Kid proofing sliding closet doors...

I posted that we've moved the girls into toddler beds a couple nights ago. We went through and double-checked everything to make sure it was safe for the girls to roam about in there and there are no real issues except the sliding closet doors. I've found latches for the bi-fold style of doors but those won't work for sliding doors.

So, I am wondering what others have used or done to keep kiddos out of a closet with sliding doors. There is nothing dangerous in there, but I would really hate to wake up to clothes and pull-ups strewn everywhere!

Thanks,
Angela

 

We had the same issues with the closet doors. The other thing was that they would shut them really fast and there were many times fingers were caught. Our solution was to put the little hook and ring there. I don't know how to explain and don't know the name of it. :sorry: But the ring part you would screw on the wall and the hook would go on the sliding closet door {and it dangles down}. This has been a life saver for us. :good: I hope I explained it somewhat okay.

 

My friend in playgroup put a post type thing in the MIDDLE that goes through both doors. So when you have them closed, the holes in both doors line up and they can put the post dealio through there and they are not able to open them.

Mine just play in the closet. Can't really hang anything down there, other than pushing them off track. The novelty has worn off....

 

I have one of these. It works pretty well, and it's easy to use.

 

My girls can open the sliding closet doors and have also figured out how to pull them off track and take them out completely (they work as a team on that one). So, for their room, we took off the doors and made the bottom of their closet a play area for them to play in. I haven't done this yet, but my mom and I are going to make curtains and just use that to cover their closet. As far as the rest of the rooms, I just have to constantly watch them and make sure they stay out of the closet.

 

We have sliding mirrored closet doors in both bedrooms and we actually use these, just put them up high so only you can reach to pull off when you need to open the closet. They work really well.

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/produc...ategoryId=86198

 

my DH drilled a hole in the top of one closet and then sank and removable pin like in it. It sticks in the closet door and won't let them slide past it. Kinda like this. It says it's for a sliding glass patio door, but I'm sure it would work for the closet as well. Better yet, if your DH is handy it's pretty easy to make. Drill bit in a dowel rod, sunk into a hollow metal tube basically what our is....some fishing line and a screw so the pin won't get lost. Good luck.

 

We also have the adhesive type lock that was mentioned in a PP. It's very easy to apply and use. It's been effective for us.

 

QUOTE(TwinLove @ Jun 22 2008, 06:13 PM) [snapback]839712[/snapback]
We had the same issues with the closet doors. The other thing was that they would shut them really fast and there were many times fingers were caught. Our solution was to put the little hook and ring there. I don't know how to explain and don't know the name of it. :sorry: But the ring part you would screw on the wall and the hook would go on the sliding closet door {and it dangles down}. This has been a life saver for us. :good: I hope I explained it somewhat okay.


We don't have the sliding doors, but we used this same thing for our doors with the handle type knobs instead of the round knobs. A pack of 2 costs about $1.25 and takes about a minute to install. Much cheaper and easier a lot of the safety devices that I researched. They leave very little damage done, nothing that can't be puttied over when it is time to come out.

 

We have sliding glass doors in their bedroom and the boys slammed it shut on each other, causing one of the boys to cut a half inch gash in one of their feet. There wasn't anything they couldn't get into but the underside of the door caused it. Since we don't own our home, we had to use an adhesive type latch that is originally intended for a refrigerator or a stove. We got ours at Wal-Mart and it's been a lifesaver. We have walls on either side of the sliding door so we just put the latch up high enough so they couldn't find it and figure out the latch. When it'll be time to move, they'll be extremely easy to take down with a little Un-do from my scrapbooking stash. Hope that helps!

 

Thanks so much for all the ideas!

 

Hook and eye? Wouldn't work on a mirrored or glass door, but easy to attach to a wooden one.

 

We used simple wooden dowels and rubber feet. It was a perfect solution and is still going strong 18 months later!

I bought 2" wooden dowels at the hardware store, then cut them to size (measure from the wall to the outer door, measure from wall to inner door) Tip: better to err on the larger side and then shave off little bits than to make it a bit too small, and, therefore useless.I then put on a rubber foot (again about $0.59 for a 6-pk at the hardware store) on each end so it wouldn't marr the walls.

I love this solution b/c it's quick and easy to access the closets, but by putting the dowels up high enough the boys aren't able to get it. The best part: NO drilling into my walls or doors!