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How To Baby-Proof Your Kitchen Cabinets

Safety is an important concern for every family and homeowner, but even more so for those who have children in the house, or are expecting them soon. The kitchen is one of the most important areas in the home for families – it’s where you can find food and smiles, and enjoy the time to be together and to create together. Unfortunately, the kitchen is also a treasure trove of dangers for curious minds and wandering hands. Between sharp knives, heavy pots, full shelves, and cleaning chemicals galore, most families have a bit of clean up to do before that bundle of joy is rearing and ready to go.

Securing those cabinets is one of the best steps you can take. The cabinet under the sink is usually filled with chemicals, and the other reachable cabinets and lower drawers can store any number of items you wouldn’t want your little one to play with unsupervised. Additionally, the cabinets themselves can prove to be a danger, too – you don’t want small fingers getting stuck in the gap behind the hinge and risk crushing them when the door closes. Plus if they decide banging the doors is just pure fun, your cabinets will eventually show the wear and tear. There are a few ways to childproof your kitchen cabinets and ensure their safety and your peace of mind. One of the most tried and true methods are cabinet locks, which come in a number of styles and simply depend on your personal preference and which method fits your lifestyle best.

One of the best suggestions loved by many parents is magnetic locks. There are a few reasons these work so well for so many people. The first is that they are virtually invisible, leaving the aesthetics of your kitchen just the way you like them. The concept is simple – a magnetized lock is installed behind the face of your cabinets, and a magnetic ‘key’ is kept nearby to release the mechanism. You can store the key on the fridge for convenience, and leave the key on the magnetized lock if you need to keep opening and closing the same cabinet. Two bonus features are that they can be temporarily deactivated, which is great if your kids take a trip to grandma’s or daycare, and they’re one of the few systems you can guarantee your child won’t ever figure out and render useless since there’s nothing for them to explore and play with when you’re not looking. One disadvantage to magnetic locks is that they require hardware to be installed, so if you’re looking to avoid that there are a few other options.

Adhesive mount locks and cord cabinet locks are two of the more temporary solutions to childproofing your cabinets. Adhesive locks are bonded to the cabinet with – you guessed it – an adhesive, so no screws or nails are required. This is a great option for renters or anyone that loves their cabinets too much to drill a hole (we understand). Simply stick two anchor points to the cabinets and the doors, and then connect them with a strap that will keep the cabinet locked shut from wandering little ones. Removing the straps is a breeze, and the adhesive is easy to remove when the kids are all grown. Cord cabinet locks, by contrast, are the least invasive of all the options. One disclaimer is that they only work with cabinets that have protruding knobs side-by-side, so that is an important requirement to note. That being said, if they work for you, they’re a wonderfully convenient choice – you slip the cord around both knobs and slide a locking mechanism up the lines to keep the cords drawn tight around the two doors. That’s it! It requires no installation at all, and can easily be operated with one hand for multitasking parents.

Fortunately, in this day and age, and with the internet at your fingertips, childproofing your cabinets to keep your little ones safe is not the worrisome task it once was. With just one trip to the hardware store or a quick order online, your family will have the peace of mind it deserves so you can enjoy your kitchen as intended!