Every parent knows the importance of child-proofing their home to protect their children from accidents. Children have a natural tendency to explore their surroundings with little sense over their personal safety. There are a lot of child-proofing devices available in the market today which most parents invest on. One of these is the stair gates.
By preventing children from accessing the stairs on their own, stair gates protect them from stairs-related accidents. Gates for stairs are installed both at the top and bottom of the stairs. For a child to access the stairs, he or she would need to seek help from his or her parents or any able adult for assistance as unlocking these gates can be somewhat complex for them. This safety feature guarantees that a child will not use the stairs on his or her own.
The trouble with these gates, however, is that it can be a hassle for the adult members of the household. Having to unlock the gates each and every time the adults need to use the stairs can be especially annoying for them. Also, as the stair gates usually narrow down the space in the top and bottom step, adults need to adjust themselves first before they can access the stairs. This can be especially difficult when the adult is moving stuff between floors.
Older children or children who can safely manage using the stairs on their own may also find the stair gates hassling. As with adults, they can get annoyed, too, with having to unlock the gates each and every time they need to use it. It can also be a cause of stairs-related accident for them as they may be tempted to climb the gates.
Also, installation and removal of stair gates can do permanent or impermanent damage to the stairs itself. This happens most especially when these tasks are not done well. These gates which need to be screwed to the walls or stair posts do permanent damage to these fixtures. Removal of stair gates may damage the walls as the paint or wallpaper may get ripped off in the process.
However, in spite of such troubles, most parents agree that stair gates still need to be installed when the children cannot safely use the stairs on their own. Parents can manage all these troubles with the stair gates as the reward is that their children will be prevented from suffering from stairs-related accidents. Truly, these troubles are but a small price to pay for their children’s safety.
Ashley likes to write about stair gates, you can find more articles on the website about baby gates.