I am going insane spending all day keeping my daughter off the stairs. I'm not sure I can take one more day of this! Can anyone recommend a baby gate that will work on the bottom of a staircase that has spindles rather than a wall? The bottom also has kind of a curve to it so the spindles are pretty close together and rather thin. I'm hoping maybe there is a mesh gate that can wrap around the spindles or something. We have tried all forms of barricading and redirecting to no avail. She has quite the temper and is very determined to get what she wants.
I used to have the same problem. All we did was use a regular wood gate, putting one end between the spindles & putting a basket on the other side near the wall. Theres also a great catalog/web site One Step Ahead. The have a lg selection of gates, even ones for stairs. How does she react to a FIRM "no"? My youngest is quite the firecracker herself, so it takes some creativity! Good luck!
I have a fairly similar set up to what you have described. We went with Retract-A-Gates throughout the house and I love the fact that the gates aren't in the way when I don't need to use them. The company has an adapter for the staircase issue. I think some other gates do as well, but this is what we ended up with. Good luck:)
Hi E.,
I found the best gate for staircases with spindles to be from safebeginnings.com. That's where we got ours and it works great!
Hi,
I have a suggestion for your problem. Perhaps you can get a standard gate, one that is adjustable to the width of the stairs, and attach the gate with those plastic zip Ties. they are those one way ties, that you loop through and pull. then the little "teeth" catch on the other side, and locks it together.
Or maybe you could use Velcro strips. That might work too. They are kind of like the zip ties, but they are removable when necessary. The velcro strips might be a better idea since you want to be able to get up the stairs yourself, without having to cut the zip ties. I watch my grandchildren, and have gates all over the house. I just leave them up and climb over them. Doing that on the stairs might not be a good idea. I'm guessing that there are no walls or hallways near the stairs that you can barricade off, rather than doing the stairs directly. Good luck with your quest. I know little ones are very persistant in their quest for learning and exploring!
I would check out the onestep ahead website or catalogue. They have all types of gates and I believe mesh ones.
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
Check out this link from One Step Ahead. We used this gate at the top of our stairs, and we had similar issues that you have with the spindles. It worked great! A little pricey but worth it.
Our old house had 2 steps up, then a pair of nuel(?) posts in front of a landing, then the rest of the stairs. DH got some 2x4's and this velcro strapping stuff, attached that to the posts, and then the gate to the 2x4s. Could you do something similar to one side, back where it's mostly flat, and let DD use the first few stairs?
check out www.onestepahead.com they have tons of gates & tons for top/bottom of stairs. Great products!
Have you tried one of those playards? We got one and ziptied it to the wall to go around our pellet stove. We only use 3 sections for that and were able to find a use for the others.
E.,
My neighbor had the same problem, she ended up using an inexpensive sheet of plywood, and sliding it between the spindles at the bottom of the steps. It should work as you can slide it out easily to get through. As long as your 4 1/2 year old doesn't pull on it...
O/W Babies R Us have gates that you can add pieces to, like for around a fireplace, but they need to be anchored onto to a wall on each side of the stairs, even if its a short distance. Have a look on their website. But these are expensive, I have one, and it worked well, had I known though, I would have used the plywood trick before I bought it.
Good luck.
B.
Sounds like our stairs - we have 4 of the retractable gates around our house and love them. When the gates are not pulled you can barely tell we have gates. They have lasted for 6 years & 3 children and we still use the ones on the stairs every day!
http://www.safebeginnings.com/WebComponents/Catalog/Publi...
I could echo responses from others, but I won't. I will let you know that my husband didn't want to drill holes into our spindles, so he firmly attached a 2x4 with zip ties and drilled into that instead. I believe it works the same way the kits do. The 2x4 might give you a straight, solid surface to attach to.
Good luck,
J.
We have the same problem. We bought one of those large gates that have three sections-like a hearth gate. We folded the sides so it looks like a box without a top and We drilled one side into the wall, the middle section, which has a door you can open is in front of the stairs and we used a bungy cord and some rope to bind the other side to the large spindle at the bottom of our stairs. I don't know if I'm explaining this well at all but it has worked-our daughter is now a very smart 2 1/2 year old and still can't get to the stairs.
Good luck!
I also have the gate from safebeginings, however, you can get it other places as well. It has a kit you can buy for spindles so you do not have to drill into them. We needed the kit for the first house we lived in with our son. WE had a three story house with a semi spiral staircase. It worked great. Our landlord wanted to keep the gates when we left because they liked them so well. I have not found anything else that works with spindles as well as this does. Good luck.
We have the same type of staircase except without the curve. We just took a board - anything flat will do although if you want something "nice" you can get one of those ready-made shelves from Target. (You can use it later on if you want). We just attached it firmly to the spindles, using bungee cords, and using felt pads so that nothing got scratched. We rested the bottom of the board on the bottom step. This provided a flat surface and then we used one of those spring-loaded gates that pressed against the board on one side and against the wall on the other side. Worked great.
There is a kit at Babies R Us ( and perhaps other places as well) that is designed for staircases with no walls. It is meant to make any gate work. The added benefit is that you do not have to drill into the woodwork. We used it at my parents house. Good luck!
We got a great off white mesh gate that pulls all the way across the foot of the stairs and does not allow them to go up under it to head up the stairs. We ordered it at babygates.com and it has been great. Good luck.
