[Sarahaugust]

We are having our walk through next week so we are scrambling around trying to get everything in perfect order. We need to install a baby gate on the top and bottom of the stairs.

My question is, what about toddlers that climb gates? What do you do if you are asleep and the toddler wakes up and tries to climb the gate? We sleep downstairs and I feel like I would need to sleep in the room with the toddler to make sure he doesn't go anywhere but I think we can only share a room till they are 24 months old.

I want to make sure that we do everything by the book so we get approved. I am just worried about a toddler upstairs. I am starting to think we need to only accept newborns or older kids that know how to go up and down stairs. But we really want to be open for all ages.

Any advice?

[cookiemommakara]

It won't be a licensing issue as long as you have the gates. As far as your own personal worry, best thing you can do is watch them and see what they will do. If you plan on leaving toddler's door open, gate the entry to the room as well, and invest in baby monitors. They might go climbing, but chances are, they won't do so quietly. If you are okay with shutting their door at sleep times, just buy a few doorknob covers for the inside knob. The baby monitor still wouldn't hurt, but chances of a young toddler escaping past a closed door with a good knob cover, and over several gates, is not very likely. If they can, they are fine to be using stairs

[alys1]

In our state, you have to sleep on the same floor up through age 6. So many good reasons for that.

I have a 2-story house, and really can't imagine falling asleep on a different floor than a baby or toddler. They just wake up scared far too often... and any child who comes from foster care, will have quite a burden of trauma already. They tend to need extra reassurance that things are safe and OK, extra reassurance that someone is there for them, vs having to wonder or worry if the "parents" have slipped off to party leaving them there alone, or similar.

[Sarahaugust]

Thanks for the ideas Cookiemomma! I will definitely need to get a good monitor.

Alys1, that makes a lot of sense. We could always move our boys downstairs and us upstairs depending on the child we get. I know my boys would be pretty excited about getting our room! Lol.

Thanks for the advice guys!

[Biblemom]

You could install a Dutch door. You can close the bottom half while leaving the top half open at night. My husband made one by chopping an old hollow door in half and then adding some wood/shelf to make it look nice.
Some states do allow your bedroom to be on a different level. I think here it just says not more than one level away.

[Jamie84]

Get the tallest gate you can find, and make sure you get one that is made for stairways (most boxes and packages will say "ok for stairs" or "not for stairs"). Get one that mounts into the door frame, not a pressure gate (so there is no chance of the gate popping out from a kid trying, but failing, to climb the gate.
I highly recommend the ones made out of metal tubes with the walk through gate. If you have a real monkey on your hands you can put a little Vaseline on the poles so they cant stick their feet in and climb.
Hang some bells on the baby gate so you know if someone is messing with it. That might have a double bonus of catching their attention instead of them wanting to climb the gate.
If you are going to be on a different floor, then a baby monitor is a must. Make sure the child knows, and tell them even if they seem to young to get it, that you can hear them if they need you.
I would NOT bank on a toddler letting you close his door at night.

Another fun tip: If you are going to put a gate on the bottom of the stairs, put it on the 3rd or 4th stair so the little one can start learning to climb stairs, but won't be able to go high enough to hurt himself if he falls. A squishy doormat at the foot of the stairs never hurts if you have tile floors.

[TemporaryMom]

I won't do a toddler upstairs for that reason. I am allowed to have another child in Chubbs' room until the oldest is five. And it does depend on the child. Monkey was 2.5 when she came so still a toddler, but she was used to stairs at her bio moms house so could get up and down them well. I am not moving Chubbs up until he can. I honestly can't wait so I can reclaim my family room from toys.

I have a cape so two beds down and one up. FWIW I haven't seen any kids climb over gates, there really isn't enough leverage. Pls, they do make some gates that are taller.

[TemporaryMom]

Originally Posted by Jamie84

Get one that mounts into the door frame, not a pressure gate (so there is no chance of the gate popping out from a kid trying, but failing, to climb the gate. .

Actually, the one I got is pressure mounted and rated good for stairs. It is the strongest gate I have seen and hard for even adults to open.

This is the one I have and once you tighten it, it doesn't budge, I tried with all of my might. I intend to use it on the stairs once I have gotten Chubbs ready to tackle them.

Auto Close Baby Gate, Metal Pressure Gate - One Step Ahead Baby

And thanks pp for the suggestion to put it up a few steps. I hadn't thought of that and now that Chubbs is flying up the one step to our porch I think he can start learning regular steps.

[jmd5294]

Does the toddler need to sleep with a door open? All of my kids have always slept (and still do) with the door shut. Toddlers who cannot navigate steps have a doorknob cover on the inside of their room, and a gate. I do not put gates at the top of steps b/c I am too scared that a baby will climb over it and immediately tumble down the steps.

IME, most kids who can maneuver over a gate can probably find their way down a set of steps without tumbling down them if you put the gate in the middle of the hallway, as opposed to immediately at the top of the steps.

Alternatively, you could get a door alarm if you are super worried.

[lovemy3babies]

Looks like you got lots of good suggestions! We used to put a gate in the hall too. We got one that swings open and screws into the wall. So we could put it up a few inches, making it taller. Also, it had vertical bars, so they couldn't really climb it.

All that said, I used to worry about this same thing, but through raising 3 toddlers and a few kids that have stayed here briefly, no one has ever tried to climb gates and go downstairs in the night. They came looking for us in our room first, or just cried in their beds if they needed us. I think they weren't brave enough to try going downstairs in the dark. So you might not have much of a problem.

Definitely have the gates for the inspection though. One time I stupidly took the gate at the top of our stairs down, because it was a pressure gate and the kids always follow us around the house when CW or home supervisors come over. I took it off to ease the walk through the house. Of course, the day that some people from DHS were here as part of a random visit to foster homes to check for safety, was the day I took it down so they didn't have to climb it. Our 18 month old ran for the stairs and fell down them. I was so annoyed because the ladies left the bedroom ahead of me, so I couldn't catch up to him. Normally I am right with him on the stairs. They didn't even try to stop him and I couldn't get past them in the hall.

Anyway, they made a huge stink, even though I showed the gate leaning on the wall and explained I didn't want them having to climb it so I removed it for the visit.
THEN, they made our home supervisor randomly show up once a week for 6 weeks to make sure it was there. She was so apologetic because she knew that the gate was always there and I was always escorting the kids down the stairs. Seriously annoying. Sorry had to get that out. I didn't know it was still in there. lol

[Jamie84]

Originally Posted by TemporaryMom

Actually, the one I got is pressure mounted and rated good for stairs. It is the strongest gate I have seen and hard for even adults to open.

This is the one I have and once you tighten it, it doesn't budge, I tried with all of my might. I intend to use it on the stairs once I have gotten Chubbs ready to tackle them.

Auto Close Baby Gate, Metal Pressure Gate - One Step Ahead Baby

And thanks pp for the suggestion to put it up a few steps. I hadn't thought of that and now that Chubbs is flying up the one step to our porch I think he can start learning regular steps.

Thats the exact gate I was talking about. I thought it screwed into the walls. Our upstairs is off limits. Its just one room, and no banister, so no kids allowed! Our only gate is at the bottom of the stairs.
What I was talking about avoiding are the little gates that adjust with the zipper teeth looking bar down the middle and just have rubber stoppers and you have to remove the entire gate to get past. Those can be really dangerous on stair.

[Sarahaugust]

Thank you all so much for your great responses. I really like the bell idea with the gate at the toddler door. There would be no problem moving upstairs if we get a little night wanderer. We got the Safety First Perfect Fit gates.. only we didn't measure our stairs and they were not a perfect fit.. too small. Now we are looking for a suitable gate.