Best Baby Gate for Top of Stairs

No gate, just teach the baby to navigate the stairs. I have three kids and stairs and never used a gate. Once they were mobile I taught them to flip over on their belly and go down the stairs feet first.

We have a saftey 1st brand (from babies r. us) that is a pressure gate and plastic. Don't know the model number, but you cannot see through it there are no "bars or slats" We really like it. It's very easy to use, sturdy and tall enough (our son is 32lbs and 34 inches at 18 months) and it holds when he leans all his weight on it and peeks over the top. Good luck.

I have two sets of stairs and gates at the top and bottom of each set. At the top of our basement stairs we actually removed the door and installed a permanent gate. It screwed in to the door jams on both sides and then opens in the middle to walk through. I can't find the exact model we bought on the website anymore, but I purchased it at babies r us a couple of years ago.

We bought this one -- it's very sturdy and the lock foiled our daughter until she was about 3. We still use it, though she can open it, to keep the cat out of the basement. The noise of her opening it also acts as a little alarm that she's going downstairs alone. It matches our bannister and we don't mind its looks at all. http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

By the way, I've bought many babyproofing items from one step ahead. They have products for things I hadn't even thought of. Hope this helps.

I have the Evenflo top of the stairs gate too, and really like it. We actually have three--they keep our kiddo safe and our dog contained too. The top of the stairs gates always have to be screwed in (the other poster is right--tension mount ones do not work for the top of the stairs). Knowing that the gate would have to be screwed in to the wall or stairs, I love that the Evenflo one has brackets you can lift it out of when you don't want the gate there. The mounting hardware stays, but the gate itself can go. We have white woodwork, so I just spray painted my mounting hardware white before I installed it, which made it less obvious when I remove the gate. I love the gates. Easy enough for almost anyone to use, but they've required enough hand strength to keep my kiddo on the right side of them for 2 1/2 years.

We have the Safety 1st and have really liked it. We did have to put in a piece of wood on the rounded newel post at the top of the stairs for one side. But that was easy to do and patching a couple of small screw holes will be easy with some wood filler.

Don't buy a new one. I live in SW Pdx and am willing to part with mine fairly cheap $20. Here is a link to it http://www.safety1st.com/DJGFiles/ProductImages//500_999_....

My 5yr old still can't get it open when it is latched, but easy enough with one had full holding a squirming child.

Let me know, just send me a message if you are interested. We actually have two and just took the one off the top of the stairs. They worked great for two kids and still in great shape.
D.

Whichever gate you choose, you want to make sure it is approved for use at the top of the stairs. NO pressure gate or retractable gate is safe for top of stairs use as the pressure gates can be pushed loose and the retractable gates can be crawled under or gap. There are lots of good stair gates on the market at various prices, so just check the approved uses before you buy. Good luck!

This is our gate from the First Years. Ours is a white, metal gate that allows it to expand lengthwise to fit many openings. It screws into the tall at the top of the stairs and on the opposing side is a latch that it snaps into. The "lock" is a knob style, that you have to turn (like the kind on a stove for the burners). I can't find it on the website!

This gate is wonderful, stable and safe! Our 5yr old can only NOW get the lock to "unlock" for her. I'm sorry I couldn't find a picture of it for you.

We needed this gate when our kids became toddlers, to prevent them from falling down the stairs from the upstairs bedrooms.

We also bought the "step" style one from the First Years also - it's the "hands free" one. I completely trusted this gate when our kids were toddlers and able to get up at night and out of their rooms. It kept them contained so they couldn't wander around at night. http://www.learningcurve.com/thefirstyears/Gates/p1?icid=...

We have three of the Evenflo gates made for stairways. (I know, I know-- we joke that we live in a Gated Community!) They slide open and closed, clip closed securely with a spring-type lock to a little enclosure mounted on the wall, and are taller than an average gate. We had no problem with our little one sliding through the space at the bottom ( a 2" gap), and these gates have hinges which slide into wallmounts, for easy temporarly removal. We have used these for both stairs and hallway and have found them to be sturdy. They take a little time to get used to, but unlike a tension/pressure gate, you don't have to keep resetting the size, etc. And they have worked in odd spaces... we did have to use some wood shims at the top of one set of stairs, as well as wall anchors, but once they were set up, we haven't had to think about them at all.

this is what I posted a couple of months ago in response to this question...

When we moved this summer,we bought a split level house with a nice harwood staircase and needed a gate at the top. I was totally against putting holes in the banister for a gate and a pressure gate was out of the question as I have a home daycare. We searched baby sections for something that would work. We found the perfect thing, hard to describe here though... a 2.5-3 foot tall plastic strip about an inch wide with 2 slats to fit a velcro strip through that wraps around the bannister. The gate you choose then gets screwed into the plastic strip and works like a regular gate just as if you had screwed it into the wall. It is perfect and works great, do a search in baby sections and I am sure you will find something similar, we bought 2, one for each side of the stairs.

I don't have an actual suggestion - we never used a gate, just watched our kids really well...but, be careful because some gates that people like might not work in your house - baseboards and railings can get in the way!