aggieamy Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I really need some suggestions on how to keep DS off the stairs. He's almost a year old and is a great crawler. He's also fantastic at going up the stairs. We just bought a new house and the entrance to the stairs is wide and doesn't have a good place to install a baby gate. In our old house we just put a large rubbermaid tote in front of the stairs and it was big enough to block them. No luck here. Any ideas? I like to let him just roam around and play while I do things downstairs but I can't because the first thing he goes for is the stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I was too lazy to put up a gate, so I spent a day or so making sure they could come down safely instead (backwards, feet first). I think I tried for about three days with the gate, but DS discovered he could climb through the railings so at that point, yeah, I gave up, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Could you put the gate up on stair 3 or 4, where the wall starts? How badly could he get hurt from 3 stairs up? Famous last words? I always had stairs when mine were little and have never owned a baby gate. I wish I remembered how that worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songsparrow Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Given that pic, I would get two of the retractable baby gates (loved those!) that can be opened extra wide and install them in the door openings to the dining room and the living room (I assume the kitchen is in the unseen back corner). That would cordon off the entire entry way with the stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Given that pic, I would get two of the retractable baby gates (loved those!) that can be opened extra wide and install them in the door openings to the dining room and the living room (I assume the kitchen is in the unseen back corner). That would cordon off the entire entry way with the stairs. That's basically what I have to do in my house--gate off the foyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 We spent entire days/weeks going up and down the stairs so DS would 1. learn to safely navigate them, and 2. remove the novelty of it so he was no longer compelled to constantly climb them. Boy, those were some long weeks! :ack2: Can you block off some of the rooms so he cannot even get to the stairs? At one point, I had a baby gate in practically every room to slow him down a bit when he was determined to get to the stairs. It's tough with an open floorplan like that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Lovely house, btw! :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 If you want to keep the baby off the stairs altogether, do you have one of those octagonal 'baby pens'? You can open it up and put it around the entire base. They have Velcro straps that could go around the railings on the right to keep it place, and the shape will stabilize it. In the meantime, lots of stairs practice:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 If you want to keep the baby off the stairs altogether, do you have one of those octagonal 'baby pens'? You can open it up and put it around the entire base. They have Velcro straps that could go around the railings on the right to keep it place, and the shape will stabilize it. In the meantime, lots of stairs practice:) :iagree: This is what friends did who had even wider curving stairs than that pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 We have a similar staircase. I taught my now two year old how to go down the stairs on his belly. The only way we could install a gate was a few steps up and I was worried about my older two crawling over and getting hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 We used these a lot: http://www.target.com/p/superyard-xt-play-gate-by-north-states-industries-light-grey/-/A-541446?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=541446&CPNG=Baby&kpid=541446&LID=9pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=541446&kpid=541446&gclid=CN3b9dL4pMECFbRzMgodxG0A-Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspasia Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I would just put a soft landing at the bottom of the stairs until he learns to navigate them (not all the time, obviously, but just when he's on the go). I hate, hate, hate baby gates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Given that pic, I would get two of the retractable baby gates (loved those!) that can be opened extra wide and install them in the door openings to the dining room and the living room (I assume the kitchen is in the unseen back corner). That would cordon off the entire entry way with the stairs. That's a great idea! It would certainly work and all the rooms connect together so he'd still have plenty of room to roam. Lovely house, btw! :001_wub: Thank you. I would just put a soft landing at the bottom of the stairs until he learns to navigate them (not all the time, obviously, but just when he's on the go). I hate, hate, hate baby gates. Why do you hate them? I'm pretty free-range with my kids but I don't want DS in upstairs in my bedroom if I'm down in the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 What about getting a modular pen like Superyard and setting it up in a U-shape around the stairs / walls? Meanwhile I agree with teaching him how to go up & down safely. The design of the stairs is pretty safe, i.e., he wouldn't have far to fall if he did take a tumble, and it appears the stairs are carpeted. I'd put a fluffy rug at the foot of the stairs too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'm pretty free-range with my kids but I don't want DS in upstairs in my bedroom if I'm down in the kitchen. If your concern is him getting into rooms upstairs, then why not put a gate at the top of the stairs or close the upstairs doors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevergiveup Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 You could try a large sheet of cardboard, like from a refrigerator box, and lay it down over the steps. It's slippery and hard to crawl up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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