Baby Proofing Your Stairs & Doors

Of every product decision in baby proofing, the gate at the top of a staircase is the one that deserves the most attention. The fall risk behind it is severe, and the gate has to hold under impact load: a running child, a parent leaning into it, a sibling pushing against it. Use a hardware-mounted gate that screws into wall studs or banister posts. Pressure-mounted gates are not the recognized standard for this location.

Mount carefully. A gate that holds under steady force can still fail under sudden impact if the screws went into drywall instead of framing. Use a stud finder, not your best guess, and supplement with heavy-duty toggle anchors only when no stud is available.

The bottom of a staircase carries less consequence than the top, but a child who climbs partway up and falls backward can still be seriously hurt. A pressure-mounted gate works well here when properly installed and tightened regularly. The same gate type is appropriate for doorways into kitchens, bathrooms, home offices, and other rooms you want to control access to.

Walk-through latches matter more than people expect. A gate that requires two hands to open will get propped open by a busy parent, and a propped-open gate is no gate at all. Choose a one-handed latch and confirm an auto-close feature where it is available.

Every door in a home falls into one of three categories: doors a child can open and that lead somewhere safe, doors a child can open and that lead somewhere unsafe, and doors a child cannot open yet. The middle category — doors to bathrooms, laundry rooms, basements, garages — is the one to address with lever locks or knob covers.

Pinch guards prevent the everyday finger injuries from doors swinging shut. They are inexpensive, easy to install, and worth adding to any door that closes with force. Door stoppers attached to the floor can serve a similar function for doors that slam in a draft.