To have a safe home for our children, the baby gate is an indispensable purchase for securing the little ones’ stairs, stoves, fireplaces, and other dangerous areas.
With the arrival of a child, our home can be full of pitfalls, so it becomes appropriate to delimit areas to ensure safety and tranquility for parents and babies.
Here’s how to choose the best baby gate, how it works, and the best products.
Baby gates are used to delimit the most dangerous areas of the house and secure the spaces. However, as soon as the children start walking and crawling, they quickly reach all the most insidious areas; among all, there are the internal stairs, the external stairs that lead to courtyards and gardens, the doors that open onto balconies, terraces, or swimming pools.
Sometimes, it can be useful to block the kitchen entrance or bathroom to prevent the child from entering or block the exit from the child’s room, creating a safe and secure environment.
The baby gate’s advantage is keeping the doors open and eye contact with the child while playing and walking. In addition, some baby gate models act as a fence to delimit a small area, for example, the space in front of the fireplace or the stove, to prevent the child from getting too close.
The gates are even more useful when there are more children in the house, and it is even more difficult to keep an eye on them constantly. Baby gates are also perfect for delimiting space and preventing room access when pets are in the house.
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How to Choose a baby gate: Types and Characteristics
To correctly choose the most suitable baby gate, these are the main features to consider when purchasing.
Fixed baby gate
The fixed baby gate is mounted on the walls, jambs, or the stairs’ wooden structure. It is necessary to drill the surfaces and insert the screws. Usually, the mounting kit is included in the package. The fixed ones are the classic gates for internal or external stairs because they are destined to stay in the house longer since the child crawls up to 5 – 6 years of age.
Even if the carefully assembled removable baby gates are equally robust, a fixed gate is always preferred near the stairs for safety reasons so that any jostling or kicking cannot move the gate anyway.
Removable baby gate
This type of garden baby gate is straightforward to install. A pressure baby gate adapts to the doors and walls with a special mechanism. Precisely because it does not require drilling or screws, it is the most suitable gate to be placed on the doors; thus, the jambs are not damaged, and once the gate is removed, there will be no visible signs.
These models are very versatile and useful even in the short term; for example, they can be installed in a door that opens onto the garden only in summer since, in winter, the door will remain mainly closed.
Dimensions
As for the dimensions, it is necessary to consider opening the door or stairs and choosing a suitable gate. If you do not find the desired size, you can opt for an extensible baby gate, which adapts to non-standard openings. The height of the gates usually has a minimum of 27 inches up to 3 feet, which prevents the child from climbing and climbing over.
Baby gate structure
We find railing models that block an entrance and generally open both in one direction regarding the baby gate structure. The gate can open completely or, in the larger models, have a door between two fixed structures.
In other cases, the gates of several panels that create a fence are useful. They are handy to be placed in front of fireplaces, stoves, radiators, ovens, stoves, delimit workstations, and delicate objects that children must not reach.
As for the structure, we also consider the basis of the gate. The frame does not move, and a base remains fixed on the ground while we open the gate. In the best baby gates, the base is flat to avoid tripping.
Opening and closing
A good baby gate will have a child-resistant opening and closing mechanism. Although the youngest children will not get there due to height, they could reach the opening already a few years of age, so it must be adequate.
These are generally two buttons to be pressed simultaneously and pins or levers to be lifted and turned. Again, it is essential for adults that the opening is easy and immediate, to be performed with one hand while holding the child in his arms or by the hand.
Some models close automatically; others have a visual signal indicating they are closed.
Safety gate materials
Plastic, metal, and wood are the most used materials for making children’s gates. These materials are used for the gate body, while the fixings and frames are always steel. But, of course, metal is the most robust material, suitable for several years in a row, and impact resistant.
Also, metal, especially stainless steel, adapts to the outside, while other materials, such as wood and plastic, are more suitable for the house’s interior.
The best baby gates to buy
Below is a selection of the best baby gates, chosen in a price range between $30 and $80.
Product prices and availability are subject to change. Therefore, any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to purchasing any products.