how do I keep apples in my fridge with a 2 year old?

Question

my daughter waits untill no ones watching, then she goes in the fridge and takes a bite out of every apple. she knows how to open the crisper and ive tryed the snap belt that they sell at target, they loose their stick after a couple of weeks. please help me childproof my fridge. Its a waste of money to be throwing away food all the time. she also does this with lunch meat. and hot dogs, and cheese

btw...I do feed the child

Answer 1

LOL!!! I have a 2 year old son that does the same thing!! Except my son sits IN the fridge (with the door wide open) and eats one apple after another. They are cute aren't they!?! Well...I went to IKEA and got the fridge lock they sell. It works great!! It goes on the outside of the fridge on the door. I have not had any problems with it.

EDIT:
WHY do people think that a child is being so bad for eating an apple? It's an apple people...it's not like she's running into the street. She's TWO!! That's what two year old's do! It's normal behavior and the Dr. doesn't need to be consulted over eating food from the fridge. Jeez! Haven't you guys had kids before?

Answer 2

She's testing her limits with you and also enjoys getting herself a snack.

First off you need to let her know that this is a big no-no. You'll have to turn into watch dog mama for awhile and not let her out of your site or least when she is near the kitchen. The key is to make sure you punish her while she is doing the action and not after.

I'd suggest taking her to the fridge. Tell her in a firm voice also in languae she'd understand. With my kids I would have said something like, "This is a no no. Only mommy and daddy open this." Then use her name. Like if her name is Sarah say, "Sarah is to no touch this. No open."

Next you open the fridge and where ever she gets food you are touch that too and say ,"No. No touch."

Then next time you catch her heading to the kitchen stop her and say again, "No no!" Also if you see her opening the fridge say, "No no!"

Now if you do find more bites out of the food in the fridge you need to go to her and show it to her. Tell her, "Sarah, mommy said No no! You are to no touch this."

With our kids we would spank at age 2. We stopped when they reach about age 6 so if you feel you need to spank after you have told her more than a few times then go ahead and do that. But only spank after you are sure she is clear what she is doing is wrong. Kids at age 2 are smart enough to sneak things and that shows they know it's wrong.

Good luck. I've known parents going as far as having a gate to make the kitchens off limits, but I'd rather teach them stay out of it because grandma's house won't have the gate and same as other people's house.

Answer 3

Teach her no!

My dad had strict rules for me as a kid. I wouldn't even get a cup of milk without asking first. He wasn't mean or controlling, he just didn't want me eating between meals or eating too much junk food. I can't remember ever just opening the fridge and taking food out without asking first until I was probably 10.

Teach her that wasting food is bad and she can't get by with it. I do remember a few nights when I'd beg for something, take a bite and not want it. I also remember sitting at the table in the dark til I ate it. Dad would sit with me for the first few minutes. Then he'd go watch tv in the den, while still making sure I didn't leave that chair.

Now I'm 21, and I still feel guilty about wasting food and I don't open things I'm not going to eat. My ex-roommate constantly opened coke cans, canned food and other foods and stuck them back in the fridge nearly full and left them til they went bad. I think I'm becoming my dad b/c every time I see his food sitting there opened going bad, I want to make him sit at the table and eat it.......

Answer 4

You might want to change the title of your question. It sounds like you keep your 2 year old in the fridge!! :)

Anyway, do try making sure there is a snack drawer or bowl that is okay for her to eat anytime. Maybe on the bottom shelf in the fridge so it's easy for her to reach. Use HER favorite bowl if she has one. PRAISE her for eating the snacks out of her dish.

This will take a few weeks, but soon she will learn that her caregivers like it when she eats the snacks that are in her bowl.

Answer 5

You could put a latch on your fridge, or you could put some snacks in baggies in the crisper for her (ie, a sliced apple, cubes of cheese) and put the rest of the stuff higher and out of sight. Now is the time to teach her "no." If you go with the snack idea, make sure to tell her she can have whatever is in her drawer, and the rest is off limits. Despite what others may say, she is not to young to learn this lesson.

Answer 6

In broader terms, do you have a plan for disciplining or correcting your child when she does other things she shouldn't? Your question makes me wonder. What makes this situation special? Does she do other things she shouldn't? What do you do then? Does she know "no" or "time out"?

As someone else suggests, a child having this kind of access to the refrigerator can turn deadly. They can suffocate inside it in a little while. Get a real lock, not a velcro lock. Sure it will mar up your refrigerator, but you only have one of her, and better replace the fridge, in time, than try to replace a human being.

Answer 7

Oh my, that's funny. What a little stinker. I can see your concern though. Is there any way to put a gate on the entrance to the kitchen? We have one because the refrigerator is the least of my worries as to what my 2 year old will get into in there. Good luck.

Answer 8

My two year old is doing that too. I put her in time out for 5 minutes every time I catch her, that is what worked for her older brother Will but Damien was more difficult, he'd go to time out with whatever food he bite and if he refused to finish it he stayed in his room for several hours with no toys, no TV, and just the food he took a bite of. A few times of doing that and he stopped. Of course these suggestions didnt work with my nephews so every child is different.

I use to know a kid who was friends with my husband's cousin and at the age of 18 he would often go into the fridge and cabinets and eat a little of everything or leave stuff open so his parents put locks on everything.

Answer 9

Are you able to put up a baby gate going into your kitchen?? If so I would, we have one up, our 2 yr old likes to get cheese out of the fridge and popsicles!!

Answer 10

Buy a pack of portable stick on alarms Target sells. Do not let her see you put it on the fridge door. Next time she tries to get into the fridge an alarm will sound and hopefully scare her enough to leave the fridge be and eventually this phase will pass.
I use these alarms all over my house as a safety precaution.