Task #13: Baby Gate Installation

This entry is part 14 of 22 in the series Tackling Tasks

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I am going to start this post with an admission: we are not a baby-proof home.  We have no locks on the cabinets, no bumpers on sharp corners, no toilet seat protectors…nothing.  Well, we have a gate at the bottom of the stairs that we installed after baby #2 was here.  And we have a moveable gate for our bathroom, so we can keep the little ones contained while we are taking a shower.  But that is it!

I kind of am anti-baby-proofing, not because I think they should learn not to do dangerous things by getting hurt, but because I don’t want to rely on a set of devices to baby-sit my child.  I like to keep my eyes on our babies and start from an early age to tell them what the boundaries are.  But having a very active toddler and a now walking one year old has made it necessary to install a baby gate at the top of the stairs.

We have had it for months now (the box for it was a key player in KeyGate), and part of it was installed, but not all of it.  So we took the time to tackle this task today, making it Task #13.

To be honest, I did not really help much on this task because I was wrangling the aforementioned walkers away from the stairway.  They were very interested in what Daddy was doing.  I was essentially the assistant to the process, bringing various tools and parts to him as he put it together.  Here is what we want to say about the gate:

1. When buying a baby gate, make sure you measure (twice) and look at the options for attachment.  This is our third attempt at a baby gate that would work at the top of the stairs.  Our top of stairs area is so awkward that we have to place the gate on the landing.  Yes, I know it kind of defeats the purpose, but we would rather our little ones fall down four stairs and onto a landing, rather than an entire flight of stairs.  So, you could say our house is a bit safer.  There are a million options for baby gates, but it seems we needed that million and first to fit our needs.

banister bracket for baby gate

2. Do not trust the “self-leveling” device at the top of the gates.  Ours came with this and it showed it was level, but it is indeed not level.  It still works so we are leaving it like this; if only to throw off all the OCD people who visit our home.

wall bracket for baby gate

3. Because there are a lot of options for attaching the baby gate and the one we got is removable, we saved all the extra pieces and the instruction manual.  We placed them all inside a Ziploc bag and labeled it Baby Gate.  This way if we ever move or move the gate, we have all the equipment needed.

Now our little ones are a little safer in our home!  Yea for Tackling Tasks!

baby gate

Note: this post includes affiliate links.  If you click through and make a purchase, I will receive remuneration.  No pressure, I just share things I think you will love.

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. evonne

    Way to go. I know stairs can be scary, but sounds like it is under control.

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