Watch your step
Written: Nov 23 '99 (Updated Mar 30 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: opens both ways
Cons: bar on bottom is a hazard
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| ctinhan's Full Review: Evenflo Easy Swing Walk Through Gate |
I received this gate as a gift from a good friend of mine when my daughter was learning to crawl. I used it to block the entrance way to the kitchen, so that she would not get hurt or into anything she was not suppose to.
I am not a fan of this gate by any means but I will point out the features that were nice. The gate can be opened with one hand very easily. It can also be opened in either direction which is a plus. This gate is like many other gates with the pressure mounts and the fact that there are no tools needed for it's setup. Unfortunately these are the only things I liked about this gate.
There is a hazard associated with this gate, for you and your child that is learning to walk. The hazard being that even when this gate was open it can be a dangerous to walk through.
The gate is a standard 27 inches tall which means that when the child gets bigger this gate will not be very useful. The lower height will not deter children from climbing over it should they want to get to something that has piqued their interest.
The width of the gate is 28 inches and it is expandable to 39 inches. For my kitchen doorway this was acceptable but had I needed it for my stairway entrance it would not have worked. I like a gate that has more expanding capabilities.
A big complaint I had with this gate would be a safety issue for me regarding the design of it. The design of this gate actually facilitates the children climbing it because there are many places for their little feet to grab on to. They can use the grate like front of the gate to hook their toes in and then using the top of the gate to hoist themselves up and over it.
My biggest complaint with the gate is the bar that runs across the bottom of it. This bar is a pressure mount bar that is used to hold the gate in place. Therefore I do realize the importance of it, but I have major concerns with it after what we experienced while we used it.
I would leave the gate open at times so my daughter would not think that the kitchen was totally off limits to her. By leaving the gate open and allowing my daughter to explore the mystery and fascination with the kitchen wore off quickly. So with the gate open, the thick bar that runs across the bottom sticks up about one inch or so off the ground. We all knew it was there and we could see it as plain as day but that did not change the fact that very often we ended up tripping over this bar or stubbing our toes, it was terrible.
When my daughter was learning to walk and would head over toward the gate, she almost always ended up falling over this. She did finally learn to step over it but would still trip over it when she became excited or started to run.
My daughter did end up hitting her head on the refrigerator and the kitchen floor about five times due to tripping over the bar. These were not horrible falls but I was still very upset over the fact that she had fallen. The little ones fall enough on their own and do not need an extra obstacle to help them fall more.
We did end up getting rid of this gate shortly after the last time my daughter tripped over it, I just did not like the fact that the bar was so high up off the ground. I took it to my Moms to use just when we were visiting. It was just for the limited time when we were there and not extended periods of time. We just didn't open it when we used it over there, we climbed over it instead. Which defeats the purpose of a walk through gate but it was much safer for everyone concerned.
I cannot recommend this to any new parents because of the bad experience I had with it. My advice is to buy an Evenflo soft gate, it doesn't open but it has served my needs very well.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
ctinhan
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 219
Trusted by: 359 members
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