Our 11 month old is starting to crawl, and it is beyond time to put a baby gate at the top of the stairs. We received a baby gate, along with instructions, which clearly state that the maximum acceptable gap on the sides and along the bottom is 3 inches. Due to the weird moldings opposite the gate and at the bannister post, we would have to mount this particular gate somewhat higher that we would like. The gap at the bottom would be approximately 4 inches. My wife, the mama lion and stickler for details, is uneasy about this, and wants to extend the gate downwards, somehow, to achieve a sub 3 inch gap. I am not ashamed to have two pieces of scrap plywood bolted to each other, but was looking for other ideas.
How to extend a baby gate at the bottom
child-safetysafety
Best Answer
Measure your baby. The 3" gap is based on (a) minimum baby size across all babies expected to use the units, plus (b) a generous quantity of CYA on the manufacturer's part. Thus, 4" is likely just fine, and you can verify this by figuring out the minimum gap that your actual baby can squirm through, plus enough extra to satisfy you and your wife (reasonable and sane people) rather than lawyers who smell blood (and/or money).