The best baby gates should also be easy to install and easy for adults to open. We also looked for baby gates that aren’t likely to be kept open accidentally. They also stay put even as a child pushes or pulls on them. “Those will stand up best to inquisitive children,” says Bernie Deitrick, who led CR’s safety gate tests.
The key feature on safety gates is a latching system, which typically requires two actions to open or close. You might move a tab to press a latch, or press a button and lift to open. Ideally, the latching system is very secure but easy for an adult to open—many can be opened one-handed, even with a two-step mechanism.
In terms of installation, baby gates can attach to the wall in three ways. They can be hardware-mounted, pressure-mounted, or use a hybrid combination of the two.
- Hardware-mounted baby gates are bolted or screwed into doorway woodwork or wall framing. This type of safety gate is ideal where there’s a chance of a child falling, such as at the top of stairs.
- Pressure-mounted baby gates simply press onto opposing walls and should be used only where a serious fall isn’t a possibility. “Pressure-mounted gates are not secure enough to use at the top of stairs, so never use them that way, no matter how much you want to avoid drilling holes into your walls,” says Deitrick.
- Combo hardware-mounted baby gates come with screws and optional round brackets (or “cups”) that keep the gate firmly installed. Without the cups, this hybrid type performs similarly to pressure-mounted gates.
