Different Types of Child Safety Locks

Preventing injury or death of a child should be the goal of every parent.  To this end, child safety straps and child safety locks can be purchased in order to make the environment safe for children from babyhood to childhood.  You can use socket protectors and safety locks for all kinds of doors and cabinets.  It can, however, be confusing to know which child safety locks to choose and where exactly to put them.  There are scores of choices of safety locks and knowing the right ones can be important for your child’s safety.

Here are some choices as to which child safety locks to use:

Adhesive Mounted Magnet-type Sets

These are locks that hide inside the cabinet doors and utilize a key which is on the outside of the cabinet doors.  They are not visible from the outside and keep the door unlocked as long as the key is in place.  They are good to have at the grandparent’s home as they can be disabled when the children are not present.

Adhesive Mounted Magnet-type Locks

These are in addition to the starter set above and include four locks but no key.  If you put dangerous items high enough and out of baby’s or toddler’s way, you won’t need so many different locks.  Instead put the plastic bowls or pots and pans on the lower levels so that the child can bang on them or otherwise play with them. 

Adhesive Mounted Drawer or Cabinet Locks

One can easily open this lock one-handed and there is no special hardware to install this type of lock.  It works well with mirrored cabinets and will keep on locking after you install it—there isn’t any way to disable it when you don’t need it.  The adhesive used to mount the lock is not damaging to the cabinet so you can remove them when the child is old enough.

Swivel Drawer and Cabinet Locks

This is particularly designed for swivel drawers and cabinets and not for doors.  It can be opened one-handedly and attaches with screws which are screwed into the wood of the cabinet.  They are relatively permanent but can be removed when you no longer need them.

Sliding Locks for Cabinets

These involve locks which slide over the handles of cabinets and lock.  They are easy and quick to install and have, as a disadvantage, the fact that they are visible and children often try and overcome these locks.  They require two buttons to actually unlock, however.

Flip Lock for Doors

These can keep children out of certain rooms.  They are placed on the door and flip closed when you don’t want the child to enter the room.  You can flip them open when you want to pass or when the toddler isn’t around.

Toilet Lid Locks

There are special locks available whenever you don’t want the baby or toddler to get into the toilet. .

Stove Knob Locks

These are unique safety locks that prevent the child from turning on the stove.  The slide behind the stove knobs and prevent the child from turning the knob.  They are especially helpful for use in gas stoves as the baby can turn on the flow of gas and it can result in carbon monoxide poisoning.