There was a horrible story in the news here last week. A 2-year old boy woke during the night and somehow got out the door while his mother slept and couldn't get back into the house. He froze to death overnight in the snow. They interviewed neighbors for the news - this boy's mother was very cautious and always watched him closely. It was not a lapse in parenting, it's just a terrible tragedy that could have possibly been prevented by a secure lock out of the child's reach. Here's a link (click on the word link) if you're interested in reading the story.
One of our doors has a lock that's very easy to open from the inside and very difficult to open from the outside. Previously I thought that was a pretty good thing - in case of fire, for example, you want it to open quickly and easily but default state of "locked" is generally a good thing. Now, though, I'm rethinking my opinion on this lock. A 2-year old probably wouldn't even be able to reach the doorbell to let you know they were locked out, which is another concern. Even if she could reach it, would she think to ring it? What do we teach her? Bang on the window? Maybe I should put something noisy someplace outside. I guess I can also hope that Maddie (our dog) would hear her trying to sneak out.
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2 comments:
There are portable alarms that hang over the door knob and can be set to go off just like a security system. Maybe that would help especially when staying in a motel or someone else's home (put on bedroom door knob and you will know if someone comes in and out).
How sad!!!
Alyson
LID 01/27/06
We have a baby gate (mounted to the wall) at the top of our stairs. I have trouble opening it some days. I like the idea of the travel locks for hotels or other people's house. All of our doors are deadbolted. You have to work really hard to lock yourself out. I locked myself out of the house one morning when we first moved it and Hubby was out of town. Remind me to tell you the story. I can laugh now but now then.
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