Discovered that my 2.5 year old can unlock doors

[ElleDubloo]

I had a really terrifying moment this week when I came downstairs and could not find my 2.5 year old DD in the house. (I had been changing the baby's nappy upstairs and the toddler had run off, and I hadn't followed immediately as she normally plays quite safely by herself.) After a minute or two I was horrified to find her in the garden, having unlocked the back door which had definitely been locked and the keys hadn't even been in the lock! She's a tall girl so she is able to reach the handle on most doors, however I didn't think she had the manual dexterity to put a key in a lock and turn it. Now I keep the key well out of reach.

Has anything similar happened to you, where you didn't even realise something has a risk until it happened?

Not as a parent, but as a child I did exactly this, at the same age.

I got further away than the garden too - was found on the nearby main road by a man who luckily recognised me, having seen me coming down the fire escape with my mum to put the washing out!

Needless to say, my mum was much more careful about keeping tabs on me after that! I still shudder when I think of what might have been.

Exactly the same! Didn't realise that DD1 could open the front door until one of my neighbours returned her! Thank heavens his son had seen her come out of the front door and told his dad. Installed a bolt on the front door that very day.

My daughter did the same thing yesterday. Thankfully ir's a fully enclosed garden! Today she was sat on the doorstep watching the cat. Little terror.

Just remembered too that I had no idea dd2 could climb out of her cot until one morning there was a loud thud and a cry.

She could only just walk!

My daughter decided to roll over for the first time and also sort of turned around on her belly whilst I went downstairs to put some rubbish in the bin (we live in a townhouse). I'd left her on the changing mat on the floor and came back to find her in a totally different position and trying to grab the Sudocreme for lunch.

I was so shocked as she had been pretty much completely immobile up to that point! Now I make sure I clear the area around her at all times.

My daughter was unlocking doors at 14 MONTHS. She had been walking since she 8 months. We had to put latches at the top of every door in the house.

I realised this when I found DS sat on the doorstep eating an orange

I came down the other day from changing the babies nappy to find almost 3yr ds sat on the kitchen counter top helping himself to his 'reward' smarties!! (Recently potty trained!)
He was very pleased with himself and showed me how he had climbed up the drawers to get there!

I also discovered the other day that he can undo his car seat buckle.

Undoing his car seat buckle! That's terrifying. My DD has accidentally pressed the button once but we quickly distracted her and she hasn't done it again and hopefully it won't occur to her to do it again.

My 2.6 DS has a habit of letting himself out too, I have to watch him like a hawk as he'll escape at any given opportunity and my door is like a Yale lock but on a handle, so can't be locked in inside, just have to pull the handle down

He also has figured out how to take his toys apart when they run out of batteries, I can only presume he's watched me do it before, because I walked in the kitchen/living room the other day (I'd been quickly getting dressed) and he had a butter knife and had unscrewed his Thomas train and was looking for new batteries. He now thinks he's really clever obviously and keeps trying to do it with all of his other trains.
He must have realised I was purposely not replacing the batteries as the noises do my head in