Securing Cabinets & Drawers

Sunday, July 20, 2014

In contemplating how many cabinets and drawers to secure from a small child’s exploring fingers, a little bit of advance planning can go a long way to minimizing expense and making things TRULY secure.

First, take a pass through your cabinets and drawers to determine what is actually hazardous and what is not.  Many areas may simply require no security at all.

Second, a great deal of cost can be eliminated by concentrating dangerous items into a few spaces vs. having them spread out across many cabinets and drawers.  Placing hazardous chemicals and substances up high is also a great technique (until a child can learn to climb up to them, obviously).

Last, be aware that not all child safety latches are equally effective.  Most latches will keep a small child out for some period of time, but many latches which operate on the principal of just reaching in and pushing down on the latch will be defeated by your child as soon as he or she has watched you enough and has the strength and dexterity to imitate what you are seen doing.  Any cabinets and drawers that contain hazardous items should be secured “for the long haul” using latches that simply cannot be overcome by a determined toddler.  A good example is a magnetic lock which is invisible from outside the cabinet and which will not open unless the person wanting to get in has possession of the associated magnetic key.  Inexpensive external cabinet locks that are able to be cinched up tight around cabinet knobs and handles can also be effective.