level appt, so it wasn't really an issue until she was already 2. DS was born in a two story house and never had problems (kinda scary because the bottom of the stairs were wood, though).

[mamasaurus]

I think it depends also on whether or not you want to have some control of your DS to go up the stairs *without* you.

I have a 4 year old and a 20 month old. I use gates to block off the stairs going down (our living area is on the second floor of the house) and also to block off my office, sewing room, and the master bedroom.

The gate to the stairs is obviously for safety - AND also to keep them upstairs. Even though my 4 year old could manage the stairs just fine, when we are up here for a certain reason, I need her to STAY up here.

The gates to the office, sewing room and master bedroom are about keeping the girls out and keeping those rooms in order. I have enough going on without having to constantly straighten up those rooms from "inquiring little hands"!

[teachma]

We also didn't use gates. With ds, we lived in a one story home. With dd, she was very trustworthy about staying away from the stairs until she had at least one technique for getting down them. I think by the time she was 18 months old, she was going up and down the stairs on her own, whenever she wanted to. The only time she ever fell down the stairs (a whole big flight, with wood at the bottom) was much more recently, when she was about 2 yrs 3 months old. She was coming down with 2 toys, one in each hand, and not holding on to a railing or balancing well. She sure learned her lesson-- now she throws her toys down the big flight of stairs first, and walks empty-handed! I really do think that without the gates is when the children first really learn to master the stairs, so when you're comfortable, remove them.

[mamabohl]

hmm, well I've never had gates at all, my 2 yo goes up and down the stairs at his own will. He won't learn stair safety unless he has access to tehm, and if he knows not to go up them without you I don't see it as a problem.

I vote for taking them both down, they don't seem necessary for a 2yo.

[wenat]

We stopped using gates around 18 mos with DS1. With DS2, it was around 12 months. He HATED it when we shut the gate, and was really good about going up and down the stairs by himself.

[june'smom]

Originally Posted by mamabohl

hmm, well I've never had gates at all, my 2 yo goes up and down the stairs at his own will. He won't learn stair safety unless he has access to tehm, and if he knows not to go up them without you I don't see it as a problem.

I vote for taking them both down, they don't seem necessary for a 2yo.

Well, my 17mo has had lots of access to our stairs and he still fell down the whole set of stairs when dh was in the bathroom with dd. He is really good when he has a little help, but he just plain fell.

I think that with each child it is different, some are more adventurous, some more cautious. I have one of each.

I think it is way to simple to say that if they practice they will be safe.

[mamasaurus]

I just wanted to add...

When I was 2 years old, I fell down a flight of stairs that ended on a concrete slab. My head hit nearly every step as I went down.

I was unconscious and had to be rushed to the ER. On the way, I stopped breathing. Dad drove as fast as he could, and Mom just prayed the whole way.

I'm alive today, and my parents have drilled into my head over and over and over about gates for stairs.

[SomedayMom]

We will keep ours up for a while. DS is good at the stairs (they DO get practice even if they don't have free access to them all the time) but they would still be quite dangerous in the event of a fall, and I don't want him on them unsupervised yet. I have slipped on them, so why would I put my 2 year old at risk? They'll need to be there for the next child anyway (they are hardware mounted at the tops of the stairs).

[Mybabymommy]

When .........

the kids can climb them faster than you trip over them!!!

Here, it was up for about 11 mos. My youngest was an early walker/climber.