We will be moving to our new home (and our first!) next week. I went around the house today to take measurements of doorways where I will need a gate. Problem is, almost all gates I've seen require at least one solid wall/frame on one end for a staircase. Or at least pictures of gates have shown that. The bottom of my staircase is just railings/spokes on either side, there is no wall until halfway up the stairs, then one side becomes a wall. The railings on the bottom stairs are curved, so there isn't two spokes with their flat side facing one another for a good mounting.

I hope my description makes sense! Anyone know of any safety gates to accomodate this sort of staircase design? And if not, suggestions? My son already has a gated playroom on the main floor, which will hold him for now..until he becomes a solid walker.

hi keewee

are youtrying to keep your son downstairs? or up stairs? sounds like dowwn. i would just put it on the rungs at the bottom if you are trying to keep him from going up. he wont crash through nd fall up the stairs.....but, if you are trying to keep him up stairs i would definitly find something secure. when my daughter was in the gate stage we lived at my moms and we put it at the top. securing the hinge side to the railing post and the lock side to the drywall. this was a permenent swing gate. you might need something like that if its at the top. the pressure close gates are better for the bottom. hope this helps.

Thanks!

Question - when mounting the gates at the top of the stairs, do you have to drill holds into your banister? For those of you who didn't need the gate any more, what did you do about the holes left behind in the spokes?

for the most part, I think my hubby and i are going to keep our son in his playroom downstairs. And if he isn't in the playroom, he'll be by our side or in his high chair. We aren't going to let him explore downstairs without us.

hubby used plastic tighteners to fasten the gate so that holes weren't made. he also used a two by something to add length when needed

With my kids, I never used baby gates, as I believed that it was better to teach them to be careful around stairs.