Is your Baby Climbing the Stair Gate?

Watching your children grow up is a unique and cherished experience. From their first words to helping them move into their first apartment, a parent will experience many firsts with their child. One of the first big achievements for many parents is watching their child take their first steps. After watching them crawl and encouraging them to stand, seeing your child take those tender, uncoordinated first steps is astonishing. However, once those two feet start moving, you’re going to have to be on your toes, as your baby’s newfound mobility will expose them to dangers all over the house.

One of the best solutions for keeping your child safe is to install gates in doorways and stairwells to ensure the baby can’t hurt themself. Over time, your child will grow, their muscles will develop, and their sense of curiosity and confidence in their movement will increase. Many parents complain about their child climbing out of the crib and over stair gates, where they can fall, trip, and hurt themselves.

Today, we are going to be looking at different solutions for overly curious children who are able to climb over their stair gates. From fabric gates that are almost impossible to climb over to communicating with your child, there are many different ways to deal with your little climber. If you need a stair gate that is durable and extremely difficult to climb, try a Stair Barrier today. Made in the USA, our fabric stair gates are a great solution for staircases with banisters and can prevent your curious little toddler from experiencing stair climbing-related injuries. Visit our website today for more information.

Fabric Baby Gate

The traditional design for a baby gate relies on a series of horizontal bars, usually made out of wood, plastic, or metal. The horizontal bars are spaced close enough so that a baby cannot crawl through. For many parents, this may seem like a great solution to keeping your child off the stairs or out of the kitchen, but as the child ages, their strength and coordination allow them to climb things. Some children develop faster than others, and some children also develop better upper-body strength that allows them to climb and lift themselves up and over a gate.

If you notice that your child is exceptionally mobile, they also might be able to climb over your stair gate — and yes, they will use those horizontal bars as leverage to hoist themselves up the gate and over the other side. For a scarier scenario, if the gate is not properly installed or is itself weak, as your baby is crawling over, the gate could collapse or fall over on top of your child. 

To remedy the situation, purchasing a fabric stair gate will prevent the baby from using the gate itself for leverage. Having a taught, fabric gate will prevent your baby from being able to use the horizontal bars for climbing. Plus, there is something to be said for having a nice, custom-made fabric design like those featured on the Stair Barrier instead of the jail-bar aesthetic of traditional baby gates.

Taller Stair Gates

There are certain circumstances that may require you to purchase a taller stair gate. If your baby is grabbing onto the top bar and pulling themselves up, then perhaps extending the height by a few inches will prevent them from climbing the gate. Alternatively, there are certain do-it-yourself (DIY) projects that involve stacking two stair gates on top of each other, essentially creating a see-through door.

While this may seem like an ingenious DIY solution to your climbing baby, it can have unintended consequences. Most stair gates aren’t designed to hold the weight that pulls away from where they are mounted, so if a heavier baby or toddler begins climbing on it, the stair gate might break, resulting in injury. Children also have a tendency to get their arms caught in places they shouldn’t be. If your child is in an elevated position and has their arm stuck in one of the baby gates and they slip and fall, this can result in an even more serious injury.

Dismantling the Stair Gates

If you notice that your baby is climbing over your stair gate, it might be time to have a frank discussion with yourself or your partner. Are the risks associated with climbing the stair gate better than just letting your child have free-reign over the whole house? If you have an ineffective stair gate and a curious climber, it adds an extra element of danger to their lives.

If you have other little ones roaming in your home, it is especially important to have your children lead by example. If one child continues to climb over the barrier, the other children watching will follow by example. This is a good opportunity to teach the importance of being a good role model if you have an older child who is able to use the stairs independently. Ultimately, it is going to take good communication and listening skills on the part of both you and your child in order for this to work.

The Stair Barrier Solution

If you want a high-quality, sustainably made, fabric stair gate, then a Stair Barrier is the perfect stair gate for you. The fabric construction will keep your dextrous children from climbing the gate, while also providing an attractive safety solutionfor your stairs. Additionally, if you don’t need a Stair Barrier for a period of time, it rolls up for easy storage. For more information about our reinforced fabric stair gates for banisters, visit our website today.