Baby Safety Latches

Protect your little one from himself by using baby safety latches.

Of course child-proofing is essential to keeping a child safe. But at the same time, we parents need to give our little ones room to explore so they can learn and enjoy life. This is how our little ones grow up to become confident adults.

But where is the balance? How can we keep our babies safe and at the same time give them the freedom they need to grow?

The answer is in cabinet safety latches. These safety latches are child-resistant. However child-resistant does not mean child-proof! Just read the back of the package of a safety latch, and the majority will tell you that:

They will also recommend that:

Children learn by watching. And boy do they watch everything. Have you noticed that your little one is doing something that you do? For example, my daughter drinks from a bottle the same way I do. When I drink from a bottle, I usually put the bottle cap under my lip and bottle so if I spilled some water, it will not get on my shirt. I was amazed that when my daughter first tried to drink from a bottle, she did the same thing. It is funny to see a mini-me in action.

My son also loves to be observant. He will be four in September, 2009 and has learned how to open baby safety latches just by watching me open them. He has been able to do this since he was 3 ½ years old. He can reach his finger in and pull down on the cabinet safety latch and open the cabinet door.

I say this because children, especially toddlers, will watch you open a cabinet with a baby safety latch and may one day manage to get in a cabinet that has something they should not get into. And because they have watched you, they will want to open things that they have seen you open. For example, your little one may want to show you how grownup they are by trying to take your vitamin or medicine. They may want to show you that they too can cleanup like you do. So although child-safety latches can prevent children from accessing things you do not want them to, let’s take our safety measures a step further by doing the following:

You may be wondering: if safety latches do not prevent a little one from getting into a cabinet or drawer, then why use them? Although it is true they are not child-proof, they do make it more difficult for children to get into a cabinet or drawer that has something that is potentially dangerous. And by the time your little one has time to figure out how to open the latch, you will be there to stop what he/she is doing. So use safety latches on drawers and cabinets.

Some types of safety devices for cabinets are:

• Child safety latches – This type is installed on the inside of the cabinet and locks when the cabinet is closed. To open, just open the cabinet slightly, feel for the latch, and push it down to free the cabinet.

• Sliding cabinet locks - This lock works by looping the sliding device over the 2 cabinet knobs or handles. Then it is locked by sliding the locking mechanism on the sliding device.

• Magnetic locking systems - This is basically a child safety latch that opens by using a magnetic key in the front of the cabinet.

Most cabinet safety latches can also be used on drawers, so make sure to put them on all cabinets and drawers that you don’t want your little one opening. Install them when your little ones are babies because you will need cabinet safety latches for years to come because as little ones grow, so does their curiosity.

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