Ask:
My youngest dd just turned 3, and DH keeps asking me when I'm going to take the baby gate down. I have it in my kitchen which leads to the basement. The basement stairs are carpeted, but the basement is unfinished. She still tears through the house like a crazy kid, and I'm still afraid that she and big sissy will be chasing each other thru the house and the little one will take a tumble down the stairs because she isn't paying attention. When did you take yours down?
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In our last house we had horrible stairs leading from the bedrooms downstairs. But my daughter was able go up and down them by the time she was two and we took the gate down soon afterward. BUT my daughter is very cautious when it comes to something that might harm her body (I hope this is a trait that will go over into the teenage driving years!). I think it really depends on the kid. I know a couple of times, when we had playgroup at our home, I wished I had that gate back up.
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My son was opening the gates before he was 3, so I am not a good one to ask!! We still have one we use for the dogs though!
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I would say take it down when she can go into the area or take the gate down herself. If there is a door to the basement and thats where you want her out of then keep door shut and locked. Gates are there to keep her out of certain areas. If she can't be safe there keep them up. It may be a pain to you guys, but its better than trying to keep her out of there.
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we never used baby gates so I'm not a good one to ask, but I would think that at 3 she could be taught to be careful.
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I'd say when you feel ready - you know your child's maturity. Maybe when you trade the car keys for the gate....
Seriously, I would keep it up until the age of 4 or 5.
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I can't imagine keeping it up until 4 or 5. My ds is 21 months and is navigating the stairs like a pro. He has been going up and down by himself since January. Now if we latch the gate he will try to climb over it, squeeze under it, or shake the heck out of it to try to yank it out of the wall! Our house is 3 floors and we use all 3 floors, so he wanted to learn how to do the stairs at a very early age. He goes up and down just like we do - never wanted to scoot on his tummy. The only time I use the gate anymore is if I am in the shower for a minute and he is loose upstairs or if a sitter is here (don't trust others to keep as close an eye on him as we do).
Answer:
Oh, I would totally take it down. My youngest is 14 months are ours are down. She can carefully go up and down the stairs by herself. I actually took it down before she could go down the stairs but once she figured out she couldn't. I've done the same with all three kids and none of them have ever fallen.