Thread: Safety gadgets for toddlers?

I am the mother of a budding engineer. Robby is 18 months old and into everything, much more than big sister was! He's also much bigger and more mobile, so he can reach things at a younger age, and we have a cat now, which we didn't have the first time around.

Question 1: Are toilet locks worthwhile? How much of a pain are they to install and use? The bathroom door doesn't close well, so the only way to keep him out is to put up a baby gate, which is inconvenient for the rest of us!

Question 2: We have a covered cat litter box, but he has learned to work the latches! Any ideas? Due to the floor plan of our house, there is absolutely NO other place to put the litter box. It has to be opened daily for scooping.

How best to keep Robby out of these highly desirable "toys?"
For Dr. Jeannie, I'm not trying to get out of my parenting duties, I'm trying to get something DONE around here before someone sees the condition of my house and calls child welfare! In the meantime, the toilet is DANGEROUS. I literally can't turn my back for more than 30 seconds, and it's really hard to clean that way. I'm all in favor of teaching children what's OK and what's not OK, but I need to keep him safe while he's learning. I have safety covers on the stove controls, too, and a safety latch on the oven, because they are both reachable.

I think maybe the latch on the outside of the bathroom door is probably best. And I'm definitely going to check out the litter box. The fact is, there is no place I can put the litter box where the cat has access and the baby doesn't!

Thanks to everyone!

One more thing--I can't use the dishwasher lock because when it's locked and you turn the knob (which Robby can do), it starts running! Any ideas for that?

Fix the door.Its probally a simple fix you could easily do on your own and you dont even realize.
Move the litter box.If something is just not working well in one spot its best to keep moving things around til you find the best spots for things.
Try some cheap motion detector alarms/chimes or even the ones that go off when a door or window is opend. You can sometimes find these useful gadgets in dollar stores.(different dollar stores carry different things so check more than one store if you cant find anything at first).
If your son keeps trying to get in or open the toilet seat I would consider it a big deal safety wise since it is a known fact that children (even older kids) can and have drownd in the smallest amounts of water. I have a 19month old son right now and hes into everything more so everyday. I have a two connecting rooms in my home which are completely baby proof to the point I barely have any furniture in them so hes not climbing, and the furniture I do have I cant keep any of my things on that I normally would.

The best way to keep a child out of things is consistent consequences. In no uncertain terms when he gets into the toilet tell him "NO" and use some method of discipline. It will take weeks but this I found is the best of ways. People that put child safety locks on everything are avoiding the consequence issues. I found and I have 3 hyper children that it is not at all necessary to child proof your house as all these modern day child specialist say. Yes common sense such as receptacle outlet plugs. But your child will learn and it will be for the best then when you go to other's places that are not child proof it won't be such a headache if they already have learned what is a no-no. Don't expect your child to learn in 1 day or even a week...it takes much time and definitely consistency. Don't let him play in the cupboard one day then discipline him for playing in it the next day. This will only confuse him. Loving consistency is what every child in this world needs. Patience too!

Q 1 - Our bathroom doors close fine, so we just keep them closed. I have never used the toilet latch or seen anyone who used one. However, one woman I know bought a simple latch and eyehook from Wal-mart and attached it to her pantry door near the top, and that worked to keep her kids out of the snacks. That might be cheaper and less of a pain than the toilet lock.

Q 2 - We used to have a cat too, and we had the same problem (plus the dog thought the cat stuff was food. Gross). We bought the Clevercat top entry litter box from Petsmart. Here is the link to the info page about it, or if you'd rather, just go to petsmart.com and click on cats, then litter boxes, and it's on the second page.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754439
Anyway, it's like a big box with a hole on top, and if you have it between the wall and something else, it may be a little more of a pain for Robby to mess with. The top comes off, but it kind of snaps on, like one of those big rubbermaid containers, so it's a little harder for little ones to get into. Plus it doesn't have the cool swinging door on it. That's what my son liked. Check it out at least, it might help you. Or, you could always do what my best friend did - give away the cats. Just kidding.

If neither of those things are helpful, you will probably just have to keep removing him from those two dangers consistently until he learns that they are not to play with. Consistent consequences are probably key here, for instance, time outs or a pop on the hand if you believe in that, or whatever you decide, and they just stick with the consequences until he gets out of this phase. Maybe. LOL I'm in the same boat, my son wasn't nearly as much trouble as my daughter is, LOL. She's only 13 mo and can already climb into and out of the bathtub, and does so regularly. I find her sitting the there, waiting for me to fill it up so she can play. Sigh. She also delights in pulling everything out of the dishwasher. I'm like, are you kidding? Who would have thought of that? LOL

Good luck with your babies!