We use a play yard enclosure around the steps instead of a gate. Here is a link to one like it and no it is not an affiliate link play yard gate
Toddleroo by North States - We use it to partition our living room. Our 3 yr is tall enough to wear 5t tops and pants, but he stays on his side.
I’ve seen it at Buy Buy Baby, so you might be able to use a coupon.
Toddleroo by North States Superyard 6 Panel Baby Play Yard/Barrier with Wall Mount Kit: Create a safe play area or extra wide baby gate anywhere. 38.5" - 201" wide, 18.5 ft. enclosure (26" tall, Gray) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JGDGG23/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_8DE5N3FMN8YX87VSCWW9
We had to put doorknob covers up to stop them running down the hall on adventures once they got past staying in cribs. They still wreck their room at 3 yo, but at least it’s just that room that’s getting wrecked.
This play yard (link below) might do the trick. Now that we don't need it for a play pen, we've made it into an enclosure around my husband's desk in the basement. It's free-standing and since it's metal it's durable and stable. Perhaps with a 2-panel extension set and a door/gate panel (you can step over it, but it's pretty high) you can make something that will work.
https://www.amazon.com/North-States-Metal-Superyard-freestanding/dp/B000U5FOT2/
I bought this one, well I actually 2. Loved it! My guy never climbed it. Now we use it to keep the new dogs from bolting out the door.
Regalo Easy Step Walk Thru Gate, White, Fits Spaces between 29" and 39" Wide https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OC5UMQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_4dghzbNTQG8KR
This was $32. The gaps were too wide for our small breed puppy (7lbs at the time) though. Also consider buying used through Amazon, it's just a gate after all!
My photo shows 3 different gates. So I'll assume this one
Regalo 192-Inch Super Wide Gate and Play Yard, White https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B003VNKLIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mIDDAb7ZEB3V9
Note, that's .ca, so just copy pasta the name of the item to your Amazon
Is it possible to put the gate on the first step from the top rather than the top of the stairs? That's what we did so we wouldn't be tripping over the bottom bar. It's snug against the top "step" so the door does have to swing out onto the stairs. Ours is like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OC5UMQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_H4496GKS6R4V6YNC61S5
The bars should be wide enough for a cat to slip through.
If it’s not a large dog you could get baby gates Regalo Easy Step 38.5-Inch Extra Wide Walk Thru Baby Gate, White Original version https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OC5UMQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_8VSKZ623S495PYG7K4WJ They make them in different sizes and have ones with doors.
I used this gate for some stairs that are similar to yours going down. I only needed three of the six panels. You might be able to use all six and go from the right of the stairs up over to the left of that door. It’d be a giant barrier but it’d cover both sets of stairs.
>See I don’t feel like I can leave my daughter to play alone. Every time I do she ends up doing something destructive or something she shouldn’t. [...] So my entire day consists of me on the sofa playing with her or just making sure she doesn’t wreck the house.
Dude. You aren't a SAHD, you're a prisoner. I was a SAHM to three toddlers. You can't do that for 12-hours a day. Shit. You need to toddler proof the hell out of your house or make a small area you can gate off that you can leave her with toys and books for a bit at a time.
Look at the customer images on this Amazon product page for examples of what I mean.
Might be able to use this one. It's adjustable, and comes with extension pieces to fit most places. Looks like you'll be able to squeeze it on the bottom of the 3rd step.
I don't know of a book that I can suggest but here is a list of websites where you can educate yourself for free but there are countless free resources for freely educating yourself.free education list
I’ve had the same situation. I used this product:
Safety Innovations No Hole Stairway Baby Gate Mounting Kit - Fits Posts from 2 3/4 inches to 3 5/8 inches Wide with Square or Round Tops - No Adhesives On Or Screws in Your Posts, (1-Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004CEN62O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_Z1G44180KAWBXQA5HDYD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
We got a huge baby gate from Amazon to separate the living room from our driving room. Your picture looks like it has a big opening into your living room as well. This is the gate we use:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VNKLIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_3GV82D5BT8PMXXQC7M43
Regalo 192-Inch Super Wide Adjustable Baby Gate and Play Yard, 4-In-1, Bonus Kit, Includes 4 Pack of Wall Mounts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VNKLIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FNA34F94GAMDK1E3GARR
We used this and were pretty happy with it for containing our son to a decent sized area where the space was much too open to use any combination of gates. It can stand freely on its own and can be relatively stable depending on how it’s configured. It can and probably should be anchored into the wall for full security. That being said, I wasn’t really wanting to drill into the wall in multiple places, so I used the screws to secure the hardware to furring strips and than used command tape to attach to the walls. That probably wouldn’t have held for ever as he got older, but we ultimately just decided to take the whole thing down and let him roam more freely by that point, maybe around 18 months or so.
I wouldn't try putting up netting along the balcony - they could still get to that climbing ledge through it. Instead, I'd try stretching some netting or one of those extra long wall-mountable baby gates (something like this https://www.amazon.com/Regalo-192-Inch-Super-Adjustable-Mounts/dp/B003VNKLIY) from one wall to another, sort of creating a triangle with the shape of the balcony. That way they can't even approach it. When they get old enough, you can take the gate down and spackle and paint the mount holes.
I have this exact one. I just screwed it into the drywall by hand and it holds pretty well.
Regalo 192-Inch Super Wide Adjustable Baby Gate and Play Yard, 4-In-1, Bonus Kit, Includes 4 Pack of Wall Mounts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VNKLIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_GzuMdRN9ekyQv
this is our baby gate, it’s 192 inches at the longest(twice the length of what you need), and can have panels removed to make it shorter or even have extra ones bought to make it longer. It’s on amazon here.
This one has worked well for me but if you have a bulldozer in your house I am not sure how well it will work since it just uses plastic pads to push against the wall/counter top
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XT30G4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I bought several of these and thanks to the tension it makes it damn near impossible for a toddler to pull it down. Plus the handle and latch make it so they cant undo it.
https://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Extra-6-Inch-Extension-Pressure/dp/B001OC5UNA
I bought a baby playpen off craigslist. The posts are vertical, i.e. not climbable. This is the amazon link. I bought 2 sets of these on craigslist for super cheap and we use the second one as a gate for a really wide hallway we have. We had ours attached to the crate with clips (no zip ties lol), until he started climbing on the crate to get out. Now his playpen is his crate during the day.
http://www.amazon.com/Regalo-192-Inch-Super-Wide-White/dp/B003VNKLIY
I think that's it. I have the same one. It's a mediocre pen but wonderful as a fence to keep little ones out of the home theater system. You can attach it at each end to the wall with screws.
If you have a railing, there are adapters that you can use to avoid putting holes directly into the wall. We found one at BuyBuy Baby for my in-laws house while they wait for a contractor to make a built in that goes with their house. This is similar to what I found: https://www.amazon.ca/Summer-Infant-Banister-Universal-Kit/dp/B01B4NDBIE/ref=asc_df_B01B4NDBIE/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292963860410&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17442633529152949121&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt...
It allows you to screw the mount into this adapter instead of the banister. Not sure if it would work since you probably have a wall on the other side but it might help!
Child locks, lol He doesnt know how to get around them yet. NO CLUE what we'll do when he figures it out. Hopefully he'll just stay by then, but who knows.
I think this is the one we have.
What kind of gate do you currently have?
I have this one and am mostly happy with it. One of mine tried to chew it open but she failed and it still works.
We use this one around ours.
We stacked these. They worked great until our kid started literally swinging off them. Then we reinforced it with some metal brackets and zip ties and now it's great again. She's 2.5 and the thing is solid. We have it in a 4x4 panel configuration so she has an 8'x8' safe space. it's 12 panels because one side is along the wall, so we needed to buy two.
Then we were using two of these gym mats. We recently retired them because the upkeep was getting a bit much with potty training, but they are excellent quality and prevented many bumps and bruises. Bonus is a queen size sheet fits on top so before there were wet messes we just switched out sheets every couple days and things were kept clean fairly easily.
It was a bit of an investment but it's grown with us and served us well.
its worth a try! you could also do an XL pressure dog gate that has a cat door built in to block off a room, but give the chihuahua access to. i have one for my GSD's and its phenomenal!