Safety gates (view report contents)
Types
All safety gates can be used for stairs and in doorways to keep a mobile baby out of hazardous areas, like a kitchen.
Most gates are made of metal and a few of wood. These types have bars which make it easy to see what your toddler is up to on the other side. Other types are made of cloth or other flexible material and can hide the baby from view.
There are three types of safety gate.
Centre opening
These have fixed sections on each side and the gate opens between them. This gives a narrower opening width, which is not adjustable whatever the width of the doorway. Centre opening gates also have a bar across the floor, so there is a danger of tripping.
Side opening
These have a wider opening to walk through since they have no or just one fixed section on the hinged side. Bear in mid that you will need quite a lot of room for the gate to swing into. The Lascal Kiddyguard doesn’t need any room because it rolls open like a blind. Most side opening gates have no floor bar.
Fixed barrier
These have to be removed every time you go through the opening and re-fixed afterwards, so they should be used in doorways that are seldom used.
One way or two way
Some gates could open in either direction and some opened only one way. Two-way gates can open away from you except at the bottom of the stairs. Depending on the opening and closing mechanism, you may find the gate door tends to overshoot the catch when you are tying to close it.
The two Lindam gates tested each had two adjustable floor stops. You could turn them so the gate would open both ways, one way or would lock to make them into non-opening barriers. This was found to be helpful except by people who could not bend down easily to adjust the stops.
Left to right: centre opening gate, side opening gate and fixed barrier
Report Contents
Report Contents
About this guide
Types and what to look for
How to stay safe
Buying guide
Centre opening
Side opening
