Your child’s busy little hands want to touch everything they see. From a stale potato chip on the floor to the shiny porcelain in your cabinets, your baby is ready to search high and low as if they’re on a treasure hunt.
No matter how well-hidden your precious items are, your tiny adventurer will surely find them. But are the knobs and latches on your drawers and cabinets enough to stop your child’s hunt?
In this article, we will learn how to stop your baby from their dangerous explorations by using locks for cabinets.
A Closer Look at Child Cabinet Locks
Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran parent, you probably have heard of baby proofing products such as sliding glass door locks, bed rails, and locks for cabinets. There are five main types of cabinet locks, as follows:
Adhesive Strip Locks
Do you want to avoid the hassle of drilling and damaging your drawers when installing your drawer locks? Then, adhesive mounts are the perfect locks for you.
Pros:
- Works on toilet seats and corner cabinets
- Doesn’t damage the cabinet surface
Magnetic Cabinet Locks
Magnetic locks have a similar function to adhesive mount locks. The slight difference is that you use a magnetic key to unlock the cabinet or drawer instead of a button.
Pros:
- Magnetic keyed lock
- Doesn’t leave unsightly marks after use
Both locks, as mentioned above, don’t require tools and work best for cabinets and drawers without knobs.
Pull Cord Baby Lock
If you have cabinets with pairs of round knobs, you might like to try pull cord locks for your toddler instead. You can purchase this or make a DIY lock using a yard of thick rope or a zip tie.
However, the cord itself might be a choking hazard for your baby. In addition, this type of childproof lock might not work once your little detective watches you untie it a few times.
Pros:
- Works best on cabinets with two knobs
- Option to DIY and make your own
Sliding Cabinet Lock
This lock works similar to pull cord locks, but the lock is made of plastic instead.
Pros:
- No adhesives needed
- More durable than pull cord baby locks
But just like the pull cord child lock, it gives your baby some leeway to grab stuff inside your cabinets through the top, as it won’t keep the cabinet fully closed.
Spring Release Lock
This type of child lock works by pushing down the lock’s latch hidden behind the cabinet or drawer door. It works for babies and pets since they don’t see anything that would pique their interest.
Pros:
- No unsightly marks after use
- Hidden from your baby and pet
- Optional use of screws for longer use
Importance of Child-Proof Cabinet Locks
Parents can’t guard and protect their munchkins all the time. Having some extra security locks around your home gives you peace of mind when you leave your child to roam free.
On top of safety reasons, there are benefits of why you should install safety locks on your cabinets.
Develops Your Child’s Independence
Parents who spend most of their time with their toddlers are often the ones their children cling to. It’s fine for your baby to have a favorite person, but they might get too reliant on you, and you might resent them. So the right amount of quality solo play gives ample room for your child to grow and learn independently.
More Time for Yourself
Taking care of your energetic baby is no walk in the park. It’s draining and burns you out more than you would expect.
Having some “me time” doesn’t mean you have abandoned your role as a parent. Rather, giving yourself a break means you can recuperate for more fun-filled activities with your little one.
By now, you’re ready to go shopping for baby safety locks. But which cabinets are important to install your safety locks on?
Places to Install Cabinet Child Locks
Drawers and cabinets keep your clutter from view. However, you need that added safety for your baby. It’s fairly easy to say that all drawers and cabinets should be child-locked. But we want you to prioritize putting the best locks on these dangerous areas as soon as your baby starts crawling.
Gun Storage Drawer
Millions of homes have unsecured drawers with loaded guns. As a result, plenty of unintentional shootings happen every year.
With the purest intention of protecting your home, you want your gun at arm’s length in your bedside table. To you, it’s an added security, but to your child, it’s a shiny toy they could play with.
Sink Cabinets
We have sinks in bathrooms, kitchen, and pool areas to store our cleaning materials such as bleach. It’s the perfect place for your baby to start since it’s closest to the floor.
Medicine Cabinet
Do you have toddlers who are like monkeys climbing everywhere? Despite the height of your storage, you’ll be surprised to find your little one opening your first-aid kit.
Sideboards
Is your priceless china on display to showcase to your relatives and friends? Your baby might get hooked on those swirly patterns on your ceramics and adorable tea sets.
Kitchen Drawers
Kitchen utensils, whether they be sharp or dull, are mostly made of metal that babies shouldn’t get ahold of. Who knows what tragedy could happen if your baby happens to be in the kitchen near your knife drawer?
Cabinets for Appliances
Do you have your gadgets and appliances stashed away since you don’t often use them? Then, don’t wait for your baby to get into your appliance cabinet—especially since many of them have small parts that can harm your child.
Cabinets for Electrical Wires
Many people choose to hide their cables and fuse box to achieve that minimal look in their modern homes. Practicing cable management is good, but make sure your baby won’t get tangled in them.
Pantry Cabinets
Perhaps your little wanderer is hungry and wants a yummy snack. But, if you leave your food storage unlocked, you might find your baby crying because of an aching tummy.
Clothes Closet
Whenever you dress up for your date nights, you will see your baby in awe of your shimmering clothes stored in your grand closet. But after such a lovely evening, you don’t want to go home and see your baby wearing many of your clothes and shoes.
Jewelry Drawers
High-end or not, these shiny accessories are precious gems for your little Indiana Jones. It may be cute seeing them play with it, but necklaces, rings, and the like are choking hazards for your toddler.
More Child Safety Products From Ashtonbee!
Kids can be crafty and resourceful when they want to be. There is no end to their adventures around your house. Thus, it is better to prevent them from ingesting anything harmful or tipping over your cabinets.
There is a child-proof lock for every type of drawer or cabinet. But our top pick out of the rest would be the spring release lock. It’s perfectly hidden from your little treasure hunter’s eyes. As a bonus, you don’t need anything to unlock it, unlike magnetic cabinet locks.
Keep your treasures hidden from your little one with Ashtonbee’s safety locks. Shop at Ashtonbee today!
