A CHILD safety expert has told how she sees parents making the same one mistake with baby gates.
Holly, who is from the US and regularly shares her hacks and top tips on TikTok, posted a short video revealing the one thing she’d never do as a baby and toddler safety expert.
She begins: “I would never put a pressure mounted gate at the top of the stairs and trust me, in reality I see this all the time in people’s homes and it’s something you really don’t want to do.”
“Pressure mounted gates can easily be knocked down even by small babies.”
And, if they knock them down, the first place they’re going is with the gate down the stairs.”
Holly goes on to say that if you want to use a pressure mounted gate it can’t be at the top of the stairs and needs to be at least 3 ft back – suggesting somewhere in the hallway.
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She continues: “At the top of the stairs you really want a hardware mount gate that is screwed into the home.”
Another reason it’s not a good idea to use a pressure mounted gate at the top of the stairs is because pressure mounted gates only work because they’re held together by the bar at the bottom.”
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That’s a huge tripping hazard and that’s the last thing you want to do when you’re carrying a child down the stairs.”
But according to Holly, pressure mounted gates do have one major perk.
“They’re perfect for dividing two rooms on the same level so if you need to block access to a kitchen or a bathroom that is a great option for using a pressure mounted gate,” she says.
The post has since garnered an impressive 157,000 views and been inundated with comments from grateful parents.
“I never even thought about this, and we just bought a home with stairs,” wrote one.
A second commented: “My worst nightmare I’ve always wondered why people have them at the top.”
A third penned: “Can confirm. This happened to my oldest. I was young and clueless. Thankfully she was ok and not a huge flight.”
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Meanwhile another praised: “That’s sooo smart. moving in our new home in a month. and we was literally going to put it at the top of the stairs.”
A further added: “Thank goodness nothing happened with my 1st 2 babies! Due with my 3rd and we will be MOUNTING a gate!”
