How to baby proof cabinets yourself
It’s always interesting how much we as parents take cabinets, drawers and other places around the house that we store dangerous items for granted, and within the reach of our little ones.
Without our storage spaces, our homes would obviously be a mess, but they need to be kept out of range from babies and small children as best we can.
Babies and toddlers couldn’t care less about cabinets to the eye, but as soon as they know that they shouldn’t be in there, that’s when the WANT to be in there!
You are most likely reading this post because the last two sentences describe your little one to a tea. However, before we take a look at how to baby proof your cabinets, let have a look at why it’s a necessity…
The dangers to your baby that can be within your cabinets –
- Cabinet doors can easily shut on your babies fingers, resulting in crush injuries.
- Cabinets often hide hazardous items like knives and poisonous liquids.
- A cabinet’s contents can be tossed across your rooms because your baby finds it hilarious! (Not so much for us parents!)
Now that we have listed the dangers that are within your cabinets, let’s now look at the best products to prevent your baby from opening your cabinet doors. The best thing about of our baby proofing products is that you do not need power tools to install them, and they are totally DIY cabinet and drawer locks or babies.
Magnetic cabinet locks
First on our list of baby proofing cabinet products is the ever-popular magnetic cabinet lock. Magnetic cabinet locks are our favorite way to baby proof cabinets and drawers in your home. Not only do they baby proof your cabinets easily and effectively, they are also very simple install and use. Magnetic cabinet locks come in sets consisting of a magnetic key and multiple locks, which in turn are opened via the key (Don’t lose your keys!).
The locks are able to be easily installed on a range of cabinets that you want to keep closed and accessed only by yourself. Just don’t lose the magnetic key! (Keep your magnetic keys in a safe place that only you know, and do not let your bay see where you place the magnetic keys). Note that magnetic cabinet locks don’t require hardware mounting, which is great, because it means that you can do it yourself!
The magnetic locking mechanism is mounted inside of your cabinet using 3M adhesive tape. The lock will not unlock until you open it with a magnetic key. When you need to open the drawer, just place the magnetic key in front of the drawer where the lock is placed and pull the cabinet door open. You can also deactivate the locks for those times when you need to continuously open and close cabinets. Below is our most popular and highly recommended magnetic lock kit.
If your landlord has prohibited you from altering fixtures, such as cabinets, then this solution is ideal, as your magnetic locks are held in place with the highest quality 3M adhesive tape, which can be removed from your fixtures without any permanent damage.
Magnetic Cabinet Locks
Features:– Easily installed. – Fits the majority of cabinets. – Can be disabled when needed.
Baby Proof Spring Cabinet Locks
Coming in a very solid second place on our list of cabinet locks is the 3M adhesive mounted spring cabinet lock. 3M adhesive locks can simply be removed when no longer needed without any damage to your cabinetry. Spring adhesive locks need two anchor points to be stuck to the surface of your cabinets, one on the door and one inside the cabinetry.
Low cost, effective and simple to use, many parents swear by spring cabinet baby proof locks and for very good reason, they work!
We have used the spring loaded locks for both our bathroom and kitchen areas and have found them to be probably to most simple and effective baby proof cabinet locks to use.
If you’d like to buy these baby proof spring cabinet locks you’ve come to the right place.
The benefits of cabinet locks with straps?
- Easy to open and close.
- To unlock the cabinets, simply press the button on the locking mechanism.
- The strap lock will automatically click back into place, operating much like a seat-belt.
- Keeps toddlers and babies away from harsh chemicals, plastic bags, sharp objects and all of the dangerous things their little hands shouldn’t be able to find.
- No drilling required!
DIY methods – No Screws, hammers or hurt!
I have not forgotten about those of you who are put off by purchasing yet another baby proofing product or are just feeling frugal. You can also baby proof your cabinets using everyday materially found around your home.
For info around the best DIY baby proof cabinet and drawer locks, visit here!
The best tips to childproofing cabinets
I leave you now with advice to help you keep your baby safe cabinets.
1. Never let your baby or toddler see you unlocking cabinet locks. Your kids will learn by imitating. If your baby sees you using your baby proof cabinet locks often, they will be able to bypass the lock on their own eventually. If your baby is in the same room when you unlock a baby proof cabinet lock then try to position yourself between your actions and your baby. This will obstruct your babies view and help keep your childproofing effective for longer.
2. No baby proof cabinet lock is 100%. Guests to your home who’ve never had kids may not know how to re-lock your locks on cabinets. Quickly, your baby will be exposed to the hazards you worked hard to restrict them to get into contact with. As a fail-safe, we recommend that you move all hazardous products to cabinet spaces which will be difficult for babies an toddlers to reach (far out of reach if possible).
3. Cabinet locks are not a replacement for proper supervision. Just because you have babyproof locks on your cabinets doesn’t mean you can stop watching your baby. If there is one thing babies are good at it is coming up with creative ways to harm themselves! Keep your eyes open at all times!
Spring Locks | Magnetic Locks |
Angle Locks | Strap Locks |