Safety Gates

Baby safety gates are an essential element in making your home baby proof. Now that he's on the move, every nook and cranny is a potential area of exploration for him. Your baby is curious about his new environment, wanting to investigate each little corner and new room. The best way to make sure he can't do any harm to himself is to install safety gates. These will prevent him from reaching the stairs, kitchen, or an office room, where there might be many wires and electrical equipment just at his height

Accordion gates, which open to form diamond-shaped patterns with wide V's at the top, can trap a baby's head and have resulted in strangulation deaths. In January 1985, gate manufacturers halted production of these gates, but there are still an estimated 15 million gates in use. Mesh gates also can be dangerous because a toddler's fingers can become trapped.

When purchasing a safety gate, look for the following:

• A hardware-mounted gate that attaches to the doorframe without any openings to trap fingers or necks. Pressure-mounted gates should not be used between rooms of different levels or at the top of stairs; children can dislodge them and take a tumble.

• Gates that swing out should never be used at the top of stairways.

• Nonflexible vertical slats or rods should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart.

• Check for sharp edges and protrusions that could hurt a toddler's hands.

• Avoid gates with structures that could give a child a foothold for climbing. Keep large toys away from the gate to prevent a child from using them to climb over.

• The gate should be no less than 3/4 of the child's height