BABY GATE FOR STAIRS

BEST BABY GATE FOR STAIRS (TOP & BOTTOM OF STAIRS)

One of the essentials for any baby proof home is a baby gate for stairs.

Stairs are one of the most dangerous areas of the home, and once your little one starts to crawl, climb and walk, stairs become areas of extreme hazard.

A baby gate for stairs can be placed at the top of  the stairs or the bottom of the stairs, or both for those who want to be extra careful.

There are many top of stairs baby gates available, and it's up to you to find one that best suits your requirements.

It is however recommended to select a hardware-mounted baby gate. these are screwed into the wall using a special bracket that will hold your gate in place permanently, until your child has grown and you no longer need a baby gate for stairs.

To ensure safety, you'll want to make sure the gate door extends to the floor so that your baby is not able to crawl underneath.

A baby gate for bottom of stairs is generally the same kind used for the top of the stairs baby gate, unless your dimensions of wall placings are different from the top compared to the bottom.

Below we list out some of the best baby gates for stairs available.

VIEW ALL BABY GATES FOR STAIRS

VIEW ALL BABY GATES FOR STAIRS

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING YOUR BABY GATE FOR STAIRS ONLINE

HEIGHT

By safety standards, gates must be 22-inches in height at a minimum. To lower the risk of your little one climbing over the gate, you’ll want to buy a gate at child’s height or a little bit higher. Once your child is around 2-years old or 3-feet in height, it's likely that you'll no longer need a baby gate for stairs. However, in the meantime, you'll want to check and make sure that the height of the gate is high enough to prevent your child climbing over.

MEETS THE CURRENT U.S SAFETY STANDARDS

The safest baby gates have a certification from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). This is the stamp of approval that your gate meets the testing requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials. If you are not quite sure if your gate’s manufacturer is approved, check the ‘Certified Product Directory’ by the baby gate’s manufacturer listing on the JPMA website.

SPACING OF THE GATE SLOTS

Baby gate slots should be less than 3-inches apart to avoid your child's limbs, or head, getting stuck in between the slots. Make sure to carefully read the instruction manual and check the slat spacing before buying online to reduce the risk of buying the wrong product. Feel free to ask the online seller questions about the finer details of the gate measurements and installation tips.

BABY GATE MATERIALS

The majority of baby gates for stairs are made of plastic, wood, metal, or a combination of those materials.  If you’re looking into a baby gate that is made of plastic, make sure it’s PVC-free which can be dangerous for children if they decide that they want to chew on the gate. Also, make sure to take extra care with how the gate is installed as loose screws or sharp edges can cause unwanted cuts and scrapes for both your child and yourself.

BEST BABY GATES FOR STAIRS

TOP OF STAIRS = HARDWARE-MOUNTED BABY GATES

If safety is paramount for your child, we recommend that you install a hardware-mounted baby gate for stairs.

Hardware-mounted baby gates are installed using a mounting kit that is screwed into the wall with a bracket. This means that the gate will not be able to be moved, tipped or pushed over by your child. The are fixed into place permanently, until you decide that it no longer needs to be used.

Hardware-mounted baby gates will need screws, brackets, and other tools to secure the gate to the wall. These are the safest baby gates due to the bolted installation and the fact that they can easily be installed anywhere around the home, including the stairs.

BOTTOM OF STAIRS

Pressure-mounted baby gates are simple to install and fit tightly in between walls and door-frames without the need for screws or drilling.

Because of how pressure-mounted baby gates are installed, they should not be used at the top of the stairs as they pose a higher risk of moving out of place. Pressure-mounted baby gates are able to be installed at the bottom of the stairs.

Pressure-mounted baby gates are usually used in-between rooms, for example separating the kitchen and living room.

If you do have any concerns over the effectiveness of a pressure mounted gate, you can always just install two hardware-mounted gates, one at the top of the stairs and one at the bottom.

BABY GATE SAFETY TIPS

- Never climb over your baby gate. It may seem easier to climb over the top at times if you are in a hurry, but you may or your foot may get stuck between the slats. Also remember that babies are very impressionable, and anything that see an adult do, they will likely try to do themselves. Climbing over the gate may plant a seed in their little mind that shouldn't be there.

- Always make sure that the gate is securely closed. A baby gate is designed to keep a child out of hazard's way. Leaving the door open or unlatched defeats the purpose of your gate, and may result in injury to the child or worse should they be able to access the stairs unsupervised. To eliminate the risk of leaving the gate open, perhaps look into a gate that shuts automatically.

- Assemble the baby gate properly and according to the provided instruction manual. Remember that not all baby gates made the same, and just because you may have previously installed a baby gate for stairs,  it does not mean that you shouldn't go by the manual. If the gate includes a mount, make sure to use the suggested or provided tools and brackets for a proper installation.

- For added safety, use two baby gates with stairways, one at the top and one baby gate for bottom of stairs. Remember that any baby gate at the top of the stairs should be hardware mounted. At the bottom of the stairs pressure mounted gates can be used.

Installing a certified baby gate is the first step to baby proofing your home.

Make sure to keep the design of your home in mind before buying a baby gate for stairs online. Begin by browsing our baby gates for stairs above, then check out a full list of some of the best selling baby gates for the top and bottom of stairs below.

VIEW ALL BABY GATES FOR STAIRS

OTHER THINGS CONSIDER WITH A BABY GATE FOR STAIRS

Keep in mind when buying a baby gate stairs to shop around and compare prices. Some gates are better quality than others depending on what kind of stairs you have in your home and how much foot traffic your staircase will have.

Other things to consider are;

• Your pets
• Type of walls
• The shape of the staircase
• Size of the opening
• Height of the railings
• Flooring
• Indoor or outdoor
• Other children
• Convenience

Remember that your baby’s safety is worth more than the price of the gate.

Don’t go cheap and buy a wooden gate for $20 and get upset when it falls over or breaks.

A top of stairs baby gate is an essential product for baby proofing.

Never purchase pressure-mounted gates, they are not designed to be a top of stairs safety gate.