Ideas for Keeping Toddler From Opening Door?

[Unregistered]

We have a toddler who has a new pre-occupation with opening the front door and running outside. Any ideas what we can do? I don't think we're allowed to lock the doors, but the little girl is constantly running to the front door and opening it. Most of the time she opens it and runs before we can catch her. We're not very close to the road, thankfully, so we know she won't run out into the street, but it's still dangerous. It's just a good thing there's two adults there most of the time, so one of us can run outside right behind her and bring her back in. She loves it, like it's a game. She'll open the door and grin at us before darting out. Her mom knows about it, and is working with her also, trying to teach her not to open it. So far this is a fun new game that she doesn't seem to be forgetting about anytime soon! We give her a LOT of positive attention in the appropriate times, so it's not that she just needs the extra. It's her age, I figure, but dangerous all the same. We need some ideas if you have any

[melskids]

i have a pond on my property, and as an extra safety precaution, my licensor suggested i put alarms on my doors to alert me everytime they are opened. they are very loud and scare the beegees outta everyone. this may be enough to scare her when she opens the door, i know it does my kids. the older ones expect it now, but the little ones are very unsure when they hear it. i got them at lowe's for $20 a piece, and after spending $60 (3 doors) i then found them at $tree for a buck.....ugh!

i'm not big on time outs, but this may be a case where she needs to learn it is not O.K. to do this. if she is an older toddler, i would def. have her sit, maybe even miss a fun activitiy. if she is a younger toddler, a pack and play would become her new best friend

[Daycare Mommy]

What about those cheapie doorknob covers? Have you tried those yet?

[mac60]

I would definately be locking my inside door....or else the screen door if there is one. Put a note on the front door that says "Please knock and we will be right there", this child needs some major discipline. You don't say exactly how old she is, but if she is old enough to do what she is doing, then she is old enough for the consequences. Why would you NOT be disciplining her on this. Also, I would consider getting an enclose play area (can be purchased for around $50) for her to spend her time in. That is what those are made for, to keep young children safe.

Mels idea on the door alarms is good, but then what happens if someone comes in from outside, does it still go off. I would take care of the problem--the girl---before I took measures to put up alarms......kids need to learn to listen and learn their boundries.

I have hung bells from my back door before when the lock broke. Not for my dc kids, just so if night someone opened it I would hear it.

[Daycare Mommy]

Here's a link to some on amazon. I used ones like these for years and they do the trick. Note though that I did not depend on them to keep the door shut. They will figure out how to pop them off eventually. It's just to slow them down enough so you can catch them and do whatever it is you do to discourage bad behavior.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Cross-Door-Knob-Cover/dp/B001NJP07K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1270208095&sr=8-2

[momma2girls]

What about those cheapie doorknob covers? Have you tried those yet?

Yes, this is what I was going to suggest.

[Childminder]

Hook and eye on the screen. You can lock your front door. It would be unsafe not to.

I have a door alarm on my door that notifies me of any entry/exit. Got it at Lowes. Parents have gotten them for their little escapees especially if the live in apartments for the balcony doorwalls/windows.

[Daycare Mommy]

I totally agree that the door SHOULD be locked for safety, but isn't it against licensing regs in some places? I could swear I've heard that before...

[Childminder]

Usually if you read the licensing rules it says you have to have a 'open door policy' not that you need to leave your door unlocked.

[kiddieshack]

What about a baby gate? then the door can still be unlocked if your not allowed to lock it. In my experience, Little ones that figure out how to open doors figure out how to unlock them. There are extra tall gates that you can purchase that might be taller than the door knob. good luck

[grandmom]

I like the babygate idea. I have all the kid's cubbies at the door so built a gate between the cubbies to designate an entrance area, It also keeps the youngest out of the cubbies,

[Unregistered]

Thanks for all the great replies! Those are really good ideas! The toddler is 21 months old. I also believe she should be disciplined for opening the door and running. All the other older children are, but at this age, I really don't believe a time-out is helpful, as they don't understand yet (I know so many people who say toddlers understand by that age, but my own experience has shown otherwise). But I don't know of any other way of disciplining her. I really like the idea of the cheapy doorknob covers! I don't know why we didn't think of that yet! We used them at my last preschool in the toddler room. I know we're not allowed to lock the doors (I already asked the owner several times, and because of licensing regulations, we can't. Otherwise that's what we would have been doing long ago for other safety reasons. Yeah, she's old enough to unlock it, but it does slow her down enough for us to catch her usually). I also mentioned the baby gate thing to the owner, and again, because of licensing regulations, we can't do that, either, to block the door way entrance.
So I think the door knob covers and the alarm are the next thing I'll mention to the owner. She suggested the alarm already, but it's a pain because of how often it would go off, especially in the morning at drop off and in the evening at pick-up. Plus during nap time when 3 families pick their children up at different times while everyone is still sleeping. But if it can be turned off during these times, that would help.

[Daycare Mommy]

I'd use a sharp, "No." Along with removing her from the area to the other side of the room. If she goes for it repeatedly and acts like its a game, I'd do a younger version of time-out and put her in a high chair or pack-n-play for a while. I'd do differently if it was my child, but our hands are tied with the daycare kids. Good luck!

[Unregistered]

I talked to the owner today about using the door knob covers, and whether we'd be allowed to use them. She said that it is against the licensing regulations also. Apparently the children have to be able to have access to the door and be able to open it on their own because of fire escape obstruction or something like that. The way I see it, they think the children should be able to do whatever they want, and if they choose to run out the door and get hurt, that's ok because it will be the daycare in trouble and getting shut down, all because licensing want the kids to run the show. Are daycares allowed to do ANYTHING to help keep the kids safe and disciplined? This is the regulations for home daycares. Why can't the owners lock their own doors if they want to? It doesn't sound a bit safe to me. A child could sneak out of the building at anytime and get hurt or killed. A stranger could come in and do whatever... the list goes on. Does anyone else see this as making NO SENSE? ok... I'm done with my spill

[MarinaVanessa]

Hmm, that doesn't sound right to me but then again every state is different. What stste are you in? And this is a home daycare? I live in CA and we can lock the door, I have door-knob covers on almost all of my doors (except the bathroom so that the kids can use it when they need to) and a safety gate on the stairs and in front of the foyer to keep them away from the front door. Not being able to lock your doors doesn't seem safe to me and neither does letting the children run out on their own in an emergency. That's what were here for. To escort everyone out safely. If someone knew that someone else was doing daycare and knew they weren't allowed to lock their doors then it would be easy for them to just walk in and potentially just grab one of the kids and run. I know we have an "open door policy" that means that any time that a parent wants to drop by to check in on things they can do so but I don't have to keep my door unlocked. They just knock or call and I'll unlock the door for them. Not being able to lock the doors or not being able to put door-knob covers on doors just doesn't make sense to me.