Where to put baby gates?

JQuip17 · August 2012

We're picking up baby gates this weekend and I'm not sure about placement/how many to get?

We're using the Protect Munchkin Auto-Close Gate

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4322419

Here's the floor plan of our apartment...

We are definitely putting one going into the kitchen, but I'm not sure where to put the second (or if we should even bother with a second). Once I have DD's room finished to how I want it, we may leave her to play there for a change of scenery. So maybe a gate there would be good? Or one in the entrance to the hallway, so she's completely contained to the living areas. Then again I don't know if our cat will fit through or be able to jump over that gate and his litter box is in the bathroom, but DD likes to crawl into the hallway then into the bathroom... ugh! WWYD??

aubreyalise · August 2012

i would put one at the entrance to the hallway. it sounds like the biggest thing you don't want her getting in is the litter box, so a gate at the hall would take care of that. you could still go hang out in the nursery and just shut the door when you're in there. honestly, if you cat can't fit through or jump over (you can test it out with the one at the kitchen), then i would get a different gate. we have pressure gates at one hallway and wall-mounted ones at the top/bottom of the stairs, and my cat can maneuver through/over all of them.

chulita425 · August 2012

We have 3, one blocking off the kitchen, one at the bottom of the stairs and one blocking the entryway. We don't have one on the top of the stairs because we are rarely upstairs playing and if we do go upstairs to play in his room I'll just shut the door. He's never alone so I never worried. He did start walking this past week though so we'll probably get one just in case he becomes a baby Houdini and gets out of his room at night.

PBear93 · August 2012

For the cat you could always put the gate a few inches off the ground--high enough for the cat to crawl under.

stdldb29 · August 2012

Honestly, if you don't know where to put one--then you probably don't need one now. I would not even gate off the kitchen-unless you have issues with her in the kitchen. We have a rather large home and have no gates. We keep our bedroom door shut and our office door shut.