With a two year old I would install a gate. There are many on the market that expand OR swing and will look good with what you have. OR you can have one that matches your railing exactly that opens from the middle if you want. I am sure whomever installed your railing can create a gate option for you.

You could put up wood lattice till they are older (even paint it to match the house)

It will have to be to code.

Code will require a railing or a solid wall with a handrail.

Well if we are discussing code you also have to have closed risers and the rise run ratio looks wrong based on the photo.

^^^^ that too. Looking closer unless an optical illusion the rise looks different at the top than at the bottom which is not good and will be dangerous for any adult let alone a toddler. Also the post at the top landing is not installed properly and appears to be leaning. Has a building inspector seen any of this?

The stair and railing configuration should have been more like these. I don't think there is anyway to save what you currently have.

Thank you all. It is an optical illusion! Everything is level and square. We will be putting closed risers. I like the idea of part railing and part wall. Much appreciated

Since concern for safety is an issue, I recommend reading AWC DCA6 Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide available <here>. It is a code guide on stairs, bracing, post connections, ledger connections, everything you need to do for safety.

Thankyou. The stairs are only partially built so there are a lot of pieces missing still. Appreciate the pointers on safety

Beverly is correct this was done wrong and not sure how to fix it now .You will at a minimum need a railing on both sides or sure . @ yr olds need watching 24/7 and a gate is a must at the top

My biggest concern is the landing at the top of the stairs - it should be at the same level as the deck. Yes, that means the stairway will be one step longer, but it would be a far superior design. The beam appears to hang out over the steps, which is awkward. The opening in the deck railing appears to be wider than the stair landing. I'm curious how the other side of the stairway is supported (the side we can't see).

nikirose, I imagine it feels like we're piling on, but the code for deck construction has a LOT of specifics. I built a deck 2 years ago, so I'm pretty familiar with those rules. I'm surprised none of these issues were flagged when you submitted the plans for a building permit.

Appreciate your concern. The opening is to be filled in to the size of the landing. The beam does not hang over the stairs. The other side now has a support leg. The Pic is of a very unfinished stair case! And the city had no issue stepping down to a landing to minimize the railing interfering with the window! It is all up to code, I was just looking for different aesthetic ideas to create a barrier.

The step down from the deck to the landing and then to the stairs seems weird to me. Both functionally / safety and visually. Beverly's examples are much better where the landing is the same level as the deck and then you proceed down the stairs. Beverly's examples also look very nice from a railing standpoint: matching on either side and matching the deck railing. Don't overthink this.

Hmm, I missed the window interfering with the railing. Too bad that wasn't noticed prior to construction, so the deck could be a few inches smaller.

As long as you have to redo the railing anyway, maybe you should move the stair landing to the left, just far enough for the window to open. Then the landing can be at the same level as the deck.