Our number one responsibility as parents is to protect our children. No parent wants their toddler to suffer the consequences of opening a door and going outside unattended or into a dangerous area.

At about 18 months, children can turn a door knob, they might need both hands, but they can do it. Lever door handles are the easiest to open. The family cat and dog can open these; you don’t even need a thumb, just push down the lever.

Some of the areas of your home should be ”off limits” to your toddler. For example: The home office is full of hazards; paper clips and thumb tacks are choking hazards. Paper shredders will shred more than just paper and small fingers will fit into the slot. The garage is unsafe the moment a car pulls in and can never be assumed that it is childproofed. The heat underneath a car can reach over 1000 degrees and many garages contain anti-freeze, paints and lawn chemicals that are poisonous.

Door latches can make your job as a parent easier and safer for you family. Financially, it may be less expensive to simply latch the door versus baby proofing the whole room. There are numerous options and a professional baby proofer can advise you for the best latch for your particular situation whether it is a door to the street or the door to a storage room.

When you plan ahead and secure some doors, you will greatly reduce the risk of injury to your toddler and achieve your goal of protecting your child.

About the Author:

Jack Smith is a child safety expert with Infant House, a baby proofing company serving the Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin Texas area. He is the Daddy of boy/girl twins, affiliated with the International Association for Child Safety, contributing author of “Chaos 2 Calm the moms-of-multiples’ guide to an organized family”, seen on CBS and inventor of the GlideLok – a childproof door latch sold worldwide. Contact: InfantHouse.com or call 866-Infant5 (866-463-2685) for your in-home childproofing evaluation. 08/16