Baby Gate Research Paper

510 Words2 Pages

Baby gates are designed to be strong structures that can withstand the pressure of a pet or small child pressing against them repeatedly. However, they have to have specific features when they are used at the top and bottom of the stairs. Otherwise, a little one might have an accident. So parents who are trying to find the best baby gates for this purpose should look for the following features:

Permanent Hardware

A baby barrier gate placed at the top of the stairs has to have hardware to attach it firmly in place. Although pressure-mounted types of baby gates are convenient to use, they could slip out of place. So safety experts recommend that they only be used at the bottom of the stairs or in other places of the house.

Narrow Spaces Between …show more content…

That is because a small baby or pet could put their head in the area, which could lead to suffocation or other injuries occurring. The space that is directly underneath the baby gate should also be kept to a minimum.

Swinging Doors

A baby gate that has a door that swings out at the press of a button is much safer than a type that a person has to step over because someone could trip and fall over it. But besides this, babies watch everything that parents do. And if they learn that they can climb over the obstacle to get to the other side, they could also fall and injure themselves. That is why most well-designed baby gates have no foot holes or wide ledges built into them. Swinging doors are also safer because they are less likely to be moved out of the way. They have to be kept in place all the time to be the most effective.

Firm Latch

All it takes is one time of a child opening a baby gate at the top of the stairs for a serious accident to happen. So the latch or locking mechanism that is built into it has to be strong. And it shouldn't be attached to a push-button release. A small child or pet could push it on accident. Gates that have a firm latch that is attached to a mechanism that has to be pulled up is better because it takes more strength to do this than a child or pet

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