It never ceases to amaze me how much I take cabinets, drawers and other storage areas for granted. Without them my house would be a mess.
The unusual thing is that some babies couldn’t care less about drawers. To them whatever is hidden away simply does not compete with their awesome toys. You are probably reading this guide because the last two sentences do not describe your baby at all.
Before we take a look at how to baby proof your drawers, lets take a look at why you need to.
The dangers of drawers to your child (and you)
Its really funny. Before young children enter your life, you would never have consider drawers to be dangerous. Once you do start to care for kids, you will begin to realize just how dangerous they actually are.
Lets take a look at the hazards to your child that drawers can pose.
- Drawers can hide dangerous objectors such as sharp knives and poisonous substances.
- The entire contents of a drawer can be strewn across a room in glee because your child finds it fun.
- Drawers can be closed on your child’s fingers, resulting in serious injury.
- Drawers can be used as a ladder to reach higher areas (seriously, children are devious little geniuses).
I am also going to add that drawers can be slammed continuously. While not a direct danger to the child, can wear on a parents sanity. And trust me, there is nothing more dangerous than an insane parent!
Baby proofing drawers
There are many different types of drawer locks available and not all are created equal. When shopping around be sure to read reviews that other parents have left on products. By doing this you will quickly learn that while some baby proofing products sound amazing in theory, they just don’t hold up in practice.
Besides reading reviews, here are some other things to be wary of when looking to child proof your drawers.
- Watch for drawer locks that allow the drawer to open up a crack.
These can still squash curious little fingers or allow the drawer to be pried open with a narrow tool. - Avoid magnetic locks with weak magnets.
Cheaper locks have cheaper magnets, they will potentially drive you crazy if you cannot easily open drawers to access the contents. - Some locks will need to be hardware mounted.
These are no good for people who rent as they landlord may prohibit your from modifying permanent fixtures, such as drawers. - If you find the lock difficult to use, try another.
You use your drawers every day. If you even have to fiddle around with the lock for five seconds each time you open a drawer you will eventually get frustrated. Save your sanity!
Right, we have that out of the way, lets look at the different products that are available to you to baby proof your drawers.
Baby proofing drawers with magnetic locks
The most popular way to baby proof drawers is to use magnetic locks. The locking mechanism is hardware mounted inside the drawer. The mechanism will not unlock until you open it with a magnetic key.
Magnetic locks will generally come in a pack consisting of one magnetic key and numerous locks. This means that you can install the locks across a range drawers (even cabinets) that you want to prevent your child from entering.
When you want to open the locked drawer, simply hold the key in front of the lock with one hand and pull the drawer with the other. You can even deactivate the locks temporarily for those occasions when you need to constantly open and close drawers, such as when you are cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Below is the most popular and highly recommended magnetic lock kit containing one key and eight locks.
Magnetic Drawer Lock
Colors: As pictured.
Features:
– Easy install.
– Fits most drawers.
– Can be disabled when needed.
Even though the majority of magnetic locks come with their own wood screws, many parents recommend pre-drilling the screw holes with a small drill bit. This is because most wood used in cabinets and drawers is quite thin and can easily splinter. Just be careful and don’t drill all the way through!
You can see an excited father demonstrating the magnetic drawer locks in action in the video below. Even though he has installed them on cabinets rather than drawers, they operate the same.
Magnetic drawer locks are by far the most efficient way to baby proof the drawers in your house.
Baby proofing drawers with a tension rod
If you have multiple drawers in a column then you can actually baby proof the drawers with a shower rod. Before you rush to the bathroom and yank down your shower rod and start waving it menacingly at your drawers you need to consider your drawer setup.
The shower tension rod will only be able to baby proof columns of drawers that are over 26 inches high. You will also require your bench top to overhang the drawers to provide a surface the rod can press firmly against.
So your drawers fit the bill? Good. Now all you need to do is press your tension rod against the floor and expand it so that it wedges into place between the floor and the bench top. Your child should now be unable to open any drawer due to the tension rod pressing hard up up against them.
Now if your drawers have handles rather than knobs, you can run the tension rood through them like in this photo.
The tension rod is a great way to keep your little baby out of drawers without having to install permanent hardware.
Now when choosing a tension rod I thoroughly recommend you choose one which is stainless steel. Stainless steel prevents the growth of bacteria, perfect for if you are trying to baby proof drawers in the kitchen. Its amazing how grubby objects can get with a baby in the house.
Be sure to measure the distance between the floor and bench top. When choosing a tension rod, look for the minimum and maximum distances to which it will expand and make sure they fall into your measurements.
Tension Rod
Colors: As pictured.
Features:
– Stainless Steel.
– Non-slip foot.
– Adjustable length.
Baby proof your drawers DIY style
If you are sick of buying baby proofing products or just feeling frugal, I also have some handy tips to baby proof drawers using products found around your home.
Baby proof your drawers using a long object
This method relies on your child not being able to muster up the strength to open up all of the drawers at once.
You will need:
A long object such as a broom handle, rod, yard stick or similar.
- Place your long object through all the handles of your drawers.
- If your object sticks past the bench top too far simply cut it to length so that it sits flush.
- With the broom handle in place you will not be able to open a single drawer without opening all the others until the broom handle is removed.
Yep, that simple. Just be mindful that some parents report that their children have figured out how to push the rod out the top of the handles. Other parents swear by this method. Monitor your child. If they figure it out, quickly swap to a different child proofing solution.
Baby proofing drawers with velcro
Sometimes you will find that your drawers are not nicely laid out in a column. While I strongly recommend child proof magnetic drawer locks, some of you may not wish to pay for a child proof solution to your drawers and that is perfectly fine.
You can also baby proof your drawers with the help of velcro.Check out the guide on the pudge and biggie blog for a step by step guide on baby proofing your drawers with velcro.You can find the guide here.
How to baby proof bedroom dresser drawers.
The problem with dresser drawers is that more often than not they will use knobs to open them rather than handles. Unless you use the Child proof magnetic drawer locks (Which are the best solution to all drawers in my opinion) then you will not have many baby proofing options available. You could try the velcro method I mentioned above for a friendly frugal solution.
Your little one can also use dresser drawers as a ladder. The handles make perfect footholds to help little feet climb.
Dressers were never designed to be used in such a manner and the unexpected addition of weight to the front of the dresser may cause it to topple over on top of your child, resulting in serious injury.You can prevent this by removing all popular toys and interesting objects from the top of the dresser. This will discourage your child from considering to climb the dresser drawers to begin with.
For peace of mind you can anchor your dresser to the wall using furniture anchors. Anchors will keep your dresser stable, even if climbed, preventing your dresser from falling onto of your baby, drawers and all.
And that brings me to the end of yet another baby proofing guide. If you have any tips or tricks you could add on how to baby proof drawers I would love to hear them.
Related Resources
Kitchen Safety
Baby proofing dresser drawers discussion.
Baby proof drawers by distraction.
Keeping little fingers out of drawers discussion.
How in the world can I baby proof drawers that do not have somewhere to attach the 2nd piece? Or cabinets are hallow with drawer slides on rails inside but there is only another drawer above or below. No shelving. Oh, and we have pull knobs, not handles. I’m stumped and have all the drawers on top of the table because I cannot have them accessible to my 14 month old
Hi April.
That is an excellent question. Are the drawers in an area that your little one constantly needs to be around? A baby gate is a great solution to fencing off the area. Does a door separate the area? Try a child proof door knob.
If the drawers are in an area that your little one needs to be around them why not try removing the knobs? While it may make opening the drawers a little less practical, it may be the one thing that stops your clever 14 month old from opening them.
Did you every find a solution, April? We have the same problem, and the drawers are also right next to a fridge, so there is not a cabinet side that we could attach latches that wrap around the side of the drawer. And we have handles, so will try the broom stick solution, but my, it is unsightly!
Just an idea. If you have knobs, replace them for long open ones, then slip a bar or yard stick inside each of them.
Another idea. If you have knobs that are large but cannot remove them, try boring a hole (same size as your pole) into the tops and bottoms of each of them in exactly the same place. Then, slide your metal/stainless steel pole through the group. Make sure you do this to both sides. It worked for my 2 year old who could open the drawers without the knobs on…ugh!
I have a 2 year old boy that loves to climb. I have the 4 cabinet drawers that is vertical up and down like the picture above. I have a metal rod ran through them like on the picture but that still does not keep him from climbing up on the counter top. I’ve also taken drawers out, took all the handles off an he still manages to climb up. I now have his high chair in front of them an he just moves it.ANY IDEAS on how to stop him from climbing up on the counter??
Thank you,
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
Unfortunately baby proofing can only go so far. It sounds like some tough love is in order. Deep down all children want their moms approval (even if that cheeky face says otherwise). Tell him why you do not want him climbing on the cabinet but be sure to use small words that make sense (It can be hard to remember that they do not have the full vocabulary of an adult). Be open and tell him how much you would appreciate it if he didnt climb, explaining the reason each time. Tell him this each time he climbs.
If he continues to climb then it is time to apply a light punishment (I know it’s a dirty word). Does your child love his bed time story? Skip it. Favorite play time activity? pack it up. Warn him that he will be punished if he continues to do it. And apply it directly when he starts climbing, vocalizing your disapproval (without screaming your head off if possible) not hours later.
Be prepared for tears (yours and his) but stay strong. Tough love is exactly that. Tough.
Keep being awesome!
Above is great. I’d like to add getting everything out of his ability to climb. If that means a gate at each opening of the kitchen, then do this. If you have to put the dresser in the closet and secure the door or doors, do that. The more you can baby proof the place, the less danger for your little one, and the stress for you.
Try disciplining your kid.
Says the one trolling parent guides and other childproofing techniques. Get a life Steve.
What are your thoughts on antique dressers that do not have sliding rails/stops for the drawers (i.e., a baby could pull the entire drawer out, which might result in the drawer falling on her)?
Do you think an antique dresser is a bad idea for a baby’s room?
Thanks!
I tried the yardstick through the handles of the dresser. Guess nobody told my 2 year old that she shouldn’t be strong enough to bust the darn thing!
Somehow when she was supposed to be down for her nap, I took the chance to try to get my laundry done and my husband brings 8 inches from the yardstick down to me. Somehow she managed to bust it off; however the rest of it is still where its supposed to be.
Sorry, I think I was redundant there, but can’t get back to reread.
So, I apparently have a strong daughter and no other way to secure her chest of drawers. She pulls her clothes out of the second drawer and uses the bottom to get stuff from the top including her TV. The TV has a DVD player built in, and she has managed to figure out how to open it and then takes the DVD.
The newfangled “discipline” doesn’t work and neither does the old fashioned discipline. I HAVE to find a way to secure it. Thankfully I have the chest screwed into the wall.
Hi. I have an standard size oven but it has 2 doors. The lower door has a handle my son loves to use to hold onto while standing. I don’t let him in the kitchen if the oven is on. He hasn’t started walking yet. But Im worried one day he will try to climb up the oven handles and reach the stove top. Any suggestions to prevent this? ( I could send a picture by email if that would help).