Shower curtain rods, my wife’s old scarves, and a child gate were used to make a visual barrier.
WARNING it’s not at all sturdy, but it seemed to help protect against getting too close to stairs going down:
When it was obvious that the child gate across the top of the stairs was inadequate, I thought that something more at eye level might be a deterrent from getting too close. Shower curtain rods come in various lengths, and luckily I found some that stretched long enough to fit and support some scarves. Usually, there’s a third rod, even higher, and the scarves go all the way across to make it seem like a wall….BUT OF COURSE YOU CANNOT LEAN AGAINST IT! It’s just a visual barrier. I also had one for stairs going up, and they seemed pretty effective.
