How to child proof a pocket door (5 steps)

In this article, we answer the following question: How to child proof a pocket door? We also write some additional protection measures to take when childproofing your house.

How to child proof a pocket door?

To child proof a pocket door, you have to install children’s door locks that will keep your children safe as they explore their surroundings. From a basement door to a bedroom closet or any other room you don’t want your child to go to, you have different options for protecting an interior door from children.

This will prevent your child from being hurt or locked in a room (trust me, this happens all the time with the bathroom door). Sometimes the danger is what’s behind it, or maybe it’s the door itself that’s the threat. Closing a door can cause serious damage to babies’ fingers.

So, here’s what you can use to childproof a pocket door:

• Door Knob covers – They are fairly standard and work with most models of rounded door handles. A plastic handle lock is placed on the door handle itself. It comes in two separate pieces that are rolled up and fit around the button. 

If you need to remove the cover completely, you have to press the side buttons simultaneously, and the two parts will come off. These kids can usually only be handled by a large hand. These locks will probably become unnecessary when your child turns 3 or 4 years old.

• Homemade DIY Door Handles Covers -You can make your doorknob cover using just an old sock and a rubber band. You should cut the sock off and keep it only 10cm from the toes. 

Now put the sock on the doorknob and wrap the elastic around it so your little one cannot take it off. If your child tries to grab the doorknob, it will slip.

• Install a door lock on any type of interior door – It may not sound ideal, but it will do the work. As long as you place it up enough so that the child cannot reach it even with a chair. 

However, I would not recommend placing a door lock on every door in the house, maybe if you want to childproof a certain pocket door this would work. The reason is simple, kids love to play with the handle and latch, and they’ll lock themselves in the room at some point.

• Prevent pinched or trapped fingers – Sometimes you need to secure a door to prevent your child from physically opening it, and sometimes you need that door not to close completely. 

A very common accident in children is the pinching of the fingers in a closing door. It is painful, and it can happen anytime, no matter how many times you have told your child not to play with the door.

Childproofing the doors and the house

The best advice is to approach things gradually and secure the house in stages, as the baby grows and according to the specific manifestations of each age. For the home to be a safe environment for your baby, you will need to take a few precautions before your little one gets home, such as:

• replacing old sockets with new ones hidden by a cover,
• vacuuming carpets, rugs,
• complete cleaning of the floor of any blunt or non-blunt object that the baby may swallow (coins, buttons, needles, nails, etc.),
• fastening the cables to the walls, so that the little one does not get in the way
• removing sharp objects from circulating areas.

For the baby not to be injured at home, the parents must adopt the following measures:

• installation of safety gates at the ends of each staircase;
• removing plants from the ground – some specimens are poisonous, such as iris flowers or the Christmas Star (Poinsettia);
• avoiding placing pieces of furniture near windows;
• installation of intact door stops, without removable parts, which can cause the death of the child by suffocation;
• embedding in the wall pieces of furniture, accessories, bulky books and other such objects so that the baby does not get hurt trying to move them from their place;
• dryers, irons and other similar devices must be unplugged and removed from the child’s visual area.

Additional protection measures when childproofing a house

Do not leave your baby in the vicinity of gardening tools, various chemicals, toxic substances (such as fertilizers) or devices of any kind that are plugged in. In the house and the car, you should not miss a first aid kit and a list of phone numbers to call in case of emergency.

Arranging the home for a newborn and continuing to adjust it – as the baby grows – is a very demanding process for both parents, especially if there are older children and/or pets in the home. But the joy of creating an organized, healthy home and a united and well-educated family outweighs physical and mental exhaustion.

The following measures are just as important as the ones mentioned above and also help the little one to grow harmoniously and safely:

• Remove furniture with very sharp edges or protect the parts with pillows.
• Do not leave slippery floors uncovered. In case of spillage of various liquids on the uncovered areas of the floors, wipe the stain with a mop immediately and dry the area as well as possible.
• Check that the legs of the pieces of furniture are fixed and strong and that the moving parts do not fall to the touch; ideally, the furniture should be made of fireproof materials.
• Do not give the child to drink water from glass cups, but from plastic without Bisphenol A (a toxic organic compound used in the manufacture of plastics). Moreover, if you have doors made of a combination of wood and glass in the house, take an extra precaution and stick stickers on the glass part; this way you make sure that the baby will not pass through the window, out of too much curiosity. Do not allow your child to explore furniture with glass parts.
• Improve your first aid techniques.
• Install a video monitor in the newborn’s room to keep him under constant surveillance. 

Rigorously clean and sanitize all surfaces attacked by germs: door handles, toilet bowl, kitchen surfaces that come in contact with food; always wash well with soap and water: before and after you prepare the baby’s food and after the meal, every time you change his diaper and use the toilet if you come in contact with body fluids – blood, vomit, mucus – after touching pets or taking medicine. Wash your hands even after sorting dirty laundry.

Do not wash your baby’s clothes with towels or adults’ clothes. Wash them as often as possible. Occasionally, start a laundry-free washing cycle to clean the washing machine of germs. Items used to feed the baby should also be washed and sanitized (bottles, pacifiers, plastic cups, breast pumps). 

Bottles, pacifiers, breast pumps – especially new ones – require washing in hot water in which baking soda has been dissolved. Dry them carefully as the bacteria proliferate in the humid environment. Dispose of cracked or irreparably stained objects. Store baby equipment in clean, disinfected areas between meals. 

If you want a healthy baby, implement the following measures:

• wipe the dust as often as possible, vacuum the carpets, rugs and corners of the house where dust and lint lumps form; wash the curtains as well (if possible, give them up or at least do not install them in the child’s room; it is essential to protect the newborn from dust mites as much as possible);
• do not receive guests if they are suffering from a contagious disease, and when they do come to visit, tactfully advise them to wash their hands before touching the baby;
• disinfect the baby’s crib and other surfaces that come in contact with the skin and mouth of the newborn; 
• it is also not advisable to exaggerate with the sanitation action of the house. In an excessively clean house, the baby risks getting asthma or developing various types of allergies because, in the absence of microbes, his immune system does not strengthen.

The bottom line

In this article, we answered the following question: How to child proof a pocket door? We also wrote some additional protection measures to take when childproofing your house.

Our recommendation is to buy and install a door lock or a security door chain. This is the simplest method to secure the door. You have to be careful however, to instal the chain in a place high enough so that the child cannot reach it even while standing on a chair. 

If you have any questions, recommendations or comments on the content, please let us know!

FAQ on How to child proof a pocket door?

References

Whattoexpect.com

Momlovesbest.com

Safewise.com