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Post by musicfrk on Jul 3, 2017 11:05:58 GMT -6
What are your tips for keeping the toddlers inside?
J just turned two a month ago. He is tall enough to reach the deadbolt on the front door and can open the door. He can also reach the lock on our sliding patio door. He escaped once last night and once this morning. We live in an apartment building and our patio faces the street. Some mornings when I don't have to work, he doesn't wake me up when he gets up. He usually just occupies himself with toys or my phone. I typically hear him after 15-30 minutes, so it's not a long time. My fear is that one day he will go outside alone and I won't hear him.
Do the doorknob covers work? I don't want to buy one if he is going to figure it out in ten seconds. I'm going to measure the patio door and buy a dowel to put in the track so he can't open that. Any other ideas?
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Post by swivelchair5 on Jul 3, 2017 11:24:18 GMT -6
If you think he will figure out door knob covers (I know they don't slow down my 2.5 year old nephew anymore), you can get a door monkey for his bedroom door. It leaves the door slightly cracked, can be opened from either side and you can place as high on the door as you like. I got one for my daughter's room for whenever we switch her from crib to bed because we like to leave her bedroom door cracked at night.
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Post by jillywilly on Jul 3, 2017 12:43:00 GMT -6
DS also can open doors now, so H actually just bought these magnetic door chimes that just do one tone when the door opens, so we figure if he does get outside, at least we'll know right away so he can't go too far. We have a chime for the door sensors centrally located downstairs, and we're going to get another one for our bedroom now that the system is working because I'm also paranoid that he'll escape when we're sleeping when we eventually transition him from the crib, so at least this way I know I'll wake up if he does.
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Post by jubilantsquirrel on Jul 3, 2017 13:38:54 GMT -6
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budders
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Post by budders on Jul 4, 2017 6:10:00 GMT -6
V can escape from our doors too, but he can't reach our deadbolts yet for the front and back doors. We are installing a lock higher up for those doors for when he can.
We haven't had an issue with him getting into and out of other rooms when unwanted yet, but will probably at least start with the doorknob covers since they're an inexpensive fix if they work.
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Post by lildiamondeyes on Jul 4, 2017 7:28:29 GMT -6
+whatever to knob covers. My 2 1/2 year old have figured them out yet.
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Post by grumpycat on Jul 4, 2017 14:54:48 GMT -6
We use door knob covers. My 2.5yo hasn't figured them out yet. We are going to put a sliding lock on the top of our front door and we have a metal bar that he hasn't figured out yet on our slider. The door to the garage is really heavy and opens in so he hasn't been able to get it open.
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cmb
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Post by cmb on Jul 4, 2017 18:23:06 GMT -6
+1 Knob covers. We've had them since he was around a year, and he has yet to figure them out at 2.5. We have one on his bedroom door to keep him in as well, so he attempts daily to figure it out when he doesn't want to go to bed.
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Post by musicfrk on Jul 4, 2017 21:42:05 GMT -6
Thanks everyone. I am going to pick up some doorknob covers the next time I'm at the store. H wants to try a piece of wood in the sliding door track, which is J's main escape route lately. We don't close his bedroom door or any other doors really, we are just concerned about him getting outside.
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cmb
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Post by cmb on Jul 5, 2017 3:42:37 GMT -6
Thanks everyone. I am going to pick up some doorknob covers the next time I'm at the store. H wants to try a piece of wood in the sliding door track, which is J's main escape route lately. We don't close his bedroom door or any other doors really, we are just concerned about him getting outside. We did this even when we didn't have kids because the door lock was iffy. As long as it's long enough, it won't budge |
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Post by allthekristys on Jul 5, 2017 6:51:49 GMT -6
Can you install a chain lock on the front door high up so J can't reach? That, and the dowel in the sliding doors should prevent him from escaping out of the house.
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Post by maplebaconbar on Jul 5, 2017 14:12:37 GMT -6
Drawer locksWe use these at the tops of our front door and the sliding glass door. I've tried to walk in when they were locked and I can verify that it would take a ton of force to unstick these things.
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Post by lifesaverz on Jul 6, 2017 0:29:01 GMT -6
For the front door we ended up having to put a chain on it, for that reason.
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Post by musicfrk on Jul 6, 2017 9:34:54 GMT -6
I'd have to ask our landlord before we could put a chain lock on the front door since we rent.
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Bluebird
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Post by Bluebird on Jul 6, 2017 11:40:36 GMT -6
Thanks everyone. I am going to pick up some doorknob covers the next time I'm at the store. H wants to try a piece of wood in the sliding door track, which is J's main escape route lately. We don't close his bedroom door or any other doors really, we are just concerned about him getting outside. Not sure if this has been covered yet, but my 20 month old very easily learned how to remove the piece of wood in ours and runs around wielding it like a sword. |
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Post by loves2read on Jul 6, 2017 12:52:00 GMT -6
Thanks everyone. I am going to pick up some doorknob covers the next time I'm at the store. H wants to try a piece of wood in the sliding door track, which is J's main escape route lately. We don't close his bedroom door or any other doors really, we are just concerned about him getting outside. Not sure if this has been covered yet, but my 20 month old very easily learned how to remove the piece of wood in ours and runs around wielding it like a sword. Yea I was going to say something similar to this. My guy doesn't really care about getting outside yet but he definitely has taken the piece of wood out of the track about a thousand times. So that isn't really a great deterrent. Now at my parent's house he reminds them to take it out before they go on the porch. They forget it quite a bit. Lol. |
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McBenny
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Post by McBenny on Jul 6, 2017 12:53:20 GMT -6
Switch your deadbolt out for the one you need the key for?
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Post by musicfrk on Jul 6, 2017 21:23:48 GMT -6
Not sure if this has been covered yet, but my 20 month old very easily learned how to remove the piece of wood in ours and runs around wielding it like a sword. Yea I was going to say something similar to this. My guy doesn't really care about getting outside yet but he definitely has taken the piece of wood out of the track about a thousand times. So that isn't really a great deterrent. Now at my parent's house he reminds them to take it out before they go on the porch. They forget it quite a bit. Lol. My H found a tension for we've had lying around for...a long time...that I think we will try, as long as it's short enough to fit in the sliding door. That's the one he is most interested in escaping through right now. |
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Post by seamonster on Jul 7, 2017 14:03:43 GMT -6
Install a chain lock or bolt lock at the top of your door. For the slicing door there are pins or door frame locks that keep the door from opening all the way.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 11:54:49 GMT -6
Switch your deadbolt out for the one you need the key for? Please don't do this. A kid I knew in elementary ended up burned on about 30% of his body because they couldn't get out of the house quickly during a fire due to one of these locks. |
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McBenny
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Post by McBenny on Jul 10, 2017 12:28:47 GMT -6
Switch your deadbolt out for the one you need the key for? Please don't do this. A kid I knew in elementary ended up burned on about 30% of his body because they couldn't get out of the house quickly during a fire due to one of these locks. JTTW
is this any different than any of the other things previously mentioned. What's the difference if the key is left in the door?
There's an anecdote for everything in life. Someone always knows someone who.
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McBenny
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Post by McBenny on Jul 10, 2017 12:29:27 GMT -6
Also I think the probability of a house fire is far less than the odds of kid getting out the house and wondering down the street.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 12:40:33 GMT -6
McBenny , I didn't recommend the lock covers either. Honestly, I'd just add another deadbolt higher up. FWIW, the kid I know wasn't the only one trapped in the house. His older sister was as well. These weren't toddlers, they were kids who could have unlatched a deadbolt or figured out door knob cover but were unable to do it because the key wasn't in the lock. I wasn't aiming for scare tactics, but it's something that scares me. ETA: More clearly. My concern wasn't the toddler being trapped in a house with a fire, my concern was limiting your exit options for the entire family by requiring a key to get out.
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McBenny
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Post by McBenny on Jul 10, 2017 12:45:38 GMT -6
McBenny , I didn't recommend the lock covers either. Honestly, I'd just add another deadbolt higher up. FWIW, the kid I know wasn't the only one trapped in the house. His older sister was as well. These weren't toddlers, they were kids who could have unlatched a deadbolt or figured out door knob cover but were unable to do it because the key wasn't in the lock. I wasn't aiming for scare tactics, but it's something that scares me. ETA: More clearly. My concern wasn't the toddler being trapped in a house with a fire, my concern was limiting your exit options for the entire family by requiring a key to get out. Again, we have always kept the key in the lock and that is what I was recommending (as stated previously). Now if your 2 year old can maneuver the key in the lock then you have bigger issues. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 12:47:53 GMT -6
Internet sleuthing is also telling me that double keyed deadbolts are against building code. I'm not the only one who thinks they're a bad idea.
2006 IRC
R310.1.4 Operational constraints. Emergency escape and
rescue openings shall be operational from the inside of the
room without the use of keys, tools or special knowledge.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 12:48:23 GMT -6
McBenny, then why do you need one with a key at all if you're going to keep it in the lock???
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McBenny
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Post by McBenny on Jul 10, 2017 12:52:02 GMT -6
McBenny , then why do you need one with a key at all if you're going to keep it in the lock??? Are you Asthon Kutcher? TO KEEP THE FUCKING KID IN THE HOUSE! I don't know the kid that young that can maneuver a key and deadbolt. Maybe you do. How about putting the key on a push pin higher up near the door? Anyway, again I think the odds for kidding getting out the house and house fire are a little more swayed to one way. |
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McBenny
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Post by McBenny on Jul 10, 2017 12:52:52 GMT -6
Double keyed deadbolt has been at every place I ever lived.
#regional
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 13:02:40 GMT -6
Yes, I'm apparently a fucking idiot, thanks for that.
But this fucking idiot still thinks it's a bad idea, even if the possibility is less frequent than a kid getting out. There are plenty of other ways to keep a child contained without creating an unnecessary fire risk.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 13:16:22 GMT -6
And you keep the kid from removing and losing/hiding the key how???
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