Door safety for baby and toddler
Doors – every home has them and every baby or toddler is fascinated by them. Locks, latches, doorknobs, door movement and not to mention the promise of what may be behind the door is endlessly entertaining to tiny tots. But the dangers of the door are numerous and with over 30,000 injuries from trapped or crushed fingers occurring each year door safety should be of paramount importance to parents.
Door accident prevention and recommended baby safety products
Many of the injuries to children from doors are preventable with some basic safety advice and innovative safety products. Take a look at the doors around your home but do so from the position of your toddler.
- How easily can the door be opened?
- Is the handle or doorknob reachable?
- Is the door left open all day?
- What’s inside the room and do you want your child to have access?
- Does the door have a lock (and can it be locked from the inside as well as the outside)?
- Do you need constant access to the room?
- Does the door lead to the outside of your home?
Thinking about some these questions will determine the best course of action and the safety product most suited to keeping your little one safe.
If the door needs a lock fitted, whenever possible fit the door lock high up and out of reach. If the lock has a key, keep the key separate from the lock. Should there be a latch on the inside and outside of the door, remember that your child could gain access to the room and then accidentally lock themselves in.
Locks do not mean a room is completely secure so should a room contain any hazardous objects keep them safely stored away in case your child does gain access to the room.
Room access and trapped fingers
Consider how you move around your home – most of the time doors are left open to allow free movement between rooms (e.g. kitchen to dining room, hallway to lounge). Constantly opening and closing doors just isn’t practical, particularly when you have a toddler who wants to be in two places at once! But there’s no need to restrict your child’s access. By using door safety products you can keep a door open but prevent your infant from closing it or hurting themselves playing with it.
An under door stop provides a simple way to keep a door open in a safe and practical position (i.e. halfway). These devices fit easily under the door and are great for use on different services (carpet, lino etc.).
For doors that you wish to keep permanently wide open, a door catch offers the perfect solution to keep the door in its open position while reducing the possibility of trapped fingers.
Remember that trapped fingers can occur either side of the door – handle and hinge. To prevent injuries from trapping on the handle side, you can fit door stoppers to the sides or top of the door. Foam stoppers slide easily on to the edge of the door so should it be pushed shut, the stopper will prevent it from closing fully and pinching fingers. These lightweight, soft and flexible stoppers are great for taking away with you on a short trip or holiday.
All too often parents will concentrate on securing just one side of the door but the serious injuries to fingers typically come from the gap at the hinge side opening. Over 1,000 children a year will need surgery from door injuries and many will occur due to a lack of protection to the hinge side.
Finger trap protection strips provide a narrow barrier that is easily fitted to the hinge opening up to a height of 120cm. The strip pack contains two sizes - a wider strip for the hinge side of the door which isn’t visible when the door is shut and a narrow strip fitted to visible hinge side of the door when it’s closed.
Clippasafe Finger Trap Protection Strips
Safety Assured Door Finger Protector Strip
Sliding doors / patio door safety
Sliding doors pose a different safety problem due to their opening/closing mechanism. Typically, patio doors slide back and forward to allow access but as a hazard they can act like a clamp on a child’s arm should they close it on themselves or cause a nasty injury if slid shut at speed.
To keep a sliding door positioned securely in a fully-open or half-open position you can fit a door block into the runner to limit opening.
Clippasafe Sliding Door and Window Block
Patio doors are predominantly made from glass and as such can be difficult to spot when closed. Make sure you have some visible signs on the glass to show when the door is closed (such as attaching colourful stickers or pictures to the glass that your child will see).
The majority of doors are fitted as standard with safety glass that prevents them from splintering into shards of glass should any force be applied. If you have any doors in your home that do not have strengthened glass, clear safety film can be applied and is made to strengthen glass and contain shards should a breakage occur.
Sliding door safety isn’t just about locks and trapped fingers. There may be times when your child has gained access to the conservatory or managed to slide open a door that leads them to the outside world. Should this happen and you don’t see it, a door alarm is the ideal product to let you know with an audible warning.
The sliding door alarm also doubles as a lock giving extra protection and added peace of mind.
Summer Infant Sliding Door Lock and Alarm
For more baby/toddler door safety products click here
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Tags: baby safety, Doors, toddler safety
July 21st, 2009 at 2:36 pm
A great article. I’m wanting to purchase a door alarm and am doing some researching, first. Thanks for the help.