Moving to house with stairs with toddler

AdMMM

We're finally about to move into a house having been in an apartment for last couple of years.

This is the first time our 2 1/2 year old will be living somewhere with stairs and it's a bit terrifying because whenever we visited relatives, she'd run straight for the stairs.

Any advice apart from installing baby gates at the top and bottom?

Loveinapril

Let them get plenty of practice going up and down safely. We live in a bungalow and my two (3 and 1.5 year olds) immediately run to the stairs in their grandparents houses. Stairs and steps cannot be avoided so my opinion would be to tackle it head on and just teach them how to go up safely and come down slowly.

tobdom

AdMMM wrote: »

We're finally about to move into a house having been in an apartment for last couple of years.

This is the first time our 2 1/2 year old will be living somewhere with stairs and it's a bit terrifying because whenever we visited relatives, she'd run straight for the stairs.

Any advice apart from installing baby gates at the top and bottom?

Remember to always close them! Sounds pretty simple, but it's not
But yea, don't be afraid to allow them to 'practice' as well (supervised obviously) and teach them how to come down on their bum.

scarepanda

We were in a similar position early last year, the kids were 11mths and 3.5yrs when we moved. The older one we kept an eye on the for the first while, but she was flying it up and down pretty quickly, we just needed to keep reinforcing safety on the stairs - how to go up/down properly, go slow, no playing/messing etc. The 11mth old is now 21mths and she's been climbing the stairs, with one of us either loosely holding her/always standing behind her since she was 15mths old. She's flying up now but itll be a while before she's let off on her own. We haven't even thought about teaching her to go down yet. We also got stair gates that screw into the wall/stairs and have a pull back lever and lift motion to open. Most baby gates freak me out on stairs, but these ones are doing the job and feel very secure. I can post a link in a while, I just need to get it off my husband.

The Mighty Quinn

Word of advice on stair gates... make sure the ones you get are pressure fit, not the type you've to drill to the wall, as I discovered lately. I bought one that needed parts fitted to the wall, which I did. But the wall was at top of stairs, plasterboard finish. Bit of rough and tumble on the gate and the fixings pulled out of the plasterboard.

No injuries or anything like that, but avoid if you can!

scarepanda

Ya, make sure you fix into a stud. Plasterboard won't hold any fall. Thankfully there was a stud in the right spot. Tbh I've never liked the pressure fitted ones on stairs. In our experience they are fairly easy to bump open - we had baby gates in our old house which was a bungalow and two husky crosses who have managed to open the pressure fitted gates when playing. The gates we have gotten feel a lot stronger than the old ones which are grand for doors ways.

breadmonkey

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

Word of advice on stair gates... make sure the ones you get are pressure fit, not the type you've to drill to the wall, as I discovered lately. I bought one that needed parts fitted to the wall, which I did. But the wall was at top of stairs, plasterboard finish. Bit of rough and tumble on the gate and the fixings pulled out of the plasterboard.

No injuries or anything like that, but avoid if you can!

Pressure type is not suitable for the top of the stairs. Drill into a stud as advised by the poster above.

jlm29

Don’t bother with gates. Just teach them to use the stairs safely. Put a gate on your bathroom door because that’s where theyll always want to play.

Milly33

I was just going to say the same as above. Teach him how to climb the stairs properly.. Maybe put one on the top to stop them coming down without ye but if you teach them how to use the stairs it isnt such a mystery to them.. Watch out for what type of stairs alright and well I would never trust the gates entirely.. Our first little girl was great never pulled on it or pushed it, and the second is like king kong knocking on it and i would not trust it to hold..

scarepanda

I wouldn't agree with ye at all tbh. Our youngest has been thought how to go up the stairs since she was able to, they are no mystery to her at all. But as soon as she gets an opportunity she's straight to them. We didn't have gates until recently, and I'm so glad we got them when we did as she has now learned how to open doors.

Milly33

scarepanda i feel like typing that in caps, just joking by the way ... Suppose tis all what you feel safer with really. Ah himself if like a magnet towards the stairs and thinks it is so funny to go for it, but then one of us is around all the time and are watching so I trust not to put one there..

Like all things with parenthood go with what ye feel.. Might be a bit old now for it, but maybe teach her to go up on her knees and then work to holding onto the rails rather than the banister (it is normally to high and too wide for their tiny hands), we mad a rule too there is no messing on the stairs it is not for games or for playing on...

scarepanda

She's flying it up on her knees. She took a notion a few months ago to try step up.... Usually step with one foot and use the other knee... Thankfully she decided that wasn't the most efficient way

It wouldn't be feasible to not have a gate at the bottom here now anyways. To go between the two main rooms you have to cross the Hall and now that she can open the doors it wouldn't be realistic to be locking doors especially with a 4 year old. She doesn't pull out of the gates thankfully, but having them installed now is one less thing to have to be always on alert for. There were a couple of instances before Christmas when someone was here and doors being left open with access to the stairs. And she's also loving having more freedom to go between rooms rather than being locked into which ever one we're in so that's a bonus too.

The Mighty Quinn

Wouldn't agree with the posters who say to just teach children to safely use stairs and abandon a gate. That is well and good, but only works at a certain point. I've an 11 month old who can crawl faster than I can walk, and is walking a bit too. Of course we keep an eye on her, but turn your back for a second (it happens...!) and she could have a tumble down the stairs, the rooms are all off a small landing.

I'd be using a gate as a back up even, something to buy you a few seconds when they escape!

Milly33

The keys in the door that is another one when they figure out they can turn that key... Had one scare with herself but like all told her what to do rather than take all the keys out of the door....

lazygal

Never used gates with any of ours. Apart from preferring to show them how to navigate stairs I hate how they look! Just showed them how to shuffle down on their bum slowly. Not a single accident in 8 years of parenting.

bee06

Milly33 wrote: »

The keys in the door that is another one when they figure out they can turn that key... Had one scare with herself but like all told her what to do rather than take all the keys out of the door....

Happened me yesterday with the three year old! I forgot to take them out of one of the doors after using them and he caught me out.

We never used stairs gates with the oldest. Just keep doors closed and by the time he could open a door he could use the stairs safely. Undecided on the 2nd child at the moment. She’s not crawling yet but doors do not stay closed anymore with a 3 year old running around.

Milly33

they are so fast haha did you manage to coax them through to opening it again? Lucky we got two sets of keys for each door so I have one inside the rooms and one in the door. Just have to manage the rest from there...

fits

Stair gates gave us great peace of mind and allowed us to let them roam in a secure area without eyes on every second.

They just turned four and we still close the one at top of stairs at night time. I’m still nervous with the two of them on the stairs and one of them doesn’t always pay attention as they should. Both of them have taken tumbles on the stairs over the last 2.5 years - one each- but were fine thankfully.

bee06

Milly33 wrote: »

they are so fast haha did you manage to coax them through to opening it again? Lucky we got two sets of keys for each door so I have one inside the rooms and one in the door. Just have to manage the rest from there...

I did! After him laughing hysterically at me for a while. We have two keys for every door too but they were both on the same ring which he used to lock the door! Serious parenting error No harm done thankfully and lesson learned for me. I’d gotten a bit complacent.