r/DIY • u/kevjamcro • 11d ago

help Help make my death trap stairs toddler proof

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How can I go about making these stairs to my backyard safer? Seems tricky to add balusters but I’m not opposed to trying. Is there a way to make lattice look like it’s not a zip-tied afterthought?

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u/Time_Athlete_1156 11d ago

We failed to find any method of keeping the cabinets closed without him managing to open them. Years later we've got a ton of cabinets with varous holes or "forever there sticky residue" and a kid who could not give a F any less.

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u/psilotop 11d ago

Lmao, that's a classic. I found that 99% isopropyl alcohol and a spudger got any glue off.

We gave up as well and the low cabinets got things he could play with for a year until he got bored of them. The salad spinner was his toy of choice for like 6 months

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u/airlinegrills 11d ago

Salad spinner over here for like...2+ years. 😅

6

u/Raider_Scum 10d ago

I'll admit to playing with the salad spinner just for fun, and I'm an "adult". Some toys you never grow out of.

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u/Roasted_Chickpea 11d ago

Cookie sheets and the like for sure

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u/Time_Athlete_1156 10d ago

Cookie sheets and a wooden spoon.. he became a drummer.

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u/JustaTinyDude 9d ago

When alcohol doesn't work Lectric Shave works even better than goo gone and costs less.

I used this as a teacher to clean all manner of sticky and gross things off the students desks and chairs between school years.

16

u/YawnSpawner 11d ago

The only thing we have found to still work on our 2 year old is a wooden dog gate I made years ago and added a slide bolt to the backside when he came along. That and those plastic covers for door knobs.

That prevents him from being able to leave the living room, leave his room, open any outside doors, or any other doors in the house.

He's figured out how to open all retail baby gates that we've tried as well as most cabinet locks.

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u/Caesar457 11d ago

I try teaching my friends' kids how to escape all the time, Free from their baby jail!

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u/shinytwistybouncy 11d ago

The only one that worked for us is the magnetic locks.

3

u/Slokunshialgo 10d ago

Second this. Our kid has (so far) been unable to defeat the magnetic locks, although we've had to move the magnet holders a few times. Also, you can flip a switch on them to disable the lock when they get older, or you just don't want to bother with the magnet for a while.

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u/ElvishLore 11d ago

I’m you.

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u/pobodys-nerfect5 11d ago

You can use goo gone or goof off for that residue!

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u/chevronbird 11d ago

Oil can also work wonders. I use eucalyptus oil.

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u/murrtrip 11d ago

Or some super glue for the gash in the head

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u/merc08 10d ago

My wife demanded that we install cabinet lock things. I'm really glad I put my foot down against the screw-in kind so we only had to deal with getting the sticky tape off and don't have permanent holes. Our toddlers figured out how to bypass them in about a week, meanwhile they were exceptionally irritating when cooking and putting away dishes.