Safety gates become key equipment once your little one starts crawling. Use them at the top of stairs or between rooms. You can also use a gate to keep a pet away from a child (and vice versa), and as an instant childproofing tool that can travel with you to hotels and to Grandma’s house. Child safety gates are intended for children between 6 months and 24 months of age.

Here are some shopping tips:

Decide where you’ll use it. A hardware-mounted safety gate is harder to dislodge than a pressure-mounted gate. That’s why it is the only choice anywhere security is paramount, such as the top of a stairway. For less hazardous areas such as between rooms, a portable pressure-mounted gate may do the trick.

Size up the slats. Avoid gates with horizontal slats; they’re an invitation for a child to climb. Luckily, there don’t seem to be many on the market. Some gates have enough space between their vertical slats to let adventurous toddlers get a foothold on the gate’s horizontal bottom rail. They won’t be able to climb up the gate, but they may be able to hop onto the bottom rail and go for a ride, which could be unsafe—perhaps even dislodging a pressure gate—or strain the gate’s integrity. So look for narrow spaces between the vertical slats. Vertical slats or bars should be less than 3 inches apart to prevent head entrapment, but try to find slats even closer together.

Check construction. Look for sturdy construction and an even finish. Wood surfaces should be smooth, splinter-free, and fashioned with rounded rather than sharply squared edges. Metal is more durable than wood. Some metal gates have a support bar that crosses the floor beneath the gate, which could cause tripping when the gate is open.

Do your homework. Bring width measurements of doors or openings with you when you shop, and try to avoid gates that will need to be at their maximum width to fit; they may wobble.

Try it before you buy. Most tested models have a dual-action latch that can be opened with one adult hand. If possible, test models in the store to make sure they’re easy for you to use. Tip: Once you choose a gate, don’t forget to show people who come to your home (workers, babysitters, relatives) how it works. We’ve heard stories of hardware-mounted gates being ripped from homeowners’ walls when frustrated workers couldn’t open the latch.

What not to buy: Old-fashioned accordion-style gates
Old-fashioned, accordion-style wooden gates have diamond-shaped spaces between the slats and V-shaped openings at the top that pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard. You may run across them at tag sales, thrift stores, and other secondhand markets. If you have this type of gate, replace it with another model. Although there are newer accordion-style gates on the market that meet current ASTM safety standards—which include smaller openings to reduce the risk of trapping heads and necks—the points formed at the top by the diamond-shaped openings might snag clothing or necklaces. We recommend avoiding these new gates too, unless they have a bar across the top.