TIME IS RUNNING OUT.....................

[ATJ71]

Please feel my pain and respond, as I haven't had time to research and see if there are other posts that may apply.

I am embarrassed to say that my son fell down the stairs last night. My huband and I were both home. I won't go in to details except to say he is alright. I took him to the er, xrays were negative and 12 hours later he looks/acts ok. Me and my husband, on the otherhand, not so good.

I need quick help regarding what gates to purchase. I need to get one for the bottom of the stairs and the top, as well as one for my deck, WHICH LEADS TO A POOL. I never want to think he will be unattended outside but want to cover all my bases, just in case.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am not concerned at all about cost, just purchasing a good, safe product that will prevent this from happening again.

TIA
guilt ridden mother to 9 1/2 month old CJ

[August Mom]

Oh my goodness. How scary for all of you. I'm so glad that CJ is okay. My 9.5 month old loves to head for the stairs too, so I can relate.

As far as gates go, I would look at the Kid Co. Safeway Gate for the top of the stairs and probably for the deck (both are wall mounted) and the Kid. Co. Center Gateway for the bottom of the stairs (pressure mounted). The only thing to check with a retailer is whether you could use these gates outside without any problem. I'm not sure about that.

Here are descriptions of these gates:

http://www.kidco.com/gate_dis.cfm?Gate_ID=g20
http://www.kidco.com/gate_dis.cfm?Gate_ID=g15

Good luck. HTH

[COElizabeth]

Don't be too hard on yourself. There was a great thread a while back about all the confessions of mishaps and near mishaps with babies. It helped reassure me that even the most loving and concerned parents have things like this happen. I'm glad your little one is okay!

As for the gates, we're still deciding which ones, too, but I do know that you should make sure that any gate at the top of the stairs is hardware mounted. And the Kidco gates are considered excellent, so I don't think you'd go wrong with them for inside - but I am not sure about outside, either.

Elizabeth
Mom to James
9-20-02

[ATJ71]

Thanks for above posts and support. Still looking at gates. It was suggested that I check out a pet store to see what they offer for gates? Has any one else had luck with these type of gates? I have solved the problem for outside, well actually my husband did, he had a company come out and measure for gate for the deck opening. I am also looking into a floating alarm for the pool? If any one knows about these, I would be interested to know anything about them. We also have all of our doors on a chime system through out the house alarm, each time you open the door, it chimes. So I am planning to purchase the indoor gates on wednesday, the only local store is a toys r us which has very limited selection and I don't want to wait on a mail order. It seems the consensus is a "kidco" brand, I will have to see if toys r us carries them. So stay tuned.............:)

ALI

[August Mom]

I'm not sure about the pet store gates, but be wary of any gates that have crossbars. If the gate has a square or diamond inset design big enough for a child's foot, the child can climb up the gate. The other one that I've heard is pretty good and that I know is available at TRU is the First Year's Hands Free Gate. It has a step pedal that opens the gate. However, it's a pressure-mounted gate, so it would work at the bottom of the stairs, but not the top. Good luck.

[hellollama]

If it makes you feel better, my oldest fell down the stairs 3 times in his 1st yr. More embarassing is the fact that we had a gate up all 3 times but we forgot to close it! I felt incredibly guilty each time it happened.

[mom2kandj]

Check out Home Depot or Lowe's. We purchased a pair of swing gates about 18 months ago at our Home Depot. They are a wooden Evenflo gate that mounts to the stud on either side of the staircase(or banister). They cost about $35 each and work well for us!

For the pool, we're trying out the Safety Turtle Alarm at grandma's house at the end of the month. It is an immersion bracelet that signals an alarm when submerged in water. It does take discipline to put the bracelet on all the time and check it everyday! HTH!

Rose
mom to Katie (30 months)
& Jack (14 months)

[shall85296]

I live in Phoenix, and our city has one of the highest child drowning rates. It breaks your heart to see it on the news.
My husband builds pools for a living and thinks that some of the city codes are not strict enough. The best prevention is to have double handles on the doors (one @ the top and the bottom), as well as self closing doors. Your door chimes are great! Also - if its feasible a wrought iron fence w/ a locked gate around the pool itself.
Please please please everyone- be so careful w/ your children around water.

[MKH76]

Ack!! Ali, why didn't you remind me of the gates before I moved!! We are having the same problem, and now I have to wait to mail order one. I wasn't even thinking and when we were busy unpacking, I turned to look for Joshua and there he was, halfway up the stairs laughing his head off. I nearly pee'd my pants. For now, the bottom of the stairs has the one cheap little gate we got with us on the road for the ferry ride up here (it was a very unsafe ride, but we made it okay). When I am upstairs, I take Josh into every room I'm in and shut the door behind me.

Along those same lines, I'm brushing my teeth today and I hear splash, splash, splash, DH left the seat up, and Josh decided he was going to play in the toilet. Ick. I guess I need a lock for that too.

Also, my DH (Mr. Coast Guard LOL!!) has suggested swimming lessons for CJ, but also said he would ask around about more pool safety ideas for you. So I will private message you to give you my new email address.

[sophiesmom]

We all have our share of these stories! DD fell off my bed when she was about 9 months old (I was completely hysterical), she fell down the steps when she first started walking (luckily our staircase is split so it wasnt' a far fall), and once I was playing with her feet and legs and stood her on her head by her legs (she never left the ground or was hanging) and after that she couldnt walk and I had to take her to the ER for xrays! Each time she was fine, I am lucky... you are not alone!

Anyway... we have 2 of the wooden Evenflo gates. I think they are called Secure Solutions or something. We love them. They attach w/ metal hardware, and swing 1 or both ways. Very easy to open and close and I don't think very easy for a kid to figure out how to open/close. They seem very sturdy too. Also, if you're having company, you can take the gate right out of the hardware easily, then put it back in. Got them at BRU for about 30 something dollars.

Good luck!

Stephanie
Sophia 8/4/01
Anthony 5/11/03