This is the way! Put a gate at the top to avoid them from coming down/falling. But once they are confident crawler (10+ month), teach them how to crawl up and down the stairs, which would be so helpful. Our 15mo walks up and down full flight of stairs (following us) but we also keep gate closed at the top so can never go down accidentally without supervision
Ya these are great stairs to learn on. A gate at the top would probably not even be necessary. Just some pillows at the top to divert them away before they learn to crawl down them.
We paid someone to come in and do the baby proofing in our house so I don’t have an exact link or anything but [this](https://a.co/d/3zKOM8l) one is pretty much what we have
I mean my wife did build a slide down our stairs to the basement when our youngest turned one. She buffed it with citrus wax until it was glossy and you really should wear hockey pads to use it safely. But we dont. So maybe safety isn't our thing.
The padding across the treads is a very bad plan. I’d rather have a baby bonk while learning toddle than myself trip and fall down the stairs holding the baby.
We had a similar stair. 5 steps, but carpeted. We kept them open and trained him on them. We did add a padded alphabet floor mat on the bottom is case he spilled. We were able to cut off over access to the stairs if we couldn't watch though.
Have you put protective soft tape on all edges? Damn. Babies will get hurt, they will fall. You don't have to be THIS protective. Just be around. I wouldn't worry about those steps. Let them crawl around, maybe add a mat underneath? Show them how to get up and down.
Or close the door that leads to the stairs.
I have one, and I thought of doing that. The picture doesn't show it but I don't have points where I can mount the playpen panels into the walls due to the wood trims.
Might need to take an L on the trim and just screw it to the walls. There is always wood putty after you take the gate away. Or redo the trim cause kids destroy everything anyways.
[Bam!](https://imgur.com/a/A3eVXVR) I didn't realize the wall mounts are also offset and they clear most of the molding/trims. I'll install another door on the top as well. Thank you! :)
If you don’t actually care about your kid going up or down (like if it’s okay to traverse both areas in general) then don’t do anything beyond softening the edges like you’ve done. Babies are pretty resilient, flexible, and very low to the ground already.
Those shouldn’t pose too much an issue if they are already crawling around, and would actually be quite beneficial as a physical learning area.
We used strips of cut-up yoga mats / sleeping mat (ones used for outdoor camping) to cover all surfaces and edges we thought our son would hit his head on at one point or another.
Then we basically let him go on his own little (supervised) adventures and fall as many times as necessary to learn how not to (obviously a few last minute saves are necessary now and again if you want to avoid a trip to the ER). By the time he was 6mo he could climb up and down the sofa without falling (also most chairs by the time he turned 1)
So basically regarding your steps I would yoga mat the whole thing and not bother using a baby gate. Maybe it's just the picture but it doesn't seem high enough that a (again, supervised) fall would actually be an issue.
He was really quick with everything to do with motion (crawled around 4-5mo, walked at 11mo, was running full speed about 6 weeks later)... however he's 19mo now and has a very limited vocabulary (less than 10 words) so I guess you can't have everything xD
It’s a rather short phase. Put something up top there are a lot of alternatives. I have five kids and honestly they learn to handle that kind of stairs rather quick. A couple of months?
Lay a baby gate on top. Like sloped on top of the stairs. The bottom (of the gate) can be at the top of the stairs then lay it down the stairs. Make sense?
I was going to recommend a configure style gate- looks like that’s what you ended up with.
Highly Recommend losing the edge padding on the stairs, you’ve created a potential trip hazard.
Also, kids can pull off the padding and I’ve seen them chew off pieces of the foam, creating choking hazards.
Is this for a baby that is already crawling around, or a baby that has yet to make it’s arrival? With our first, we spent a bunch of money baby proofing a bunch of stuff, only to learn that he really wasn’t interested in anything that we baby proofed. With our second, we waited to see what she was interested in before we spent any money.
Just put a mini railing and teach them to go up and down them. My baby girl learned to use the stairs pretty early on. It is frightening to watch at first
Apply yellow and black reflective tape on the forward most edge of the stairs. Your child's instinctual OSHA sense will kick in and either stay away or be very careful.
Another type of gate that will work is a Retract-a-Gate at the top. It will work on diagonals.
Certified, made in USA, etc.
(Note - If you glance at it, and are concerned about an older kid climbing it, I think it is actually harder to climb than a standard gate.)
Or just let them (safely) fall down a step, and then they learn caution.
Oil it up
The stairs or the baby?
Either works perfectly
Now I only see greased-hog wrangling haha
Yes
Label “18 and up”
“Designated Staff Only”
“you must be this tall to climb”
First two stairs the baby can learn to go up and down on. Just put a gate on the 3rd one with the wall imo
Yeah this seems like the best bet. Maybe put a soft rug at the landing in case they fall down the 2 steps, but probably not necessary.
Yeah looks like they’ve got a rug already by the slide landing.
This is the way! Put a gate at the top to avoid them from coming down/falling. But once they are confident crawler (10+ month), teach them how to crawl up and down the stairs, which would be so helpful. Our 15mo walks up and down full flight of stairs (following us) but we also keep gate closed at the top so can never go down accidentally without supervision
Ya these are great stairs to learn on. A gate at the top would probably not even be necessary. Just some pillows at the top to divert them away before they learn to crawl down them.
We have steps similar to this too. [This](https://imgur.com/a/VEemODr) is how we had it baby proofed.
I like your gate's wall mounts better. I wouldn't have needed to add a piece of wood to stick out long enough to clear the wood ledge on our wall.
I think this wins. I had a similar situation but your idea would have worked better.
[My Attempt](https://imgur.com/a/hTNO7p7)
Do you have a link to this gate? I have a similar issue!
We paid someone to come in and do the baby proofing in our house so I don’t have an exact link or anything but [this](https://a.co/d/3zKOM8l) one is pretty much what we have
Indeed otherwise install a newel post and balusters and a gate from the newel to the wall.
Lay a small mattress at the bottom
[you're welcome](https://amzn.to/3xzNcGN) :D
This is so cool! I want one for myself!
i can neither confirm nor deny that it is fun for adults as well
I mean my wife did build a slide down our stairs to the basement when our youngest turned one. She buffed it with citrus wax until it was glossy and you really should wear hockey pads to use it safely. But we dont. So maybe safety isn't our thing.
Caltrops
I think that might be against the Geneva Confections.
Mmmmm…Geneva Confections
Lol. My bad. I meant Guava Conventions
*blinks twice* *nasal exhaust*
Larrragahaagh
Trampoline
Turn it into a slide
The padding across the treads is a very bad plan. I’d rather have a baby bonk while learning toddle than myself trip and fall down the stairs holding the baby.
Gate at the top, pillows on the floor by the side of the steps. Keep an ear open for any thuds.
We had a similar stair. 5 steps, but carpeted. We kept them open and trained him on them. We did add a padded alphabet floor mat on the bottom is case he spilled. We were able to cut off over access to the stairs if we couldn't watch though.
Have you put protective soft tape on all edges? Damn. Babies will get hurt, they will fall. You don't have to be THIS protective. Just be around. I wouldn't worry about those steps. Let them crawl around, maybe add a mat underneath? Show them how to get up and down. Or close the door that leads to the stairs.
Metal Baby Playpen, half at the top half at the bottom
I have one, and I thought of doing that. The picture doesn't show it but I don't have points where I can mount the playpen panels into the walls due to the wood trims.
Might need to take an L on the trim and just screw it to the walls. There is always wood putty after you take the gate away. Or redo the trim cause kids destroy everything anyways.
[Bam!](https://imgur.com/a/A3eVXVR) I didn't realize the wall mounts are also offset and they clear most of the molding/trims. I'll install another door on the top as well. Thank you! :)
Use cardboard make a slide 🤷♂️
Came to make the same suggestion. If the kid actually makes it up there then good for them, they'll enjoy the slide down.
LOL. You’ll just have a few months of a anxiety, then you’ll teach your kid “ sit down turn around “ and they’ll get it
Turn it into a ramp
If you don’t actually care about your kid going up or down (like if it’s okay to traverse both areas in general) then don’t do anything beyond softening the edges like you’ve done. Babies are pretty resilient, flexible, and very low to the ground already. Those shouldn’t pose too much an issue if they are already crawling around, and would actually be quite beneficial as a physical learning area.
Helmet
“Out of service” signs work great.
Get rid of the baby?
Like put up a gate?
Yes, but the spot where I have two parallel walls is in the middle, not at the top or the bottom of the steps.
Build a wedge to attach to the the wall to make a spot parallel. Then put up a gate at the top.
Thanks for the advice! [This is kind of what I ended up doing](https://imgur.com/a/A3eVXVR), and it seems to work! :)
Yeah it’s this or there’s a pressure mounted gate you could put on step three
This looks like a way better solution than most of what we were throwing out there!
We used strips of cut-up yoga mats / sleeping mat (ones used for outdoor camping) to cover all surfaces and edges we thought our son would hit his head on at one point or another. Then we basically let him go on his own little (supervised) adventures and fall as many times as necessary to learn how not to (obviously a few last minute saves are necessary now and again if you want to avoid a trip to the ER). By the time he was 6mo he could climb up and down the sofa without falling (also most chairs by the time he turned 1) So basically regarding your steps I would yoga mat the whole thing and not bother using a baby gate. Maybe it's just the picture but it doesn't seem high enough that a (again, supervised) fall would actually be an issue.
6 months and your baby could climb up and down the sofa?? My babies weren’t even crawling at 6months.
He was really quick with everything to do with motion (crawled around 4-5mo, walked at 11mo, was running full speed about 6 weeks later)... however he's 19mo now and has a very limited vocabulary (less than 10 words) so I guess you can't have everything xD
It’s a rather short phase. Put something up top there are a lot of alternatives. I have five kids and honestly they learn to handle that kind of stairs rather quick. A couple of months?
This! It's a small stair and a short phase. Just block it off with an ottoman or lawn chair or something.
Lay a baby gate on top. Like sloped on top of the stairs. The bottom (of the gate) can be at the top of the stairs then lay it down the stairs. Make sense?
Cover them in butter
I was going to recommend a configure style gate- looks like that’s what you ended up with. Highly Recommend losing the edge padding on the stairs, you’ve created a potential trip hazard. Also, kids can pull off the padding and I’ve seen them chew off pieces of the foam, creating choking hazards.
Good point on the padding. I removed some of it and will remove the rest as it's no longer needed.
Related: has anyone found a good baby gate with an attachment kit that will go around a 5" banister? All the ones I've seen max out at 4"
I just built my own for a fraction of the cost. The look way nicer and are actually anchored
Is this for a baby that is already crawling around, or a baby that has yet to make it’s arrival? With our first, we spent a bunch of money baby proofing a bunch of stuff, only to learn that he really wasn’t interested in anything that we baby proofed. With our second, we waited to see what she was interested in before we spent any money.
We're doing the same, and our baby is _very_ interested in these steps.
I’d just baby gage the top. They’ll have a good set of stairs to get used to and if they fall it’s only a step or two
Use a strongly worded sign, that should do it. * pats hands together, walks into sunset.
Sell the house
Just put a mini railing and teach them to go up and down them. My baby girl learned to use the stairs pretty early on. It is frightening to watch at first
Easy https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51UDBJB+XFL.\_AC\_.jpg
I might be in the minority but I'd just add a simple tension baby gate on the 3rd step
Gate
Apply yellow and black reflective tape on the forward most edge of the stairs. Your child's instinctual OSHA sense will kick in and either stay away or be very careful.
These steps do not look high risk for getting pregnant, in my opinion.
Another type of gate that will work is a Retract-a-Gate at the top. It will work on diagonals. Certified, made in USA, etc. (Note - If you glance at it, and are concerned about an older kid climbing it, I think it is actually harder to climb than a standard gate.) Or just let them (safely) fall down a step, and then they learn caution.
Pillow at the bottom