Recommend your baby gate, please!

[BabyBearsMom]

Hi All,

I need to start baby proofing (actually I should have started about 2 weeks ago because DD is very mobile and I am always running after her now). Anyway, I'm feeling very overwhelmed about gates. I know that I really want pressure mounted gates rather than the ones that screw into the wall. I also know that I want a gate that has a little door that I can walk through without taking the gate down. I would prefer that the door have a foot pedal rather than something that I need to do with my hands. What should I get?

Thanks!!

Babybearsmom

[TwoBees]

It is not safe to use a pressure-mounted gate at the top of the stairs, so keep that in mind. I think Safety First makes a foot-pedal gate, DreamBaby may also. HTH!

[smiles33]

Ditto TwoBees' comment re: top-of-the-stairs gates. You don't want your DD leaning on a pressure-mounted gate and falling down the stairs!

I have a Kidco wall-mounted Gateway gate at the top of my stairs and a pressure-mounted gate with a swinging door for the actual doorframe of DD2's door. The latter does not have a foot pedal but can be opened with one hand. Both work great. Kidco is pricey though, so I bought mine off Craigslist. Just make sure all the parts are there (I had to order some replacements from Kidco directly).

[BabyBearsMom]

Thanks Ladies. These gates aren't for stairways, although I hadn't really thought about that before. The gates would be for our living room to make a baby safe play area so I'm not always running after her and redirecting her from something else. Thanks for the suggestions.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Love my Kidco gates a ton!!

Beth

[lhafer]

Love my Kidco gates a ton!!

Beth

LOOOVVVEE my Kidco gates!! They held up for my first daughter, and we are now using them for our second daughter. The way my house is set up, I could use the gates I already had, just purchased a couple of extra panels. But the also make an enclosed playard that looks good. The gates are heavier so the child wouldn't be able to move it around too easily. It has a hand handle, but I prefer those as my kid couldn't do it, but it was VERY easy for me to do. They do screw into the wall, but you can take them down very easily when needed.

http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-KID-G80-..._bxgy_ba_img_b

They also offer pressure mounted gates, but I don't have experience with these.
http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?p=1

Here is their playard:
http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?erube_...10&kidco.bc=gc

Here's a picture of ours with some extra panels in another area so we can change the gated area to enclose a space for when my in laws bring their dogs when they visit:

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[boilermakermom]

I love the foot pedal gate! We used that in our old house, and loved it!!! Once we moved it didn't work in the space anymore so we had to find something else.

This is the gate that ending up fitting the space the best, however, it is poorly designed.

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-...2271413&sr=8-7

The opening is very small; which is a pain if you are carrying LO or groceries, etc. And the auto-close feature is horrid. I have had coats, purses, diaper bag straps, etc. get stuck b/c it closes so fast. I contacted Summer, and the is not a way to change the tension to allow it to close slower.

[TwoBees]

LOOOVVVEE my Kidco gates!! They held up for my first daughter, and we are now using them for our second daughter. The way my house is set up, I could use the gates I already had, just purchased a couple of extra panels. But the also make an enclosed playard that looks good. The gates are heavier so the child wouldn't be able to move it around too easily. It has a hand handle, but I prefer those as my kid couldn't do it, but it was VERY easy for me to do. They do screw into the wall, but you can take them down very easily when needed.

http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-KID-G80-..._bxgy_ba_img_b

They also offer pressure mounted gates, but I don't have experience with these.
http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?p=1

Here is their playard:
http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?erube_...10&kidco.bc=gc

Here's a picture of ours with some extra panels in another area so we can change the gated area to enclose a space for when my in laws bring their dogs when they visit:

002 (6).jpg

025.jpg

024.jpg

Do those mounting brackets shown in the second photo come with the gate? Are they made by kidco? I didn't realize that the gate could be attached and then removed from the wall. I thought that once it was attached, it was permanently attached. This makes much more sense though.

[AnnieW625]

We have an older version of this one from The First Years Hands Free Gate (ours looks like the one in the user submitted photos). The only think I didn't like it about it was that the bottom part scratched up our hardwood floors a bit.

[indigo99]

We have 4 kidco gates. My favorite is the center gateway. It is pressure mounted, and you can add extensions for different sized openings. We have two of those. They're easy to use, have a wide door to go through, and are stable even with extensions added.

We also have the elongate in a larger opening to the kitchen (which is attached to the walls) and the angle-mounted safeway gate at the top of the stairs. I have two of the northern states 3-in-1 metal superyards too (one is currently around the Christmas tree) and love those.

Don't even bother with the really cheap plastic gates. We have one for a door that is rarely used. I'm pretty sure that it would fall right over if DS ever messed with it.