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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

toddlers and doors... help!

14 replies

shoptilidrop · 13/10/2007 18:44

My daughter has just started opening doors on her own.

My once childproofed house is quickly going down the pan. She is opening the porch door and is trying to open the front door. It is locked, but im worried about her actually unlocking it.

i dont really want to get another stairgate, as shes almost worked those out as well.

So what do i do besides nail her feet to the floor?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!!?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

REIDmylips · 13/10/2007 18:46

put a small lock on the door high up? sorry no real advice, my boss is having the same problem and this is what she has done.

good luck and bump

ArmadilloDaMan · 13/10/2007 18:48

put small bolts on the doors, high up, so she can't reach them even with a chair (this will become more important as she gets older).

Lock front/back door with key and then hang key high up next to door (in case of fire).

ArmadilloDaMan · 13/10/2007 18:49

oh and make sure she can't do the bathroom lock - move it if necessary, or like us you'll have to break the door down when the little sod darling locks themself in it.

nailpolish · 13/10/2007 18:50

just keep an eye on her
i have never locked my doors and ive had no problems with escaped children
weve never had a stairgate either

Original poster

shoptilidrop · 13/10/2007 18:50

omg, this is going to be a nightmare isnt it!

OP posts:

ArmadilloDaMan · 13/10/2007 18:51

nah this is the easy part - wait till she starts climbing.

nailpolish · 13/10/2007 18:54

no of course its not a nightmare
you sound like my BIL
he thinks that if he doesnt bolt all the doors his son will run away
course he wont

just TEACH them not to do it. how else are they going to learn?

Original poster

shoptilidrop · 13/10/2007 18:58

she climbs already. On everthing. She was on top of the tv the other day.
And she gets up on the window sils.

I am trying to teach her nailpolish. But i want to make sure she cant get up to no good while she is learning. I cannot watch her 24/7 so want to know she is safe 100% of the time.

OP posts:

ArmadilloDaMan · 13/10/2007 19:00

but is she constructing 'ladders' yet and scaling the bookcases

Be very careful with front and back door (friend's son escaped and was found wandering on the road), but other than that it's up to you whether you keep rooms locked and which ones you do.

I would love to put a lock on our kitchen door (bathroom through kitchen so would keep him out of both) but it would mean the cats couldn't come in and out. SO I can't.

Fizzylemonade · 13/10/2007 19:15

I had dream ds1 who actually listened when I said no to certain cupboards etc (he had a cupboard of his own with toys in in the kitchen which worked a treat)

BUT I now have ds2 who is a climber, windowsills, dining room table, cube storage unit, and I have a small tub sofa that I have seen him handstand on so that his feet go up the back cushions and then he vaults his legs over the back and slides down the back of the sofa instead of getting off like a normal child. He is almost 17 months.

I always lock both the front and back door but basically endlessly saying no is the only way to go. (this comes from me having taken ds2 off the dining room table 16 times in the space of 1 hour) Good luck

OverRated · 13/10/2007 19:22

If you have door knobs (rather than handles) you can use these - I have one on the inside of my front door to stop DS (aged 2) escaping (he can unlock and open the door otherwise).

My friends use them on internal doors too.

Original poster

shoptilidrop · 13/10/2007 19:28

they would be great, but we have handles.
im liking the idea of a little bolt high up on the important doors. ie front and back.
Am also thinking it would be wise to remove the bathroom lock for now.

No ladder construction yet.. but we do have a lot of piling things on top of each other to use as stairs. Today we have had a little stool on top of a pushchair, on top of a bean bag. She was most pleased with her self.

OP posts:

OverRated · 13/10/2007 19:36

What an enterprising little thing she is! DS was just the same

Another good door thing are these door mouse thingies (but I bet you could easily make something similar). They stop fingers getting trapped, which is always my big fear. I have them on the bathroom door so that DS can't shut himself in there - he did once slam the door and locked it then cried because he was stuck. Thankfully the bathroom was baby-proofed and I could unlock the door from the outside.

Original poster

shoptilidrop · 13/10/2007 19:55

they look good, i might get some of those for the bathroom door instead, that will save removing the lock.

thanks very much.

enterprising??? erm well, little sod is what i call it. Bless her, then when she has achieved what she wants to do, she claps her self and cheers.

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