Childproofing Lever Door Handle

Updated on September 05, 2010
H.B. asks from Lahaina, HI
19 answers

My 17 month old daughter has a lever door handle on the door to her room. She could push the button in and lock herself in her room. I can't find any devices to put on the handle to prevent this. Does anyone know of anything? The only ones I've found are made to lock her out of a room which is not what I need.

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K.B.

answers from Houston on

If you just wish to prevent the locking, you could replace the doorknob with a non-locking one. They're relatively cheap at Home Depot and easy to change.

Good luck,
K.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Houston on

Have you considered just replacing the door handle with one that doesn't have a push lock? It isn't incredibly hard to do, just money for the new handle and a few screws. You may also be able to reverse the existing handle, but it will function by pulling up instead of pushing down.

1 mom found this helpful

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S.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I replaced the door handles with non-locking "closet" handles. I actually replaced a couple lever handles with round knobs in the same metal she can't open and also put the baby proofing covers on them. in some cases you can also turn the locks around so they are on the ourside, but I would worry a lot about her being able to lock you IN!

2 moms found this helpful
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D.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

Just change the door handle for the time being. They are easy to change out and return the other when she is old enough or buy another lever one that doesn't have a lock, they do make those too.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I don't have lever handles, but my daughter kept locking her bedroom door from the inside and it drove us crazy. My husband finally took a boat load of duct tape and just wrapped and wrapped the inside door handle so that she couldn't lock it but could still open it if there was an emergency.

L.M.

answers from Dover on

You could switch the knob to a non-locking handle.

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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

Change the doorknob.

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L.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

As a temporary fix, place layers of duct tape across the latch. That way, it can't go into the hole. Or put the layers over the hole, and the latch can't enter it.

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V.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hello H.. My suggestion is to go to The Home Depot tomorrow and buy a brand new $7.00 non-locking knob. Then you won't have to stress yourself out over baby proofing the existing one :)

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

i would either remove the handle completly, or buy one without a lock on it (even if it is not a lever handle).

A.L.

answers from San Luis Obispo on

We reversed the handles, so the locking mechanism was on the outside.

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S.Z.

answers from Reno on

Take the doorknob off and reinstall it "backwards," so the lock is OUTside her room,

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M.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

Why don't you change the door handle to one without locks on it?

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S.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Or, if you're ok with not having the door closed all the way, try the foam door blockers that can be attached to the upper part of the door that prevents the door from being closed shut.

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C.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I have the same issue in my home with the lever door handles. I did find something by Kidco that's for lever door handles, but again, it's the type that keeps one from opening a door.
My suggestion would be to get a few pieces of cardboard and build a small cover over the knob and use duct tape to attach it to the knob. This will allow your LO to be able to open and close the door, but not lock it.

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K.C.

answers from Wichita on

Check out One Step Ahead.com. They have a lot of awesome baby proofing. I'm quite sure that I have seen that type on their website.

God bless!

S.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

I don't know of any devices to keep her from locking the door, but we have the same type doors throughout our home. The bathroom doors have locks, and there should be a notch on the front of the door handle on the outside of the door in case you need to unlock it. You can use a penny and slip it in the notch, and turn, and it will pop the lock open. I just keep a penny at the top of each door jam that locks, in case my son locks himself in. I won't be stuck looking for a penny, while he's flushing my make up down the toilet! I've used them a few times now... I hope this helps!

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

replace the door handle with a simple unlockable door knob... the kind for closets etc.
That is what we did.
We have lever handles.

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