Childproofing a door with a lever style handle?

[laura]

We have the same thing karlatta posted. You can't get in from outside when it's on though, but that is rarely a problem for us.

[Annette]

We put a chain up high on the front door cause DS could open the deadbolt and leave the house. We have these here for doors like the pantry and closets but DS was able to figure those out around 2-3 years old.
http://www.amazon.com/ProGradeTM-Lev...le+child+locks

[Fenway]

Sorry for all the seperate posts. I can't do multiple quotes with my phone.

If you don't need a permanent solution, you could mount one of those removable 3m hooks sideways on the wall next to the door and then use a large rubber band around the lever, secured to the hook. You'd have to play with it to allow access from the other side but it should be doable. It's not pretty but it won't do anything permanent.

I never would have thought of that! Unfortunately DD would figure that out pretty quickly.

[Fenway]

We have this on our front door.


It's like $2 at Home Depot and screws into the doorframe, so there's no visible hole or anything like that when you take it out. People wouldn't be able to get in and out, which might be a deal breaker for you, but when she's relentless and won't let up, you can just flip it locked and there's no way she's opening the door.

I really wish we could use this but I need something that can be accessed from the outside. She can get out the front doors if they're unlocked, so I can't use that on the back and keep the front door unlocked. Our front doors are two sets of French doors with no key access from the outside, so hiding a key for the front if I accidentally locked DH out of the back won't work either. The front of the house faces the water, so we have non traditional doors there.

[jajacobsen]

Why don't you just switch the door handle from a lever style to a round knob style that is more effectively child proofed? You could switch back in a few years after your kids are a little older.

[Fenway]

We put a chain up high on the front door cause DS could open the deadbolt and leave the house. We have these here for doors like the pantry and closets but DS was able to figure those out around 2-3 years old.
http://www.amazon.com/ProGradeTM-Lev...le+child+locks

DH took care of the problem in a similar way.



He mounted that high enough that DD can't reach it and there's enough slack so he can let himself in from the outside. I don't love how it looks but I'm happy I don't have to think about it anymore. My solution was to replace the keyless lever handle with a keyless doorknob handle and use those plastic doorknob covers. DH thinks DD would have figured those out as well. Oh well. His solution was much cheaper, well, free actually, because we had all the stuff hanging around the house.

I'm hoping DS turns out to be less feisty than DD.

[laura]

I think you are down to the choice of the inconvenience of having something that can't be opened from the outside or doing something permanent like another deadbolt. I can't think if an alternative solution that meets all your needs.

ETA: we cross-posted. Glad you found a solution!

[Fenway]

Why don't you just switch the door handle from a lever style to a round knob style that is more effectively child proofed? You could switch back in a few years after your kids are a little older.

Oops! We xposted. That's exactly what I wanted to do but DH figured out his own solution before I won the battle.