To gate or not to gate - Page 3

[USAmma]

We don't have stairs but if we did I'd install gates. I just don't want to have to worry about it. We don't use gates with her any more becuase she's 2.5 years old. But when she was younger gates came in handy to keep her out of certain areas as needed. If I had a big project that I was spreading out on the floor, like a quilt, I could gate that area off and work on it. When she went through a phase where she played in toilets I gated off the bathrooms (our toilets are not standards and won't fit most toilet locks).

Darshani

[KayleeZoo]

I haven't read the other replies yet, but I gotta say we gated our stairs when we moved into our house (old house was one story) and I'm still convinced it was the right thing to do. Kaylee tried several times to jump down the stairs (all 17 of 'em)- she had just turned 2 and there really wasn't any "reasoning" with her- she is a total daredevil. After we taught her how to safely navigate the stairs, the gates came down. No big deal. We'll put them back up in a couple months when Lexi starts to crawl.

[Clarity]

we have gates but latch them only when we are not right with her, since we tend to let her roasm as she pleases, even out of my sight if I can hear her. Even when we are using the gates I give her a lot of practice at going up and down the stairs safely. The gates are rarely locked now, she's 21m. Mine are very tall, hard wood and hard wood at the bottom.

As an interesting aside, the gate was not properly latched once and she fell down the stairs when she rattled on it. (dh was in charge and he has a differnet gate philsophy...he relies on them, and I rely on me...) So the presence of the gate can be its own attraction. However, accidents to happen and stair falls can be VERY serious. I tend to think it's a short term item, but important.

[ebethmom]

We have a gate at the top of our stairs. Ds is almost 2 now, and the only time we use it is at bedtime. He would love to go back downstairs after his bath and play until who knows when!

When ds was crawling, the gate was my key to washing my face and dunking my head under the faucet.

Most of the time, the gate stayed open. My Mom taught ds how to crawl down stairs feet first on his belly. He learned to navigate stairs very well.

He has had two spills on the stairs. One before he was walking, and the other when he was very tired. Luckily, they were not serious injuries. Bumped head and scraped nose. But he is very careful now!

[Dakota's Mom]

Our kitchen is very very small so we put up a gate so Dakota can't go out there. If I am in the kitchen he will stand at the gate and watch me. We alsoo have a gate s he can't go in the halllway to the bedrooms and bathroom. This way he feels like he can go anywhere he wants to but it is still safe for him. Safety is a big issue fr me.

Kathi