HELP: need wooden fence gate kids CAN open

[bkatoa]

We have a wood fence around our yard and one of the gates broke recently. We are going to repair it but I'd like to switch it our for something that my 4 and 6 year old can open and go through 1,000 times a day with their friends rather than having to run through my house because they can't open the gate. I also do not want my almost 2 year old to be able to open it on her own. Any ideas of what to do? ALso how do your kids open yours from the front? Thanks!

[jonafifi]

Does it have a latch that you could tie a string to that is just long enough for them to reach but too high for the two year old?

[bkatoa]

Okay so I saw the kind of latch you are talking about at Home Depot. We have a heavy sliding latch but I think we might just have to replace it and try the string thing out. Does anyone have this type now and it works for them?

[Karana]

Our gate has a ... um... one-way latch? on it? I don't know what it's called. From the front yard, you just push on the gate and it pops open. From the backyard, you have to actually lift the latch and pull the gate open.

My kids are older, so the latch is quite high (they are 12 and 9), and the height of the latch keeps my 3 year old from being able to escape the back yard. HOWEVER, I hate it when my kids go through the gate, because even though they have been fairly well trained to shut the gate behind them, their friends RARELY do. And if the gate isn't shut, the 3 year old can escape.

So you might want to look for some kind of spring-loaded feature as well so that you can keep your 2 year old contained.

Good luck!