When you first bring your baby home from the hospital, it’s tempting to go a little overboard with gates and other baby-proofing equipment.
From plastic covers for electrical outlets to gates that block access to staircases and doors, there are plenty of ways for parents to keep their children safe as they explore the world around them.
Luckily, most of these products are easily removed once your baby has outgrown them—but when is that exactly?
Here’s everything you need to know about removing safety gates so you can get back to enjoying life as a family. Baby gates are small barriers that can prevent children from accessing areas of a house where they may be in danger.
These barriers come in many styles and sizes, including pressure-mounted gates that attach to the wall or floor and hardware-mounted gates that require screws or bolts.
A baby gate typically has two panels that swing open or pivot on hinges. Some baby gates have doors that slide open like a fire door, while others are made of mesh or metal bars with slats at least half an inch apart.
When Is It Safe To Remove Baby Gates At Stairs?
Several factors go into making this decision. The main thing is your child’s age and the types of stairs in your home.
For example, if your child is over two years old and has good motor skills and coordination, then it might be safe for them to climb over a gate at the top of the stairs.
If your child is still learning to crawl or walk, it would probably be best to leave the gates up until they are older and more physically mature.
The first thing that you need to know is if your baby can walk or not. If they cannot yet walk, then it is best not to remove the gate because they are still learning how to balance properly, and this will only increase their chances of falling down the stairs and hurting themselves badly.
If they can already walk, then it is safe for them to go without a gate but only after making sure that there are no other ways for them to get into trouble, like having another staircase in their room or having a lot of toys lying around which could cause them injury when they fall over them.
5 Reasons to Remove Baby Safety Gates
Baby safety gates are a great way to keep children safe around the house. However, if you have a mobile baby, remove the gate.
There are several reasons to remove your baby’s safety gate:
1. If your child can climb over it
Children are small, but they’re also agile and strong. As they grow up, they will try to get around any obstacle (or climb over it) in their path.
If you have a gate, that’s too low or too easy to climb, you may find your toddler standing on top of it and walking through the opening when you’re not looking.
Your baby’s safety gate is no longer doing its job if your child can climb over it. Once they’ve mastered climbing, they may even try jumping.
If they get hurt while attempting to climb over or jump over your gate, consider replacing it before they get hurt again.
2. Safety gates can slow down development
While it is necessary for the child’s safety, a safety gate can also slow development. It may prevent them from reaching certain milestones, like walking independently or learning how to climb on furniture.
When you remove these barriers, you allow your child more freedom and let them discover new ways of getting around. This will help them develop faster than if these boundaries restricted them all the time.
3. You want more space
Safety gates can take up a lot of room in your home — especially if you have multiple entryways as we do. Our baby safety gates take up so much space that we have had to move some furniture around just so we have room for our family room furniture and toys.
Removing them will give us back the space we need and allow us to rearrange our living room without worrying about hitting our heads in those tall gates or damaging them when moving things around.
4. You’re ready for your baby to learn how to walk
If you’ve waited until your baby has mastered walking before removing the gates, it’s time to consider taking them down now.
Once kids are walking well and running around, it’s only a matter of time before they understand how to climb over those gates and get into trouble.
Even if they don’t figure it out right away, they’ll definitely figure it out later when they’re bored and restless from being cooped up inside all day.
5. You want an open floor plan
If your home has an open floor plan, it might be hard for you to move around freely because of the baby gate. You can’t go from room to room without having to stop and open a gate every time you want to get through.
Removing these barriers gives your child more freedom and allows him to explore the rest of your house without worrying about getting hurt.
Conclusion
It’s true that it may look odd having a gate at the top of stairs in your home, but removing the safety barrier poses plenty of potential risks. As tempting as removing the baby gate may be, the dangers demand you leave it in place until your little one has learned to walk and keep themselves out of harm’s way.
Whatever your preference or reasoning, it’s safe to say that baby gates are a useful tool around the house. But once your child can (safely) navigate stairs without help, those gates can be removed and need not be used anymore.
Baby gates are a major safety precaution for parents with small children, but over time, you may have to remove your baby gate for various reasons. This article will discuss when it is safe to do so and what the alternatives are in each scenario.
Hi, This is Emma Baster; As a mom, I spend my free time caring for my kids. I’ve read a lot on the Internet to improve my childcare skill and bring the best to my kids. Eruditemommy shares my knowledge and experience through helpful posts. I hope you enjoy them!
