Ever since moving into our house a few years ago, with a then 4-month-old, my husband and I have been on the hunt for the perfect baby gate for the stairs. We continued our search through our first child’s toddler stage, and now we have a second little one who is attracted to the stairs on a frequent basis. I have nightmares of them taking a tumble at any given moment, and I shadow them as soon as they get close to the stairs.
So when the opportunity to try out the The Stair Barrier came about, I was so excited to see a baby gate completely different from the ordinary plastic and old-school wooden gates we’ve attempted to employ over the past several years (which have proven easily destructible).
Upon opening the neat package, which was compact enough to fit into a long rectangular cardboard box, I was first happy to see that the main structure of this gate is a piece of sturdy fabric, almost like an enforced burlap material. There weren’t many parts included in the package, which was another plus in this non-handy mama’s book.
The instructions listed two options for installation: Either wrapped tautly around two banisters, or drilled ever-so-slightly into the wall and screwed in on one side while wrapped around the banister on the other.
The Stair Barrier was especially designed for use on the bottom of the stairs, but since the top of the stairs has always been a babyproofing challenge for us, we chose to install there. Given that we just have one banister, we had to drill into the wall on one side, which was not difficult at all. With my husband leading the installation process, it maybe took 15 minutes tops.
With it now installed in my house, I can say the following: I love this baby gate, for three main reasons.
First of all, it’s an efficient, safe barrier to keep my kids away from the stairs; I know there’s no way they can get through this sturdy gate.
Second, it is easily retractable from the wall, thereby making it simple for me, with my oft-filled arms, to open and close it.
And third, aesthetically, it looks really nice, with the brown fabric blending into my house’s décor. The Stair Barrier comes in a variety of colors and can even be customized with a fabric of your choosing, and any text you would like as well! (How cool is that?!)
The Stair Barrier, made specifically for stairs with one or more banisters, ranges from $99.99- 164.99 and can be found at a variety of in-store and online retailers. But Boston Moms Blogs readers can score 10% off already-reduced prices at www.thestairbarrier.com with this discount code: bostonmomsrock10. Enjoy!