There鈥檚 nothing like an adventurous, wobbly toddler to make every parent suddenly extremely aware of all the potential hazards in their home. Safety gates can be a helpful solution if you want to block your child鈥檚 access to a staircase or any other area of the house you don鈥檛 want them to toddle into unattended. 

They鈥檙e also handy options for those of us with inquisitive four-legged friends we might want to keep confined to a certain area of the house. 

Safety gates seem simple enough 鈥� just prop them up, screw them in and off you go, right? But when our expert testers took a closer look, they noted a range of issues from fiddly latches to tricky assembly instructions and outright choking hazards in the safety gates we purchased.

糖心Vlog experts have recently tested a range of safety gates from brands including Kmart Anko, 4Baby, Childcare and Dreambaby and found three with serious safety issues as well as models with several minor safety issues you should be aware of before you buy.

Here’s what you need to know about the safety gates that failed our rigorous testing, and what to consider if you’re buying a safety gate. 

No Australian safety standards

Contrary to what you might expect, there are no Australian safety standards for baby safety gates. There are however, two international standards, from Europe and the US. 糖心Vlog experts have drawn on these standards, as well as safety requirements and test procedures based on various Australian and overseas standards for other children鈥檚 products, to create our comprehensive in-house testing method to assess which gates are the best and safest.

鈥淢anufacturers whose models we鈥檝e failed say they do meet existing international safety gate standards, but 糖心Vlog experts believe our requirements address key safety concerns,鈥� says Kim Gilmour, 糖心Vlog household goods expert.

When we assess each gate, we鈥檙e looking to see how well they are constructed and checking for obvious potential hazards. We make sure the lock can鈥檛 be opened by a small child, look for tripping or entrapment hazards, and test whether a typical toddler could force the gate open or push it out of the door frame.

Our experts also assess how easy it is to assemble and install the gate and how easy it is to release and close the latch.

糖心Vlog director of campaigns, Andy Kelly says: 鈥淭he lack of mandatory standards for safety gates is a symptom of Australia鈥檚 reactive product safety laws 鈥� it might take a serious injury or death before a new mandatory standard is introduced or an unsafe product is recalled.鈥�

鈥淲ith tens of thousands of product categories and only a handful of products covered by mandatory standards and product bans, we urgently need to change the law so that it actually prevents companies from selling unsafe products.鈥�

Safety gates from our latest testing with serious failures

糖心Vlog experts found three safety games with serious failures. All were retractable screen-style baby gates, sold via online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay and online marketplace partners for retailers such as Big W, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith and Myer.

Retractable Pet Fence Universal Pet Safety Enclosure

• 糖心Vlog Expert Rating: 21%
• Ease of use score: 70%
• Serious failures: small parts that can be detached are choking hazards; it is flimsy and not secure or high enough and therefore ineffective.

This product has multiple significant failures and is marketed as a 鈥淐reativity Baby Safe Guard鈥� with images of babies and pets in its advertising material.

“This gate is so flimsy, it feels like a plastic book covering,” says product expert Kim Gilmour.

“Even though there is an emphasis on 鈥榩ets鈥� in the product name, the product description and imagery used infers it is also suitable to be used as a baby gate.

鈥淚t’s far too low to prevent children from climbing over, and there are only cheap sticky hooks holding it in place on the door frame.”

Read the full Retractable Pet Fence Universal Pet Safety Enclosure review.

The BoPeep Retractable Safety Gate SG021

• 糖心Vlog Expert Rating: 29%
• Ease of use score: 50%
• Serious failures: strangulation hazard and lack of security.

糖心Vlog experts noted three serious failures and one minor failure on The BoPeep Retractable Safety Gate SG021 (a product that is currently available for purchase from multiple retailers).

The serious failures include an aspect of the gate鈥檚 lock that presents a potential strangulation hazard if a piece of child鈥檚 clothing was to become snagged on it, and an issue with the locking mechanism that means it is not completely secure.

Experts also found that the gate could easily be removed from its wall mounts by hand. And crucially, the gap created between the gate and the door frame has the potential for limbs to get stuck in it.

Read the full BoPeep Retractable Safety Gate review. 

Dreambaby Glide ‘N Hide Xtra-Tall Retractable Gate G9377

• 糖心Vlog Expert Rating: 29%
• Ease of use score: 50%
• Serious failure: lack of security (lock is easy to be left inadvertently unengaged).

The baby safety gate raises a significant concern around basic security: it doesn鈥檛 reliably lock unless the user takes multiple deliberate steps 鈥� and it鈥檚 surprisingly easy to get those steps wrong. The lock button must be manually activated, but there鈥檚 no strong, obvious indication when it hasn鈥檛 been engaged.

Even more worrying, the gate can appear closed while only one of its two catches is secured, leaving the other side unintentionally loose. In practice, this creates a false sense of safety, where caregivers may believe the gate is properly locked when it isn鈥檛.

Beyond that, the overall design feels unnecessarily complicated and somewhat flimsy. Locking happens at one end, while securing the two catches happens at the other, forcing users to manage multiple points of interaction every time they open or close it. The retractable fabric mechanism can be awkward to guide, and ensuring both the top and bottom catches are engaged is fiddly.

There鈥檚 also a minor but notable risk of a child鈥檚 limb getting caught in a gap near the edge of the gate.

Read the full Dreambaby Glide ‘N Hide Xtra-Tall Retractable Gate review. 

What the manufacturers say

We contacted the manufacturers and suppliers of the safety gates we marked as having serious failures, requesting a response. eBay removed the Retractable Pet Fence Universal Pet Safety Enclosure, and similar items, for sale but it鈥檚 still available to buy on Ali Express. We have not received a response from the supplier of the BoPeep gate.

In response to our findings, Dreambaby says that its Glide N’ Hide gate passes the European (EN1930) and US (ASTMF1004) safety gate standards. It says the gate can be “conveniently removed from the wall if an adult chooses to do so” and will review its instructions.

Minor safety failures

In several of the gates we tested, 糖心Vlog experts found a risk of limb entrapment, which we consider an important factor parents should consider when deciding whether or not to buy a particular model of gate.

Kim says: “Manufacturers rightly warn that children should never be left unattended when a safety gate is used, but in a split second, an adventurous child could well test the waters and attempt to unlatch or escape from the gate, causing their arm or leg to get lodged between the bars.”

To find out which baby safety gates had minor failures, and to see the ones that passed our tests with flying colours, check out the baby safety gate review.

Meet our tester

Our safety gate tester Antonio Bonacruz knows his stuff. He’s been testing children’s products for the past 22 years and sits on various committees for Standards Australia, where he helps write the safety requirements for children’s products. This includes specifying how these products should be tested for safety. 

He helped develop 糖心Vlog’s in-house test method, which consists of safety requirements and test procedures based on various Australian and overseas standards for children’s products. 

The method tests for things such as choking hazards, entanglements that can cause strangulation, access to dangerous places, falls from heights, entrapments in openings and between moving components, and structural integrity. 

Things to consider when buying a child safety gate

If you’re looking for a child safety gate, you might also like to consider features that will affect how adults will use the gate. 

Is it a trip hazard for you?

We found some gates pose a trip hazard as the floor bar is high enough for you to catch your foot on as you walk through. To lower the risk of dropping your baby while carrying them through a safety gate, look out for a safety gate with either a low-profile floor bar with chamfered edges, or one that doesn’t have a floor bar at all.听

Is it easy to open and close?

Some safety gates can be tricky to open and close, and some even need two hands to open and close them. Given that parents tend to have their hands full most of the time, this could mean that you either don’t close the gate properly or stop using it altogether 鈥� which rather defeats the purpose of having a safety gate in the first place. 

Is it difficult to assemble?

If you’re a parent, you’re likely to be running on reduced sleep, so a safety gate that’s difficult to assemble may just tip you over the edge! Make sure you check the ease of use scores in our review so you can avoid the models that are a nightmare to set up. 

Tips for baby-proofing your home

If you鈥檙e looking to babyproof your home, a safety gate is one of the key items you鈥檒l be adding to your shopping list. You鈥檒l find some of the most important things to look out for in a safety gate in our baby safety gate buying guide. Here are a few other things to consider:

• You may need to buy more than one safety gate; consider placing at both the bottom and tops of stairs and in front of entrances to rooms that may contain hazards, such as the kitchen or bathroom.
• Babies and toddlers often pull themselves up on furniture 鈥� heavy items such as bookcases, tallboys and cabinets should be anchored to the wall so they don鈥檛 topple over. Check out the dangers of topping furniture and how to avoid it.
• Cover electrical outlets with outlet covers, and secure or put away electrical cords. 
• Install childproof locks (either magnetic locks or latches) on cabinets or drawers with items that can cause harm, such as sharp utensils, cleaning supplies, medicines or alcohol.
• Add corner guards to sharp-edged tables or furniture stands.
• Place fragile, breakable items such as pot plants or ornaments well out of reach.
• Ensure any items that may contain button batteries are secured or out of reach 鈥� you might be surprised at the number of household items that contain button batteries that can be extremely harmful if ingested. Think bathroom scales, light-up toys or shoes, glucose monitors, remote controls, car key fobs, musical greeting cards, hearing aids or digital thermometers.

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Regardless of how much sleep you’re actually getting, a baby monitor can be useful for new parents, particularly if you live in a two-storey house or if you’re in another room while they’re sleeping 鈥� or not sleeping, as the case may be. (Just remember that safe sleep guidelines recommend having your baby in your bedroom for the first six to 12 months.)

If you’re going to buy one, though, don’t just go out and pick up any old thing: our testing shows they’re not all created equal. 糖心Vlog expert testers have put 54 baby monitors through their paces to help exhausted new parents and parents-to-be make the right choice.听

Here are the three monitors that rated lowest in our tests.

Uniden Baby Monitor with Pan & Tilt Camera BW4151

• 糖心Vlog Expert Rating: 50%
• Price: $140

Our testers found this unit had plenty of teething problems across the board. And with an overall picture performance score of just 43%, even the fancy ‘pan and tilt’ camera won’t make up for the poor picture quality.听

Our expert testers found that the image was stretched and the field of view too tight, which means you might have to move the camera back more than one metre to get a full view. And while it does display an image when the camera is in dim lighting, it’s far from a high-quality image 鈥� is that blurry shape your toddler or a teddy bear?

While it’s easy to set up and use, our experts say it’s poor on a number of fronts: sound range, video range, detecting and reproducing soft sounds, and maximum sound level at the carer end.听

It did manage to operate through two walls, but broke up quite a lot when used through three walls. And it lost connection when a microwave was used between the camera and monitor.听

All in all, it’s quite a disappointment and not worth the $250 it sells for.

Read our full Uniden Baby Monitor with Pan & Tilt Camera BW4151 谤别惫颈别飞.听

Angelcare Movement Monitor with Video AC327

• 糖心Vlog Expert Rating: 57%
• Price: $459

It’s hard to say what’s worse about Angelcare’s AC327 baby monitor: is it the fact that it has the second-lowest 糖心Vlog Expert Rating in our test or that it’s the third most expensive model we’ve looked at? The combination of the two certainly isn’t good.

There’s absolutely nothing here to justify the asking price, with borderline to poor scores for both picture quality and sound sensitivity, and a broadcast range that we rated only聽OK. The only thing in its favour is the high volume transmitted to the carer, though that’s largely offset by the underwhelming sound sensitivity results. After all, loud volumes on the carer unit won’t do much good when the baby unit often misses sounds in the first place.

And yet that’s not the worst of it. The first unit we tested had a faulty screen out of the box.听That wouldn’t have been a big deal had the replacement unit worked properly 鈥� but it was faulty too. We had to test the monitor with a band of dead pixels across the top of the screen.

Read our full Angelcare Movement Monitor with Video AC327 review.

Uniden Digital wireless baby video monitor (BW3102)

• 糖心Vlog Expert Rating: 64%
• Price: $180

The BW3102 is a feature-laden bit of kit with a lot of options that look good on paper. For example, it has a night light, temperature tracking and the ability to monitor up to four cameras from a single home unit.

But all the bells and whistles in the world can’t make up for average performance. Despite having one job – to monitor babies – picture and sound quality are borderline to poor. You’re not going to be monitoring much with performance results like these.

Walls between rooms really cut down on the broadcast range as well 鈥� which is a shame, as most of us tend to have quite a few walls in our house. If you’re standing in your baby’s room, you’ll get great broadcast quality, but in that case it’s probably easier to just look directly at your baby rather than viewing them through a monitor.听

Read our full Uniden Digital wireless baby video monitor (BW3102) review.

Nannio Comfy X000QLW4HP

• 糖心Vlog Expert Rating: 64%
• Price: $150

This baby monitor is almost entirely OK. Though it’s relatively easy to use and has good sound quality, most of the remaining performance results sit in the 60% range. Except for picture quality in a dark room and range between the camera and monitor 鈥� they’re quite poor.

Though it has some useful features, such as a temperature monitor and two-way audio communication, it’s lacking in others. There’s no motion monitor, for example, which means you won’t be alerted if your baby is restless until they make a noise

You can find much better options for the same price.听

Read our full Nannio Comfy X000QLW4HP review.

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Aldi is selling the Oricom SC895 5″ Baby Video Monitor as part of its baby-themed Special Buy sales this Wednesday 21 February.听

The baby monitor is selling for the discounted price of $149. (The same product is currently listed on the Oricom website for $199 but is out of stock.) It’s available for a limited time only, while stocks last.

Are Oricom baby monitors any good?

In our labs, we’ve tested six baby monitors from the Oricom brand, all with different features at different price points.

The Oricom Secure895 Digital Video/Audio Baby Monitor was the poorest performer from the brand, scoring a 糖心Vlog Expert Rating of 64%.

Our experts gave it a dismal sound sensitivity and sound quality score of just 43% and a sound range score of just 50%.

“This monitor only performed OK in optimal conditions, and was particularly poor in terms of sound sensitivity and sound quality,” 糖心Vlog test expert Denis Gallagher says.

“We wouldn’t recommend anyone buy it, no matter how cheap it is, especially when you consider that we tested other audio/video monitors that perform better and cost around the $100 mark.”

Do you even need a video baby monitor?聽

We test many different types of baby monitors, including audio, video/audio, app-based and Wi-Fi/3G/4G enabled to help you find the best.听

Monitors with video and Wi-Fi features are generally more expensive, so if you have a lower budget and a baby monitor is on your must-buy list, then you could consider an audio-only model.

While obviously you won’t be able to see your child asleep (or refusing to sleep), you will still be able to hear them if they cry or they need you. After all, when they wake you up screeching at 3am, you don’t need to confirm via a visual aid that they are indeed awake.

While some parents appreciate video features on a monitor that enable them to actually see that bub is OK, others may find that the light from a video monitor (on the parent unit) and the added visual stimulation while you’re both trying to sleep can add to stress rather than alleviate it.听

“We recommend several audio-only baby monitors that come in under $100,” says Denis.听

For more pros and cons and details of video vs audio monitors,聽read our baby monitor buying guide.

Other baby monitor options

It’s also worth noting that you can keep and eye (and ear) on your baby without using a dedicated baby monitor at all.

“One option to consider if you don’t want to spend hundreds on a monitor is to use a baby monitor app in conjunction with the smartphone or tablet you already own,”聽Denis suggests.

“These can cost as little as a few dollars and are also included in our baby monitor reviews.”

Or, you could even use a wireless security camera, which essentially does the same job as a baby monitor and might offer you better bang for your buck.听

We have tested a few lower cost options to see how they perform as baby monitors in our wireless security camera reviews.听

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On this page:

• Our expert testers
• How we choose what we test
• How we test baby monitors
• Test criteria explained

Here’s how we test baby monitors to make sure you know how to pick the best one for your needs.

Our expert testers

With more than 15 years of experience, our expert testers are the bees’ knees of children’s product testing. They’ve seen all the brands and varying cot configurations on the market, and have put each to the test. Our testers also sit on the Australian Standards committees for children’s products.

How we choose what we test

Most of the time, we test what you’ll see in the retailers. Our baby monitors typically come from brands you’ll see in mainstream nursery or department stores, or ones that feature prominently when you search for them online.

To come up with our list, we survey manufacturers to find out about their range of models take member feedback on board. Our buyers then purchase products as you the consumer would, either in-store or online. This is to ensure that products we receive have not been ‘tweaked’ in any way, or received special treatment during transit.

How we test baby monitors

Baby monitors need to give you a reliable signal when in use, with a clear picture that works in varying light conditions.听

Some Wi-Fi-enabled baby monitors use a smartphone or tablet as the carer device, or give owners the option to use an app. Where applicable, our scores are based on the app that is associated with the product.

When testing baby monitors we look at the following.

Sound performance

When determining the sound performance score, we put the monitors through a series of tests to determine:

• how well the baby unit can pick up soft sounds
• how well the carer (parent) unit can reproduce that sound.

We also test the range of the unit and see how well it works through walls. We do not assess Wi-Fi range, as this variable means we’re essentially testing third-party modem/routers that don’t reflect the quality of the baby monitor and its viewing device.

With this is mind, we give models with Wi-Fi capability 100% in the range scores. Results may vary depending on your Wi-Fi coverage and modem/router quality.

For app-based products, we define the carer unit as the tablet or phone. We use common phones on both iOS and Android platforms for our tests, so your experience may be different depending on the smartphone or tablet you use.

Picture quality

We assess the quality of the picture in daylight, dim and dark conditions. Many video-enabled baby monitors have an infrared feature that allows you to see baby in the dark, albeit at high contrast and in black and white.

Monitors that don’t have this feature, such as ones that use your phone or tablet, will score zero for visibility in the dark.

If the baby monitor does not include a monitor, we assess quality on a smartphone or tablet. Note that some models only connect to a smartphone or tablet.

Ease of use

We take a number of aspects into account when assessing ease of use, and we rate both the parent (carer) unit and the baby unit (which is kept in the nursery). Our assessments include:

• handling, positioning and adjusting the settings (cameras and viewing device)
• camera placement, mount type and ease of mounting
• how easy it is to safely and easily access batteries and connect any mains adapters (cameras and viewing device)
• whether the parent and baby units are an adequate sized and intuitive to use.

Test criteria explained

Recommended

To be recommended by our experts, a baby monitor must score well for:

• ease of use
• sound performance
• picture quality (if available).

Baby monitors that score 85% and above are recommended.

Scoring criteria

For audio/video products, the overall score is made up of:

• picture performance (30%)
• sound performance (40%)
• ease of use (30%).听

For audio-only products, the overall score is made up of:

• sound performance (70%)
• ease of use (30%).

The post How we test baby monitors appeared first on 糖心Vlog.

On this page:

• Our expert testers
• How we choose what we test
• How we test
• Test criteria explained

Our expert testers

With 15 years of experience, our expert testers are the bees’ knees of children’s product testing. They’ve seen hundreds of brands and products, and put many to the test. Our testers also sit on the Australian Standards committees for children’s products.

How we choose what we test

Most of the time, our priority is to test what you’ll see in the retailers. Our safety gates typically come from brands you’ll see in mainstream nursery or department stores, or ones that feature prominently when you search for them online.听We normally test safety gates with latches, but we sometimes test barriers, too.

To come up with our list we survey manufacturers to find out about their range of models and we take member feedback on board. Our buyers then purchase products as you the consumer would, either in-store or online. This is to ensure that the products we received have not been tweaked in any way, or received special treatment during transit.

How we test

Although there is no current Australian standard for safety gates, our experts know what to look for when it comes to safety. We’ve based our test procedures on various existing Australian standards for similar children’s products such as cots, folding cots and toys. We also draw upon elements of overseas standards, including the European standard EN 1930:2011.

When testing safety gates we look at:

• Construction: We check the gate for any easily removable small parts which could pose a choking hazard. We also look for any sharp corners, edges or points which could injure a child. We assess any hazardous projections or openings which could catch onto a child’s clothing and present a strangulation risk.
• Secureness of gate: We check to make sure the lock can’t be opened by a small child. For example, the lock should require two consecutive opening actions or a certain amount of force to open. If a latch is designed to self-close and lock automatically, it must do so reliably.
• Height of barrier/gate: The vertical distance between the floor and the top of the gate needs to be 500mm or more.
• Footholds: Using suitable measuring devices we make sure there are no features on the safety gates such as ledges or inclined surfaces which could help a child to climb the gate.
• Entrapment hazards: We use test probes to determine whether any openings, holes or gaps pose finger, limb and head entrapment hazards. We also carefully check to see if any areas that pivot, open or close could cause pinching or crushing of body parts.
• Structural integrity: We conduct a horizontal strength test and a vertical load test based on the Australian folding cot standard. This tests whether a typical toddler could force the gate open, or push it out of the door frame.
• Ease of use:聽We look at the amount of effort required to assemble and install the product. We also look at how easy it is to release and close the latch, as well as how easy it is to open and close the gate (for an adult).

Test criteria explained

We rate children’s products a bit differently to other tests, due to the strong interest in safety. We rate them according to whether they pass or fail major tests.

Safety gates that we recommend have passed all our major safety tests, including the strength test, minimum height requirement and the foothold test.

Some minor failures such as sharp edges which could scratch skin, or finger entrapment hazards in open tubes, are listed in our ‘bad points’. Models with only minor failures may be worth considering.

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