Safety gates (view report contents)
About this guide
A well designed safety gate will keep your baby where you want, but will not drive you mad every time you need to go through it. Once the baby starts shuffling or crawling around, a gate is essential for safety.
There are around 40 safety gates in the shops. This Guide should help you to find one that protects your child and is convenient for you to use, whatever your abilities. If your gate is too difficult to open and close, you may end up not using it.
We asked 20 adults with disabilities to try out each of 12 gates of different types. See Types and what to look for advice to help you draw up a shortlist from those we have tested and the many others in the shops. For the testers’ verdicts on the gates tested, see the Summaries in the report contents.
The 12 gates were also safety tested in laboratory – see How to stay safe for the results and for other advice on using gates safety.
All the gates in this Guide are for children up to 24 months old. After this children become clever enough to try to open them. They are for use in doorways and at the top and bottom of stairs. A few other products can be used like room dividers, but we have not assessed these.
Please note this report was originally published in 2002. Contact information and price details were updated however in 2007.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Department of Health for funding this guide.
Our thanks go to the 20 people with disabilities who assesses safety gates for us and to ITS Research & Testing Centre for the safety checks.
Report produced by Ricability
Research Lindsey Etchell, Jamie Keddie
Design Sarah Watson
Photography Robin Becham, Ginette Chapman
Illustration Cyrus Deboo
Printing WPG Ltd
Ricability is an independent charity that researches and publishes unbiased information on products and services to enable older and disabled people to live more independently.
Contact Ricability for further copies of this guide and others in the series – Bottles, warmers and sterilisers and Baby carriers in 2002 and more in 2003 and 2004.
30 Angel Gate
City Road
London EC1V 2PT
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7427 2460
Textphone: +44 (0)20 7427 2469
Fax: +44 (0)20 7427 2468
E-mail: mail@ricability.org.uk
Tape, large print text and Braille versions of this guide available.
Gate testers
Twenty parents and other adults with disabilities each assessed 12 different safety gates for their ease of use. They opened and closed them, walked back and forth through them, empty handed and with one arm full, and shook them, as a toddler might, to judge their robustness. Their ratings were on a five point scale from very good to very poor.
All the testers had particular needs as safety gate users. They included people with limited manual dexterity – weak or painful grip or one-handedness, walking difficulties – stick and non-stick users, partial sight or no sight. We did not include wheelchair users since most of the safety gates on the market are too narrow for a wheelchair. However the measurements and feature information in this Guide should help you shortlist gates worth considering if you use a wheelchair at home.
Report Contents
Report Contents
About this guide
Types and what to look for
How to stay safe
Buying guide
Centre opening
Side opening
