What would you think if you were at someones house and saw a lock on the outside of a child's bedroom door?

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?

We had one on my brother's door as he used to sleep walk and mum once found him out in the garden at 2am.

We had a hook-and-eye style lock on DD1's door when she was a baby. It was a long time ago so I can't remember why we didn't just use a stairgate but probably to stop the cats getting in as well as her getting out. She learned to climb out of her cot very very early and with the hook on could see out of the door without being able to get out of the room plus couldn't shut the door on her fingers.

I have hook and eye locks on all the doors from when dd was a toddler so I could control where she went in the house, her bedroom used to be my study.

They are also useful for stopping the cats and dog for roaming the house.

They also mean that if a burglar gets into one of our rooms through a window his movement may be limited and he will have to make some noise to get out of the room.

I have never locked anyone in a room, actually that is not true when I am not well and need to rest dp will lock me in a room to dd and any kids she has around cannot disturb me.

My dd who's 9 has a hook and eye style lock as well as a bolt to keep her younger brothers out especially when she's away or at school.

tsp - my old boss had a hook and eye lock on the door of his home office - his wife used to lock him in to keep him away from the rampaging toddlers when he was trying to work

one day she forgot about him and went shopping....

he was desperate for a wee when she got home

Agree with GMOH. Surely the salient point in that bbc story is the parents ignored the screams? Kids were in a cot and too young to evacuate themselves.