March 9, 2008 4:46 PM
Safety gate recommendations?
Barbara --
I'm wondering if you or your readers could provide a product recommendation for me. I have three kids so far -- 5.5yo, 3.5yo, and 5mo. Sometime in the next few months, the 5mo is going to become mobile. I'm trying to create a place where the older two can play with all those choking hazards without worrying that the baby will get them. I've got a room I can use for this purpose, but the question is how to give the kids free access without letting the baby in. All the baby gates I can find seem too hard for a 3yo to open, and I'd rather not tell them to close the door, since then it's harder to tell what's going on in there and it wouldn't be as safe (our house is old, and doors don't always stay closed). Any ideas?
Thanks!
Newt
Looks like that little baby Newt was holding when I visited (scroll to bottom of my visit to Chicago for picture) is getting around the house already. . . .
Posted in Babies, Practical Info, Toddlers | Permalink
Comments
That's a toughy! I've not tried this one, but it looks fairly easy to use, and automatically closes on its own.
Posted by: Kim | March 9, 2008 7:33 PM
I LOVE this gate from Toys-R-Us! I knew my older boys would be able to operate the gate, but was pleased to see that my 3 year old had no problem stepping on the pedal to open the gate. Works great to keep the one year old and new puppy from getting at the older kids toys. Oh and I did have to purchaswe the extra attachment because of a large door way, but it's easy to add on. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2266795
Posted by: Margaret | March 9, 2008 9:13 PM
We are in the same situation. My 3.5 year old is able to open this gate. It is the Kidco safeway gate we have it at the top of our stairs.
Posted by: Sarah | March 10, 2008 2:21 PM
I was going to recommend a pedal-open gate too, if your 3 year old is heavy and strong enough to open it. (Mine had to jump to get it to open). It is still easier than having to remove the whole gate or lift a child over--even if you have to go push the pedal for them for a while. Maybe you can test some at the store to see which your littles can open.
Posted by: Angela | March 11, 2008 8:19 PM
Thanks for all the input! We actually already had two of the pedal gates, so we knew those wouldn't work -- our kids are fairly light (30-35 lbs.), and it takes both of them to open the gate. My dh took the kids to Babies R Us on Saturday, and had a wonderfully helpful employee open a number of boxes for him so the kids could try them out -- and then hand him a still-closed box for the one they picked! We ended up with this gate, which the kids can open easily and is working very well for us so far.
Thanks again!
Newt
Posted by: Newt Sherwin | March 17, 2008 9:50 AM
