I don't know about you, but before I became a parent I was never a big fan of stair gates. I remember having been forced to step way over them when visiting my sister's house, since she had them all over the place for her kids. Half the time I nearly tripped and took a fall myself, which is kind of ironic since a safety gate is supposed to protect toddlers from doing a nose dive down the stairs.
Funny how a couple years and a couple kids changes everything - now I've got two toddlers myself who are in to everything. The time came when I needed safety gates too - not only to keep them safe but to protect my vintage LP collection from becoming scratched up Frisbees (can anyone relate here?) And so the search began for a safety gate which was tall enough to stop my little Visigoths from pillaging, yet not so tall that I'd end up with a head injury. It was a little more difficult than I thought, but I discovered a few tips which might be of benefit to you when you're out shopping, too.
Baby Play Yard
The first tip I can recommend for you is to look for a gate which is self-closing. Now what do I mean by that? Many of the child safety gates I looked at were a single piece, maybe with a slider to expand it out, which required you to stretch the gate across the opening and then set it in place. This means that once you've set it up it can be a real pain to move it (for example if you want to get by) and then reset. And forget about doing that it you set the gate up at the top of the stairs! Instead, look for a gate which has a button on top to allow you to swing the gate open (think like a barn yard door.) Most of these safety gates (at least the good ones I've seen from DreamBaby) make it really tough for a toddler to push, but it's child's play for you the adult to open it to pass and then close it again.
In addition to a swinging gate, I'd also recommend you find one which is not quite as tall. An extra couple of inches won't make much difference from a protection point of view, and it will probably save you a few bucks. Plus in the event you do need to step over, it will be easier. The only exception to this rule is if you know you've got a climber on your hands who you suspect will make a sport out of trying to make it over the Berlin Wall. Taller gates up to four feet high will be a safer bet.
In summary, again I'd recommend that you look for a swing child safety gate instead of the old-school barriers, and go with shorter gates when possible. Of course, gates are only the beginning so I'll try to post another article soon with more tips and tricks on keeping your youngster out of trouble. That's all for now, and thanks for reading!