House vs. apartment and little children

ss321

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 12:51 pm

Atali wrote:

Kids who do not know how to safely handle stairs are much less safe around stairs than those who do.

I am also not leaving my kids unsupervised either. I watch her when she goes up and down the stairs. At 13 months that is certainly possible.

My stairs are also not straight up. They curve at the top, which means that if she were to trip at the top of the stairs the furthest she would fall is down two carpeted steps. I also have a carpeted landing at the bottom of the main section.

It is also not at all similar to a fire. Proper use of a fire requires a high level judgment, while walking down the stairs simply requires motor skills and experience.

Also, you do realize that stair gates are a relatively recent invention. What do you think people did 100 years ago?

1) I am not disagreeing with you. my baby loves playing on the stairs and is getting good at going both up and down. but only if I (or someone else) is around right htere with him on every step!
2) right but if you are 3 feet away, watching, and a kid steps 1 inch too far....well the results can be worse than anyone can imagine.
3) did you know that a baby can drown in as little as one inch of water? 2 steps is still an accident waiting to happen. and it also depends how the kid trips. if the kid is fortunate enough to "save himself" by catching his balance after steps 1 and 2, then it might only be a minor fall. but if not.... who wants to take that risk!!
4)I also have carpeting at the bottom of my basement stairs. falling 10 ft onto the "cushion" of carpet vs the "cushion" of parquet- well either one can still crack a skull.
5) proper use down stairs also requires judicious judgement!!! seems simple to us adults, but to a kid, it is a major task and they might not (actually DO not) always know how to gauge each step, and DO NOT understand the repercussions of their actions.

Atali wrote:

Kids who live in houses with gates are much more likely to fall down the stairs the one time you forget to close it than those who can do so safely.

of course. so the simple solution, was the invention of something called-
a SPRING.
they sell gates that close automatically (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clippasafe-Ltd-CL920-Standard-Auto-Close/dp/B000YHDWEU)

Tamiri wrote:

but it's also good to help them towards independence.

not at 13 months!! with that logic we should all be propping bottles because it is better for them to learn early on to feed themselves independent.

and what difference does having a metal railing make? they sell gates that attach nicely to metal and wooden railings (rather than straight to a wall)

Atali

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 1:00 pm

ss321 wrote:

Atali wrote:

Kids who live in houses with gates are much more likely to fall down the stairs the one time you forget to close it than those who can do so safely.

Tamiri wrote:

but it's also good to help them towards independence.

I have yet to find a good gate for metal railings. I also have yet to see a self-closing gate that really works all of the time.

I actually do know a baby who had a big tumble down a flight of stairs. It was someone's baby whose husband insisted that the child should never be left around stairs because it was too dangerous and then accidently left the gate open.

Tamiri

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 1:03 pm

ss321 wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

]but it's also good to help them towards independence.

not at 13 months!! with that logic we should all be propping bottles because it is better for them to learn early on to feed themselves independent.

Bottle? Propping? I don't know what you mean.

Flowerpot

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 1:07 pm

You can have very nice gates matching to your railing.

I always allow my toddler to go ahead of me as long as I'm behind them.

And regarding no hearing when the wake up. its a very good thing to have a intercom system installed in every room.

Good luck ( I think its very healthy for the kids freedom of space)

mimsy7420

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 1:38 pm

I don't think it's overprotecting, it just gives me piece of mind. I don't want my two year old running rampant upstairs while I'm busy downstairs.

pacifier

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 2:05 pm

Apparently Attali is always near her baby, so it's not like the stairs are unattended.

When I had stairs, I had a gate at the bottom of the stairs, I'd spend the day downstairs, upstairs was only for naps, in the crib.

If you don't go up and down, it will limit the mess in the house, and you can make a small area out of the kitchen for toys, with drawers to put away the toys.

pecan

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 6:05 pm

In terms of child development it does take a while for babies to develop depth perception.

amother

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 6:16 pm

fyi
my 2 1/2 yr old son fell off the 3rd step and broke his arm

Atali

Thu, Aug 20 2009, 8:19 pm

amother wrote:

fyi
my 2 1/2 yr old son fell off the 3rd step and broke his arm

I'm sorry to hear that. Hug

However, I don't think that most people with 2.5 year olds always use baby gates, so it is a bit irrelevent. My mother also hurt herself on the stairs recently, but that doesn't mean she needs a baby gate.

tzatza

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 7:15 am

Atali wrote:

amother wrote:

fyi
my 2 1/2 yr old son fell off the 3rd step and broke his arm

I'm sorry to hear that. Hug

It just proves that ANYONE can fall, and kids are much more prone to that because they are still developing their sense of balance.
We have gates both at the top and bottom of stairs. As others said, it has to do a lot with simple peace of mind, especially at night. Btw, my 2.5 y.o knows how to walk up and down, but also knows that gates need to be closed, so if anyone leaves it open by mistake, he runs to close it (he can close, but not open them).
OP,
I moved from an apt (with one child, though) to a house 4 years ago, and I remember how nervous I was (just like you), but you will get used to it and find new ways vis-a-vis toys, etc.
GL!

Raisin

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 7:24 am

I don't think an upstairs gate is so necessary. At night my baby is in a cot and cannot climb out yet. You can also put gates on bedroom doors.

Tamiri

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 7:32 am

Until about age 2, we had them crawl down the stairs rather than walking down, unless someone was there to hold a little hand.

Mirabelle

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 7:34 am

Our old house had one of those big staircases that curved and had a stop halfway up.

We did teach DD how to navigate them well, but yeah, seeing her tumble down once (B"H she was fine, but it was VERY SCARY) was enough to make sure we had secure gates. I think she was 18 months at the time.

I am very happy to now live in a one floor ranch!!

If you are buying gates, make sure that the one you get for the top of the stairs is the special one that you drill in so that if pressure is applied, it doesn't fall over.

mimsy7420

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 8:39 am

Raisin wrote:

I don't think an upstairs gate is so necessary. At night my baby is in a cot and cannot climb out yet. You can also put gates on bedroom doors.

so I should buy 3 gates rather then 1? Scratching Head

gryp

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 8:52 am

13 month olds can be very different. Mine is an expert climber.

Raisin

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 9:00 am

mimsy7420 wrote:

Raisin wrote:

I don't think an upstairs gate is so necessary. At night my baby is in a cot and cannot climb out yet. You can also put gates on bedroom doors.

so I should buy 3 gates rather then 1? Scratching Head

no, put a gate on the kids bedroom door rather then the top of the stairs.