No standard gates!

Growing up, we had two Labrador Retrievers that were indoor dogs. For the times we needed to have them stay in the kitchen, we had two different safety gates. One was a traditional all plastic gate, where you turned a little knob to loosen or tighten the gate in the door frame, with a little plastic handle at the top to remove it from the door. This gate was such a pain to use we usually simply stepped over it, which caused many a fall, and knocked the gate down many times. It was just never possible to get this gate tight enough so that it was safe to put any amount of weight on. Our other gate was a wooden gate, too high to step over and more sturdy than the plastic gate, but even more of a pain to get out of the door frame. I dreaded having either of these style gates in two of the most traveled doorways in our house.

Hoping that there was something better than traditional safety gates, I came across the Hands-free Gate by The First Years. While a bit more expensive than most safety gates at $49.99 from Babies-R-Us, this gate looked like it was worth its weight in gold. To open this gate, one simply stepped onto a little foot lever and pushed a plate with their knee. Because the gate swung open, it wasn’t necessary to completely remove the gate when it wasn’t needed. Because the gate swung in both directions, at no point during use would this gate require hands to push or pull it out of the way. The gate was also constructed of metal, making it more sturdy than cheap plastic gates that seemed to forever be cracking. Aesthetically, this gate was also more pleasing than the plastic ones. With a semi-gloss white finish and a light grey foot pedal and “joints”, it looked more sleek than the matte plastic hunks that were available.

According to the specifications, this gate would work in any standard size doorway between 29 and 34 inches wide. A 5 inch extension piece was available for purchase (about $15 per each piece), allowing the gate to have a maximum width of 44 inches. This gate clearly stated that it was not for use with stairs or windows, likely due to the fact that for a proper fit, it needed to be mounted flush against the floor.

Thrilled to find this gate, we picked one up and brought it home. Installation was a snap. No special tools were needed, with a small plastic wrench type tool included for tightening the gate. The gate was specifically made so that the gate would not latch shut unless it was tight enough in the door frame. The four pressure mounts against the door frame were coated in a soft rubber to avoid scratching or damaging the door frame. Once the Hands-free Gate was installed, it was tight enough that an adult could put their full weight on the top of the gate and not have it move.

In Love - with a gate

We both loved this gate from the moment installation was complete. We quickly purchased a second with no hesitation. It was extremely easy to open the gate with either our bare feet or with shoes on, yet not easy enough so that our son could put his weight on the pedal and push it open. The Hands-free Gate was high enough so that we had no worries that our son could propel himself over the top, yet it was low enough so that our cats could easily jump over it to have free-range of the house. As the bars on the gate were vertical, unlike plastic gates with lattice-like plastic, there would be no way this gate could be used as a ladder to get into the locked off room.

I’d initially worried that I’d be forever breaking my toes on a safety gate. The first day of use put my mind to ease. This The First Years gate has a white plastic “ramp” that was installed at the bottom of the metal frame. The result was a toe-safe zone, which made it almost impossible to get your feet caught on the gate, even for those carrying huge loads of laundry and not paying attention to the floor. Once my son started walking, the ramp also helped ease my mind. It was easy for him to step on the ramp and not fall, much more easy than it would have been for him to remember a 2 inch high metal bar that he needed to step over to avoid tripping on.

A prior complaint of this The First Years Hands-free Gate was a plastic pedal that would break off with continued use. According to both the box of our safety gate and The First Years website, the foot pedal was “new and improved”. The foot pedal on our gate seemed strong and sturdy, and while it was still made of plastic, it was strongly reinforced on the under side, not just a hollowed out piece of plastic. The few times we weren’t paying attention and “misjudged” the pedal, slamming on the end portion, while a huge noise was made, the pedal was still intact and sturdy. The pedal was small enough in size to be unobtrusive, yet large enough so that even in my largest platform boots I could still easily press down to open the gate.

Unlike plastic gates that never seemed to get fully adjusted or needed adjusting every other day, even our The First Years safety gate that was opened often 20 or more times a day, tightening the gate was only needed every month or two and took less than a minute to complete.

The only “downside” to these gates surfaced after 6 months of heavy use. While the swinging gate is still sturdy and secure, the gate has loosened up just enough so that when it’s jiggled, it makes a loud noise, with the swing gate “attachments” banging in their holder on the base of the unit. My son was thrilled to discover that he could do this and scream at the same time when he was annoyed that daddy wouldn’t let him help with the kitty litter.

After almost 10 months of heavy use, we are still in love with the Hands-free Gate by The First Years. While they may cost a bit more initially, the convenience, ease of use, and safety they offer over standard plastic safety gates is well worth it. We’ve recommended several to friends and family with no hesitation and if we needed to purchase another one, wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

Recommended:
Yes