Just foiled a 3rd escape attempt - any ideas?

[Lougle]

Ok, so I need to do something, fast.

Our home setup:

Main front door leads to porch, with further door to outside of property

Property sits on road which is 200ft from a busy main road with lorries.

Main door has a Yale lock, but DD can open it.

Porch door also has Yale lock, but DD can open it, and so we have a stair gate across it.

DD can now climb over stair gate if she can sneak something through to it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

We have thought of putting a Stable door on the Porch, so that she can't climb over the top.

Another alternative is a keypad lock on the main door to stop her getting out in the porch.

Or is there something else I am not thinking of?

It really is a very dangerous situation for her, she has no sense of danger at all.

Thanks

Deadlocks rather than Yale locks did it for us. Mine was Mr Escapo, so locks that had to be opened with a genuine old-fashioned turnkey were the only thing that stopped him. Plus same principle for window locks too.

Can you double lock your yale by turning the key after you have shut it, that might help until you can sort out something else. We had to lock the chubb lock or put the chain on when Dd3 was little. Oh and don't leave the keys in the door, I went in the garden once and left the key in the back door and , yes you guessed it , she locked me out!!

A bolt on both doors, at the top?

dd1 can open our front door now, and will try to go out (more for curiosity than real escape behaviour)

our life saver has been that there is a bolt at the top of the door - we always keep it bolted out of habit now.

Ds got all our locks sussed and a fantastic builder we know found me a combination lock bolt - ie a bolt which you can only shift if you know the 4 digit pin. Even he can't do that one, as long as we make sure to leave it at different number. Plus keep a torch in hall in case of fire, and make sure all other family memmbers know the pin. It has given me a lot of peace of mind, I also have one on the biscuit/crisp cupboard! I think you can find it online as he found it in a catalogue.

Thanks guys. I have had a google, and think that for now what we will do is get an electric press button release that we can mount high up on the door frame. It means that we can come and go freely, and in a fire, but she can't reach it or co-ordinate the pressing of the button and opening the door at the same time.

Could you try a dog gate? they are taller than a normal stair gate.

I think we will have the same problem with dd2, we just went to look at the new house and she vanished out the front door, luckily she found her way to the back garden (not the road).

I have seen dog gates, but they tend to have overlapping latches (ie. the latch sits on top of the fixed section of the gate) and certainly my sister's ones have loosened so that her son can simply lift the latch rather than having to use the mechanism. It's fine for her, because the dog isn't that clever, but no good for stopping a child escaping.

you can also get sensor alarm which will go off when the door is opened so if does get out at least you will know. You should be able to get it done through OT (not the nhs but the one attached to SS)

here

Deadlocks.

All our doors lock with removeable keys.

thanks agnes

We have upvc doors with deadlocks. When DS1 is circling to get out, I lock them and keep the keys in my pocket. Actually, I lock them anyway, to keep DS2 from wandering out and anyone/anything else from wandering in (since we're not overlooked at the back), but the keys do come out of the door when needs be.

I wouldn't get a stable door, as sooner or later yr DD will be able to climb over it. I'd get a chubb deadlock on both doors and hide the key. Get a locksmith to fit them. Also bolts up high (although not foolproof as my DD can now get a chair and unbolt it.)

I like the idea of the combination bolt suggested by sickofsocalledexperts, will look into investing in one myself!

If I was you I'd invest in something heavy duty as you will need it sooner or later.

Also.....don't want to alarm you, but get window locks if you haven't already got them, just to be on the safe side :)

We use locks that only open with a key. Ds school use 2 door handles (one high one standard height) on each door which have to be openened together so 2 hands on longish arms required. ds (nearly 11) can just do this now ( most of our cuboards have this system). Ds is very good at remembering numbers so a keypad alone might have drawbacks for some children.

We have a sensor alarm. It is pretty irritating but it is very reassuring. We key lock the door every time we come in and for secondary safety we also lock the kitchen every night and sometimes in the day which is Ds access to the outside door. It has worked for us so far. Althoguh sometimes I get a fright when DP comes home at an unexpected time and I cant see DS.

This is all very useful.

Where we live it is quite common for people to leave their doors unlocked so that family and friends can just walk in, and that is what I have always been used to. Until now a stairgate across the porch has been the best of both worlds. It stopped DD1 from getting out, but didn't stop other people getting in (once they worked out how to open the gate ).

The thought of having to get a key to unlock the door feels quite claustrophobic, although that is probably just because of my 'open door' upbringing and area.

You have all made me think though. I mean, if DD1 can put something up to the stair gate on the porch, it won't take her too long to work out that she can climb out of her bedroom. Which means that we are going to have to be vigilant about closing the stair gate at the top of the stairs, and fit a bolt to the bathroom door (we have bolts on all the bedroom doors).

Also it means that the kitchen won't be safely out of bounds for long. It is very small, so we have taken the door off and put a stair gate over the opening, but we may have to rethink that, too.

Oh the joys....

Well today was spent going to a number of DIY suppliers, and we now have one electromagnetic locking door, and one very frustrated DD1.

It is seriously strong. I think the door itself would break before the magnet would come apart.

Two switches, one on the inside one on the outside, at around 6' height (GPs are both only 5'4, so have to let them reach it ), break the current and release the magnet. Yale lock for security, so all good there,

So that's that sorted for at least a couple of years.

The only time it will be an issue is if there is a power cut (electromagnet will become useless hunk of metal), but DD1 has constant supervision anyway & power cuts are rare.

Thanks for all the advice

Can I ask where you got the electromagnetic locking door and how much?- that sounds like something we could use.

ebay has the magnetic ones :) x

Wow, we've been using a heavy bolt at the top and chubbing from the inside - wish I'd known about all this!!

Hi staryeyed, we got the Electromagnet and Slimline Bracket from Toolstation, cost £56.84 total.

Then we got a 12 volt, 1 amp power supply (it's a little transformer with a 2wire lead leading to a jack plug). Around £5

We also used 2 Narrow press to exit switches from Screwfix £15

You need a normal plug socket to plug the transformer into. Preferably one located where your DS couldn't switch it off

You fit the electromagnet (not too difficult at all, instructions are good).

The switches are wired as follows:

Take the power supply lead and split it into the two wires. One will have a black and white casing, the other plain black. The black/white lead is the live. The plain black is neutral.

Take the lead to the switch that will be nearest the power supply (ie. the one on the same side of the door as the socket). Trail the lead to the switch, to get the right length, then snip the 'live' wire.

Connect the live wire attached to the transformer, to the 'common' terminal on switch 1. Then, connect the other part of the 'live' wire to terminal 'L2'.

Drill a hole in the wall between the switches. Pass the rest of the wire through.

Snip the live wire again, making sure that there is enough length between the two switches. Take the live wire, which is connected in 'L2' of the first switch, and connect it into the 'common' terminal of Switch 2.

Take the remaining snipped end of the live wire, and the neutral wire, and wire them into the terminals on the electromagnet.

What you end up with is a 'serial' circuit. The electricity goes to switch 1, then switch 2, then the electromagnet, which is energised, so the door is locked.

If either switch 1 or 2 are pressed, the circuit is broken, and the electromagnet loses its charge, allowing the door to open.

It is important to know that in a power cut, the door would be unlocked

This is known as 'fail open'

If you wanted it 'fail closed' you would wire into L1 of each switch, which would mean that the default would be unlocked, and in a power cut the door locks. Not good for our children

Ooo Thanks that is really useful.