With memories of struggling to fit at least three different brands of safety gate to our stairs when our first child was beginning to crawl, I was genuinely interested to see if the Swing Shut Safety Gate from Tippitoes would be any better. After all, the other gates were all made by well-known safety gate brands and were not cheap, yet this gate from Tippitoes costs less than £30. Shouldn't safety equipment cost more than that?
Having installed the Swing Shut Safety Gate on our landing between the bathroom and the stairs, and put it through its paces with a daytime household (including our childminder's daughters) of one 8-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old and a 12-month-old, I can confidently say that this is the best safety gate we've found, so no, safety equipment doesn't have to be expensive!
Easy to use and safe for babies
In white metal with metal and plastic fittings, the gate is incredibly light and easy to fit using pressure mounted fixtures.
We decided to install it to keep Daisy (the baby) at bay during a busy evening bathtime – it's recommended to use for children up to 24 months. Happily, our older children found it easy to open and close whilst it remained secure from Daisy's baby fingers, so it wasn't a headache to keep opening and closing it for the other kids.
Once in place, the gate would automatically swing closed behind us, without slamming shut too loudly and, because of the way the lock and the bars of the grill are designed, there was no way Daisy could accidentally get her fingers hurt if the gate shut as she reached it. At night, when we adults wanted to pass through, we found it easy to get open and closed, but also we could gently close it without it always snapping shut, if we wanted.
Our verdict
We really did put this gate through its paces over a six month period and it remained solid and reliable throughout. Other parents who tried it at our house agreed it was the easiest and most sturdy to use gate they have come across, too, and were especially impressed by the way the bars of the gate could not trap fingers or hands.
The details
The Swing Shut Safety Gate's standard size fits doorways 75-79cm but is available with an extension, bought separately. The addition of one extension extends the width to 85-88cm. A further extension kit brings the opening size to 95-99 cm. (No more than two extension kits should be used on one gate.)
The Swing Shut Gate is also available in two addition sizes to suit the smaller doorway: SG3 Narrow Gates for 68.5-75 cm and SG4 Extra Narrow Gates for 61-67 cm.
The gates are available in white with grey.
The gate has an RRP of £27.99.
For more information or to find out where you can buy this gate, go to www.tippitoes.com.
