Safety Devices for the House

Hi K., I will soon have the same problem. What I am going to try is the gate the has a small opening in it like a door. The older kids can step on the foot pedal to open and the little ones can't get in... Good luck! Let us know what you end up with.

I have a 5 year old and an 18 month old. To keep her truly safe, you can't let her out of your sight. I frequently travel around the house making sure the bathroom doors are shut and that the toilet seats are down. But, what's the worse thing that could happen? She makes a mess with the toilet paper? She flushes something down the toilet that she shouldn't? She plays in dirty water? Yes, it's gross --- but I don't think it's a safety issue. If you are worried about her drowning in water --- what are you doing that would give her enough time to get into the toilet and drown? Frankly, I think parents get a little obsessive-compulsive and/or paranoid about safeguards.

Yes, you can lock it, but I believe it is better to teach the child limits. Your child is now old enough to listen and understnad very short talks. So take her to the toilet and say: yucky. This is for pee pee only. only mom and dad use this when we go to the bathroom. Otherwise the lid is closed. dirty water, danger....or something like that. I also plopped the lid down so it made a sound and that scared them at that age. Then say; now, if you want to play with water, ask mommy. If it is a good time, I will help you get a bowl to play with outside on the deck while I am weeding (or have her watch you from a stool while you clean dishes, etc.)
So, explain what the danger is using words like danger, ouch, safety, etc. Use a clear, stern (not angry), serious voice. then change your tone to light and happy and show her a better way to play. Ex: We don't play with mom's cell phone. No. It is dangerous (whatever). Then, here is your toy phone. Look how special and fun it is. You can press this button and it plays music, etc.
I also prefer the clear outlet covers because they get used to seeing it. When the were little, they tried to put things in them but they were covered. Now, they don't even "see" te plugs if we are out at a hotel for example. They just assume they are covered and don't even think about it.
-Oh, wait until a little older like 18 months or two years, but have abig talk about chemicals too. My mom did this as they didn't have baby locks then. She used a mraker to mark everything with a sad face and X. then say, yucky, danger...this will make you sick. Blahhh...sort of be silly but have that very serious tone. think about training a dog, they pick up on your tone and vocal patterns. Repeat the same thing over and over when ever you get a chance. See, mom is using the bathroom. this is the only thing the toilet is for. It is off limits for you.

I hate those toilet locks, I just keeping checking the bathroom door, at one point when I just had the 4 older kids and my first little one I would charge the kids a quater when they didn't close it so they aren't the problem anymore, the 6 year old is good about closing it and the 4 year old is also, I have found the 21 month old in there on occasion but it is very rare, I just keep sending the kids back to close the door and they are getting the hint cause they get sick of having to keep walking back.

We had a toilet lock that went on the toilet tank, and an arm pivots out that prevents the lid from opening. It was easy enough that my 3 year old could unlock it himself with a little teaching. I don't know if they still make them.

I also had a toilet-trained little one who neede to be able to access the toilet on her own (4 y.o.) and a one-year-old in my house at the same time, and instead of a toilet lock I used a baby gate that pressure-mounts and swings open if you step on a foot pedal (available at Toys R Us). My daughter could open it (though she did have to jump to trigger the pedal). My son, who is very observant, tried to open it but didn't weigh enough. As long as my daughter closed the gate behind her, which she quickly learned to do, problem solved!

Go to http://onestepahead.com/

They have an entire section on safety - I'm sure you can find what you need there.

Right now, my twins are 23 months (not potty trained) and my daughter is almost 4. She needs to be able to access the bathroom, but not them. I got those door knob covers and put them over the doors I don't want my boys to open, but ones that my daughter is allowed to (like the bathroom), and taught her how to open them. She can get in, but they can't. However, she is extremely good at closing the door behind her. I started teaching her that when she was about 2 1/2 and potty training because that was when my boys were 6 months and starting to crawl. She finally got the hang of keeping the door closed, but until then, I had to make the rounds every once in a while to make sure the doors were closed and my boys weren't getting into anything they weren't supposed to. I didn't need the door knob covers until after the boys learned how to open the door. By that time, my daughter always would close the door behind her. We never did purchase the toilet seat locks. Hopefully that helps some. Also, my daughter can climb over the baby gate, but they can't. So if she weren't as good at closing the door behind her, I would put one up in the bathroom doors (we use the cheap tension gates that aren't extremely tall so I can still step over them without much trouble). I use those for the kitchen doorway and my daughter can get in there but the boys can't. Good luck.

I have an 18 month old as well and two girls ages 4 and 3. They've just learned to keep the door shut. Sometimes I'll ask them to make sure it's shut etc. Routine will set in and they should remember. Hope something works for you.

I would use the door knob covers if your 3 year old can learn to open it, and possibly if she can't.

How about putting a gate across the doorway of the bathroom? Your older kids could probably step over it. They wouldn't be able to close the door, but maybe they aren't all that self conscious yet. Otherwise, you might have to get the toilet lock. It might be inconvenient at first, but in my experience, after a while, the lock causes the toddler to lose interest. We put a lock on the fridge because my son kept opening the fridge up, and pouring milk everywhere, and we kept finding condiment jars all over the place (I found pickles in the closet once!). After a few days of trying unsuccessfully to get the fridge open, he has lost interest in it. The lock is still on there, but it isn't needed anymore. I imagine something similar would happen with your daughter.

>toilet
My older kids love being old enough to do things that their 18-month old sister can't do.

So, instead of telling them to close the door, I say, "oh oh, the door's open, we better close it before P tries to go in" "oh! hurry, here she comes!"

When I see the door is open, I say the same thing - having one of the kids close the door instead of just me. This works even if P is napping in her crib.

The kids love being able to tell their sister "no, no"...and will even stand between her and the toilet and guide her away from it or block her from going in the bathroom long enough to get the door closed.

I don't know if this is the best solution. It's worked pretty well for us. It's nice to have 2 extra pairs of eyes looking out for the baby.