stair gate

mummyroysof3

my husband made one for the top of the stairs like a garden gate. my 3 year old cant be trusted to roam freely alones owe still use a gate to stop him getting in kitchen...that works its self loose a little but only needs tightning once a week. not sure what make it it but it has a little button you press aswell as lifting handle andi got it from an ebay shop

emsywoo123

we had this:

http://www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Metal-Safety-Gate/229379,default,pd.html

Which no man woman or child could open except for me :rotfl: but in the end he could smash his way against it a la Mario or Sonic.

delain

I've got a couple of pressure fit lindam ones here, one of which you have to press a button and squeeze underneath on the handle, it wasn't expensive and is childproof, landlord-proof, and plumber-proof! The plumber has given up even trying :rotfl:

I have them on the kitchen doorway, bottom of stairs and toddlers bedroom door.

Won't have them directly at the head of the stairs in case of serious injuries climbing over then going all the way down!

WestonDave

We had a standard pressure fit one at the bottom of the stairs with an opening gate in it which the kids never managed to figure out or detach.

The top of the stairs in our old house came up into the middle of the landing with a low wall either side stopping level with the landing floor. This mean a pressure fit one would have to be on the first step down which risked tripping and being lower might also be climable! In the end we got one of the Lindam roller blind type ones which might not look as robust as a metal framed one but never got beaten. The bonus with these is that they almost disappear when not in use so we've actually still got this (we've moved and refitted it) and it has been known when the 5 year old is having a mega strop at bed time to bring it back into use. Even now he can't defeat it! The lock release mechanism can however be a bit tricky if you have weak hands or say arthritis in your hands.

krlyr

Another seconding Lindam ones here. Like another poster, I don't have kids but dogs - and a very smart one at that! She's learnt to open quite a few door mechanisms and can open the basic babygate from Argos (Mamas and Papas) which involves pulling back a little level and then pulling up on the door. The Lindam hasn't been foiled - well, actually, sheer brute force by chewing up the handle mechanism technically worked but I can't see a toddler having the jaw power of a 35kg Rottweiler cross! So I'd say, fluke aside, a kiddy isn't going to manage the Lindam mechanism. You have to push in both sides of the handle and then lift it, and if you went for the tall one (which I have) the handle will be out of easy reach too. It also comes with a little clip at the base you can turn up to shut the door at the base, this is what I use now the handle is broken and the dog has yet to figure that out - I fiddle with the handle but twist the clip around with my foot so she doesn't see what I'm doing (sounds silly, but she must have learnt to open door handles by watching us!)
I've picked up a couple cheaply on Ebay so worth looking out, they're awkward to post because of their size so one of those things you can get a good deal on if there's one locally.

Bufger

At the bottom and top of the stairs I have the ikea wooden ones you have to lift into a small cup to lock it in place. On my 2 years old door we have a pressure one, the handle is hard to open and he's not very good at climbing!

The safest method is to live in a bungalow. Its a little more expensive though

Cash-Cow_3

Never bothered with stair gates or locks on cupboards. Guess I am a bad parent.