Some Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Extra Wide Baby Gate Types
Child proofing your home could be challenging, then, when you realize that you need to have an extra wide baby gate it seems to get much more frustrating.
Many of us now have open plan living. This could usually result in openings and archways between areas which are wider when compared with a regular doorway. If you are making an attempt to baby proof then this could be a bit awkward to deal with.
You pretty much have three possible choices for an extra wide baby gate. The first is adjusting a regular gate. Numerous manufacturers have now acknowledged the need for extra wide baby gates, but they don't want to have to make and test a new product, so the simple option is to modify an existing product. The way this has been achieved is to have panels that can be added to either side of the typical gate so that it would fit a larger area.
This design is however a little bit faulty. When the gate is open you have limited your opening to the equivalent of a common door. This is not a big problem, but it can be intrusive and may not exactly add to the decor of your home.
The second type of gate available from outlet stores is a roll back gate. This looks similar to a roller blind which is fitted on its side. The advantage of this design is that the when the gate is not in use it may be rolled back and will not be in the way. The drawback of this design is that it is not as quick and easy to open.
The final option which you have is to hire a carpenter to build you a bespoke gate. This may seem like the best solution, but there are lots of parents who have tried this and found that it was a bad investment. A bespoke extra wide baby gate will be extremely expensive. The biggest issue however, is the style and design. If this is your first child, then you are still be on the learning curve of baby proofing, so to make this large an investment and then realise that there is a big flaw in your design will be really frustrating.
Unfortunately there is no simple or evident solution for an extra wide baby gate. A good way to decide which will best fit you is to talk to other parents and see what their experiences are of the various types available.
The other significant thing to bear in mind is that an extra wide baby gate is there to safeguard the baby, but it is the parents who have to use it. If you select a gate which is awkward for you to use you are more likely to get lapse in closing it and then you defeat the purpose of having a gate at all.