Stairgates

[Sam'smum]

Can I just ask roughly what age you think its ok to remove stair gates? My little boy is now 2.5 and I have a gate on his bedroom door otherwise he would be in our bed every night but I also have one at the top of the stairs. However, this morning I left him upstairs for a few minutes with the gate shut and he actually took the gate completely off and walked downstairs. My friend said she removed hers ages ago and I was babying him keeping it on. What do you think? I still worry about him falling downstairs.

[First Time Mom]

I'm no where near even putting one on yet (dd is 6 months) but if your ds is able to take the gate off and walk downstairs, I'd say it's time! I would also be afraid that he would be able to pull up something beside the gate to climb over, i think it would be safer to let him walk down.

[RachelC]

I know the feeling... I still fear my 4 year old falling down the stairs (but with a 7 month old now, the gate is back in effect).  I would go ahead and take it down, especially since he's doing it anyway!  Just teach and remind him the correct way to walk down, or have him scooch on his bottom.

~Rachel

[15milner]

Nearly 2.5 here as well and i know what you mean.  He is confident coming upstairs / downstairs either walking or bottom shuffling and when carrying something, but I don't want to get rid of the stairgates, just because if am doing something upstairs, then i can shut the gate at the top of the stairs and know that he is 'contained' upstairs.  Its more mischief 'prevention' or 'containment'!

[amheusser]

If he can remove it, it's not really doing it's job anymore, is it?

We still shut the gate at night, because K has to pass the stairs to get from her room to ours or to the bathroom - her door comes out right at the top of the stairs, so if she isn't quite awake and gets a little off-course, she could fall.  Otherwise, I only close it if Rachel is playing upstairs.  I think we stopped using it for Katie when I had seen her walk down enough times that I was comfortable with her stability.

Don't worry about what your friend says, because it's not her problem if there's an injury, kwim?  I have a friend who inherited K's bedrail when we took it off, for a child 2 yrs older than K!  But she still was falling out of bed sometimes, just an active sleeper I guess, so she needed it even though my younger child did not.

[pixieme]

With ds (15mths) an expert at both going up and down the stairs safely we have ust removed the bottom gate.  We will leave the top gate in place though probably for a couple more years, to allow for when he's in a big bed and can get out himself to visit us in the night

[mari]

I removed the stairgates when my son was 2.5 as he was able to open them and I thought that it was pointless.  One day, he walked up the stairs with me beside  him (He was and still is a good boy and was good enough not to climb the stairs himself so I was lucky) and as we got to the top step he lost his balance and I wasn't quick enough to catch him and he fell all the way down.  He was more frightened than hurt and after plenty of cuddles from me soon got over the fall.  I was still feeling guilty when my husband came home and I told him what had happened but he pointed out to me that had I still had the gates at the bottom he would have fallen right down to it and bumping into the gate would have hurt him far more.  I kept the gates off and was just extra careful until he was firmer on his feet.