My coworker told me that she put a lock on her 4 year old son's bedroom door to teach him to stay in there at night. I personally think that is crazy. What's your opinion?
2007-03-17 07:47:56 · 36 answers · asked by hevs55 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
That is so not safe on many levels. When we had problems with our oldest getting up and sleep walking right out the front door, we rigged up a little alarm system that would trigger if she walked out of her room. There are many ways to go about keeping him in his room that are safe, not dangerous.
2007-03-17 07:58:08 · answer #1 · answered by punkin_eater26 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would be afraid to do that. What if she needed to get them out of the house suddenly? I would suggest a baby gate, that way the room is still open. If that doesn't discourage the child from wondering thru the house at night, I would just make sure all the doors were locked and have those childproof handles on them. He's old enough for her to sit down & talk with him about the dangers of going outside by himself at night and make sure he knows not to play with electical outlets, the stove/oven, anything in the house that could be dangerous to him.
2007-03-17 09:39:17 · answer #2 · answered by mom-of-4 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That is actually very dangerous. What if there were a fire? How could the child get out? What if he hurt himself? Would she be able to hear him behind the closed door? Does she even use a baby monitor?
Besides these dangers...what about the mental abuse this could cause. In time, he may become clausterphobic. He may suffer from paranoia. Many problems may result in this woman's stupidity. What she is doing is a result of pure laziness. If child protection got a hold of this, she would lose her child.
2007-03-17 07:58:15 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
That sounds harsh. What if there was an emergency? I had to put a baby gate on my kids' doors so they would stay in their rooms, but that was when they were 2. At 4 I can at least reason with them a little bit when I need them to do something. Shutting the door, okay, but locking it seems a little extreme to me.
2007-03-17 07:52:20 · answer #4 · answered by chelebeee 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I noticed everyone seems to be against this, however what if the child is waking at night and coming out of his room this could be dangerous too as he wouldn't be supervised. I am sure his mom has his best interests at heart, being her friend perhaps you could mention that once he has learned to stay in his room she should remove the lock. I think the chances of there being a fire are far less then the risk of him getting hurt in the house unattended, especially if he learned how to escape out the front door!
2007-03-17 15:12:06 · answer #5 · answered by justpeachytoday 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Flipping dangerous and possibly abusive. When I was a foster parent we had a seriously disturbed child who would leave his room at night and cause damage. We used an alarm system but he quickly broke that. We obtained permission from the Ministry to put a lock on his door but this was an extreme measure and looking back I feel sick about it and cost me a lot of sleep. Just not worth it. The child needed professional supervision and an emergency bed home is no place for a kid like that, but I couldn't bear the thought of him being rejected yet again by a family (he'd been in so many homes no one would take him). He's grown up now and been in contact with us. He has no memory of that episode, and he's turned out beautifully thanks to another incredible family but I cringe to think of how things could've turned out. In the case of your co-worker it sounds as though she hasn't tried very hard to find an alternative solution to the problem or even give serious thought as to what's causing the problem in the first place.
2007-03-17 07:58:29 · answer #6 · answered by OP 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
She is totally crazy and needs to be told to take the lock off. What would happen if there was a fire or some other emergency. Besides that, what about building and instilling trust in a child. She definately needs to take that lock off!! You should really press her to do this today. If something happened to her child you might feel bad knowing that she had the lock on and not really pushing her to take it off. Her child's life could possibly be in real danger if something happened.
2007-03-17 07:54:13 · answer #7 · answered by Baileysmom 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't think it is a good idea.Just imagine if the child needs to go to the washroom or feels sick.I think that it is also unsafe in the event of an emergancy.How is she teaching her child to stay in his room if the door is locked shut?What choice does the child have but to stay in the room.She isn't teaching him anything,she is just making life easier for herself.
2007-03-17 14:12:38 · answer #8 · answered by gussie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That has GOT to be a fire hazard. I work at an elementary school where we have had firefighters come and do fire safety programs for our kids. Sometimes the kid has to get out of the room and wake up the parents.
Also, I have a 5 year old who goes to the restroom overnight as he pleases; what if that kid has to use the restroom? That just doesn't sound right to me
2007-03-17 07:54:34 · answer #9 · answered by E 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is considered by many states, in fact I'd venture to say all, child endangerment. There are other ways to teach her son to stay in his bed than lock him in like a criminal. How scared that little boy must be at night. To know he can't get out if he needs to pee, or needs a drink, or heaven forbid need to get to him mom for some reason. This woman is extremely wrong in doing this. I had to work with my 5 and 6 yo's when they were littler to stay in their beds and it drove me nuts, but I didn't lock them in their room. I'm mom to3.
2007-03-17 08:34:20 · answer #10 · answered by Melanie A 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋