Babies and small children are enticed by doorways and cabinets. They want to see what’s beyond and don’t recognize when something can be dangerous. A baby can easily get through a doorway that leads to the outside and can freeze to death in winter or can get out into a busy street all too easily. Cabinets can house cleaning supplies or other chemicals that are dangerous or deadly if the child gets inside of the cabinet. This is why cabinet locks are the safest way to deter a child from getting into something he or she shouldn’t.
Child safety locks come in many cheap and effective varieties for the bath and kitchen alike. There are two basic types: one that works on the door handles and one that works inside the cabinet or drawer to keep it from opening more than a few inches unless you unlatch it.
Ring-Style Child Safety Locks
This is a type of lock that works for those with handles or knobs. It is a U-shaped fixture made of plastic that loops through the handles or around the knobs of the cabinet. The other end is a hook or fixture that locks the end of the U and prevents it from opening the cabinet. You need to push on two buttons in order to unlock the latch and it is too complicated for children to master. The plastic is hard and durable so that the child cannot pull on the handle and open the cabinet.
As mentioned, this works on both handles and knobs. With knobs, you tighten the clamp on the latch so that it abuts up against the knobs. It tightly holds the cabinet shut and requires the pushing of two separate buttons to become undone so that the cabinet can be opened. It is too hard for a toddler to figure out and manage.
Catch-Style Child Locks
This is the type of child proofing safety lock that prevents a child from opening a cabinet more than a few inches. It is attached to the inside of the cabinet drawer and also to the inside of the door frame, such as under the roof of the cabinet. The two pieces attach to each other and are firmly affixed unless you put firm pressure on the place where the joint connects the two pieces.
You need a screwdriver to attach these latches but they are easy to put in. You need to use a pen or pencil to mark the place to put the two halves of the latch so they line up with one another. Use the screwdriver or electric drill with a screw bit to attach the two halves to the wooden door and door frame. If you have measured correctly, the two halves naturally latch together when you close the door.
Practice opening and closing the door several times to make sure you have marked the location of the two halves properly. They should come together naturally and be easy to open and close. Now, when you open the door, you just need to reach in and put pressure on the connection and it separates, allowing you to open the cabinet. It is relatively easy for adults but hard for children to master.
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