child proof door locks lever handles - dad and daughter running

Do Your Child Proof Door Locks Work on Lever Handles?

child proof door locks for lever handles

 

Are you tearing your hair out trying to find a child proof door lock that will work whether you have door knobs or lever handles?

I know there are quite a few people who have unique knobs or levers on their doors, and childproofing those doors can be a lot harder than it sounds.

Listen, I was one of those people. For quite a while, we had door knobs and used those cheap plastic door knob covers for babyproofing. I hated them. They pinched by skin every time I tried to use them, and they never worked quite right.

I always ended up with scratches and red marks on my hands trying to turn the lock when those covers were on them. I couldn’t wait to get them off.

The need for child proof door locks for lever handles

Then, we moved and our new place had door levers or handles instead of knobs. They were beautiful, and I loved how they looked … until I needed to childproof those handles.

I literally spent days looking for the best babyproofing solution for doors with levers, and you wouldn’t think that would be so challenging. But apparently there’s not a lot out there that works well.

I thought I had found the answer with one child proof door lock that attaches to your door right by the handle part. It kept the handle from opening, and that’s how it kept your kids out. This was it! It was going to be my answer to this crazy issue, once and for all.

And then I thought, I should probably read the negative reviews. And you know when you don’t really want to read the bad reviews because you don’t want to be talked out of buying the product? That’s how I felt. I did not want to keep searching for hours for an answer. But boy, am I glad I read those reviews.

The problem with competitor child proof door levers

First of all, this child safety lock mounts with adhesive, and when parents were finished using it, the adhesive took chunks of their paint and door off with it. It wasn’t supposed to, of course, but you know reality doesn’t always match the marketing. There was no denying the photos.

Second, this lock was made of plastic instead of a durable metal. Not really going to hold up to a lot of abuse. Plus, it was installed at kid-level, so they easily learned to work it, making this babyproofing lock essentially useless.

But here’s the granddaddy of them all ... On most doors with levers, the levers operate together. That means you turn the lever from inside the bathroom, and the handle on the outside of the bathroom turns too. It works as a unit. It has to in order for you to open the door. Well, this lock mounts on one side of your door and therefore the lock can only be disengaged from that side of the door.

So kids – or even dogs – were engaging the lock when their parents were in a bedroom or bathroom or laundry room, and then the parents couldn’t get out! That’s right, they were TRAPPED inside a room for hours while their toddler roamed the house alone.

Some called 911, some called a family member (if they happened to have their phone with them), and some took a hammer to their door or channeled their martial arts skills and kicked the door down.

Umm, I thought this thing was supposed to keep kids safe? That was the dealbreaker for me. I got enough drama taking care of two small children, and I definitely did not need a supposedly child proof door lock causing even bigger problems than I had now.

 

child door locks for lever handles

The perfect childproof door lock for door levers

I finally called a childproofing company. These guys are experts and actually know what works. And you know what they used on our doors? The GlideLok, and boy was it an answer to prayer.

I love the GlideLok so much that Millow Market, my company, became its official online distributor. And you’re welcome to check out the GlideLok today if this sounds like a good fit for your family. 

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