what age to get rid of our only gate in our house (top of the stair)?

[Anonymous]

Kids are 7 and 4, and they know how to get up and get down stair. I have not locked the gate for many years, and my kids have go up and down on their own day and night. The gate (installed on top of the stair) kind of is a reminder to them to be careful of walking down/up the stair. They play in the hallway of 2nd floor once in a while, and the unlocked gate is kind of a loose barrier of them not going to that area when they play in the hallway.

The gate is unlocked, so anyone can just push it to open/close. It is only trouble when I want to carry my laundry basket up/down the stairs once in a week. When should I get rid of the baby gate? We only have one baby gate installed for the whole house.

[Anonymous]

We're at the same point, except the kids are 7 and 3. It's at the top of the stairs and the kids are not allowed to play in that hallway. The fall down those stairs would be brutal and involve a broken bone for sure, so although the 3 yr old is perfectly fine, the gate soothes nerves. So I'm fine with leaving it a while, especially since he has friends with baby siblings and they sometimes come over.

[Anonymous]

Youngest is 9 and we still have it. One of my kids sleep walks so I close it for that.

[Anonymous]

We got rid of our one gate a bit before our kid turned 2. Mostly bc it fell down and we were too lazy to put it back up but we were also not concerned with him around stairs at that point. Also helps that he wouldn’t be able to fall far as it’s one of those stair cases that turns and has two different landings - so about 5 step fall max.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Youngest is 9 and we still have it. One of my kids sleep walks so I close it for that.

Wow, we had the same issue! Mine quit sleepwalking around 10-11. It was spooky. He definitely came out into the hallway near the stairs and didn’t pay attention to anything. We got rid of the gate when he grew out of it.

[Anonymous]

We got rid of it the day my youngest hit 2. Sounds like your kids are unruly.

[Anonymous]

We have one at the top of the stairs to the basement. DS is 7. It’s never locked. But makes a great place to hang pool towels in the summer. So it’s staying 🤣

[Anonymous]

We have a 7yo and a 3yo, and we still have the gate at the top of the stairs. We don’t have a landing or anything at the halfway point, so it is a straight fall down 14 steps to a hardwood floor at the bottom.
My 7yo has tripped several times going up and down the strips over the years, the worst of which involved her tripping over the top step and tumbling backwards down the entire staircase when she was nearly 5. It is a miracle that she escaped that with just a few bruises. I harp on her to pay attention, hold onto the rail, etc. DH thinks I’m too paranoid and wants the gate gone yesterday, but he isn’t the one who watched her make that fall. I couldn’t catch her in time.
Gate stays up until I am confident the 3yo can navigate the steps safely when unattended, and I’m not at that point yet.

[Anonymous]

We moved to this house when they were 3&6...we never bothered to put them up.

[Anonymous]

We moved to our new house when my youngest was 2. He could navigate the stairs well and we never put up gates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids are 7 and 4, and they know how to get up and get down stair. I have not locked the gate for many years, and my kids have go up and down on their own day and night. The gate (installed on top of the stair) kind of is a reminder to them to be careful of walking down/up the stair. They play in the hallway of 2nd floor once in a while, and the unlocked gate is kind of a loose barrier of them not going to that area when they play in the hallway.

The gate is unlocked, so anyone can just push it to open/close. It is only trouble when I want to carry my laundry basket up/down the stairs once in a week. When should I get rid of the baby gate? We only have one baby gate installed for the whole house.

Tell your kids not to play in the hallway and get rid of the gate.

[Anonymous]

We’ve never had a gate. Our three kids didn’t go down the stairs before they were ready.

[Anonymous]

We got rid of it at 3. And then at 4, my kid took a bad fall on the stairs. And I don't regret getting rid of the gate. Because you know what? That fall happened while she was under adult supervision, was going reasonably slow, and had one hand on the wall for stability. One of her feet just dragged a bit and it surprised her and tipped her forward, and she went head over heels down the stairs. It was not preventable by a gate and was a reminder to me that sometimes despite your best intentions, $hit just happens.

She was fine, thankfully, no concussion. But a scary moment all around. The truth is, your kids are going to fall and get hurt. They aren't babies anymore and accidents happen. I have concluded the best safety device is usually practice and familiarity (and helmets!). Since that fall, DD is always careful on the stairs -- I've never seen her run up or down them and she will patiently wait until someone is out of the way instead of crowding them. I am not glad she fell (watching your kid somersault down the stairs from 10 feet away is pure torture, I do not recommend it), but I do have to admit that it was a better lesson than and warning we could have given her, and would have happened with or without a gate.