Smart sensor for baby gate

[foxhole]

Are you new around here - that's not how it works a lot of the time

It's easy to forget. You're coming and going, someone is watching the rug rat, you've got your hands full and others are coming and going - it's easy to leave it open because someone else is about to go through it, only they don't and you don't notice. Or if, like us, it's only occasional use for the grand kids, then it can be hard to get into the habit of shutting it.
Our nearly 3 year old already knows how to open our gate - she just isn't strong enough, which the rest of use almost share with her Some of the other gates her parents have used, she learned to open ages ago - often just by brute force.

If you are going to forget about child safety then no amount of alarms are going to help.

 

[SimonH2]

I'm not asking for an alarm - just pointing out that in the real world "sh1t happens" Some people seen to have a simplistic view of [grand]parenthood - I think Michael Macintyre's monologues on the subject should be mandatory viewing, especially for non-parents

 

[SpecialK]

xiaomi aqara window sensor? Probably needs a hub too unless you already have zigbee stuff....?

 

[IT Minion]

Stick up a camera? If you angle it right you may be able to see a useful area as well as the baby gate.

 

[bernardgreen]

like a camera remote shutter release - "pressed" when the gate is open,

that could give a picture of the child tumbling down the stairs.

 

[foxhole]

If the childs 3 a safety gate is useless.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=DZt4n3lh8lQ&usg=AOvVaw3ikit8HOeepSf57pFLUta2

 

[ericmark]

I bought a simple stick on alarm, it was to tell us when mother had gone on wheel about, not a child, however she soon realised when the alarm went off we would come running, so if she wanted some thing, she would open front door.

The alarm for other items like getting out of bed was the same, and we had to be careful not to respond too quickly or let her know we were watching.

With a child once they can get around a stair gate, they are safe on the stairs, so it is no longer required, but any alarm is a problem as the child will enjoy the attention. However you do get problem children where you have to keep an eye on them, the 4 year old who thinks it's fun to get the 2 year old to do some thing we consider naughty.

We used mirrors, we could see what was going on without mother seeing us, one mirror placed on the stairs, it was there to start with to see if hall clear before extending stair lift leg, but it also allowed us to watch discretely what was going on.

 

[OldJake]

I think you might struggle unless you have some other kind of hub/platform. Personally, I would start with that. My recommendation would be to go for something like SmartThings and then use a good quality Zigbee contact sensor. Smartthings will ensure that you have LOADS of options for sensors. That can then be incorporated into routines to do anything you want when the sensor is triggered. Push notification to your phone, switch a light on and off...