# Keeping 4-year-old out of dresser drawers



## Stackmama (Mar 12, 2008)

I've tried every lock there is and closing doors and locking those and none of it has worked. I just bought both kids brand new socks and she opened both packs and they all disappeared before her little sister even got to wear a pair! I'm soooooooo angry right now!







Her clothes disappear. She pulls them out of the drawer and throws them around the house, under the beds, wherever.

How do I keep her out of the drawers? I'm tired of yelling.


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## abi&ben'smom (Oct 28, 2007)

I've had a similar problem with my now 6 year old dd. She likes to change her clothes many times a day, and just leaves them all over the house. It's not as bad now that she is older, but a couple of years ago, it was really bad. I finally told her that since she can't take care of her nice clothes, and put them back after wearing them only for a few minutes, that whatever clothes I find scattered throughout the house I was going to keep for awhile. (And I am the opposite of a neat freak, it takes a lot of mess to bother me!) Then when that didn't work (after many days of many chances), I let her pick one outfit for that day and then I put a childproof lock on her armoir. She was really shocked! (I told her that I was worried that she would lose her favorite clothes and that she would be sad.) So the next day, I took the lock off and she does pretty well now putting them back. (A little messy, but that's ok!) I don't know if that sounds too extreme, but she would literally change 5x a day. That's 5 shirts, 5 pants/skirts, 5 pairs of socks/tights, and sometimes even underware! That's a lot of laundry!! (And a big mess!)
Since the locks aren't working for you, do you have a place in your room in your closet that you could put her clothes? I hope someone has a some good ideas for you! Good luck!


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## MtBikeLover (Jun 30, 2005)

Can you just have her pick everything up?

My DD will pull all her clothes out on the floor when she is trying to find a specific pair of pajamas. I just have her put it all back when she is done. Sure, its not folded up nice, but I don't care.


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## Dabble (Jun 14, 2007)

I hate to even admit this, but it was so difficult to keep our two year old son out of his dresser drawers that we bought ratcheting tow straps and strapped them around his whole dresser. He was getting into the drawers, emptying all his clothes out, and then climbing up the drawers like stairs so he could jump off the top of the dresser. Not fun.

Because the dresser was impossible to keep closed with traditional child-safety devices, we purchased two tow straps (there are two banks of drawers side by side) and just wrapped one vertically around the whole dresser to hold the drawers shut. The ratchet is on top of the dresser, and has to be released every time we need to get in a drawer, and re-tightened when we are done. Not ideal, but it serves its purpose, and keeps him safe.

Oh, and be sure that the dresser is anchored firmly to the wall. Kids playing with drawers are bound to tip something onto themselves.


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## abi&ben'smom (Oct 28, 2007)

My dd would NOT pick up anything, no matter how many times I would ask. I would even try to make it into a game or offer to help. That's why I resorted to locking it up for a day.


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## littlemizflava (Oct 8, 2006)

ohhhhh i could show you a pic that would make you













































































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:sca red








my dd 5 thinks this is the best way to have her clothes they are everywhere even puting in the laundry still folded cause she hates to clean. what i have done is get a big freestanding open top hamper, clothes are sorted by going out and home. going out is hung up in the closet i rigged a second rod lower so i got more space for her clothes, home and pjs are each in their own drawer. we went threw it all sorted it together what she refused to wear was taken out, what was to big or to small everything was sorted and folded and come laundry day we fold them put them in piles so that it is easy to put away in the drawer and i do a daily check on the room and the clothes cant even let it go one day it will look like a nightmare again i even go threw the laundry it annoys her cause then she has to put it away then not later....... this was a battle for over 2 years and now it has been 2 months and her clothes are still kept this way


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## laoxinat (Sep 17, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chimpmandee* 
I hate to even admit this, but it was so difficult to keep our two year old son out of his dresser drawers that we bought ratcheting tow straps and strapped them around his whole dresser. He was getting into the drawers, emptying all his clothes out, and then climbing up the drawers like stairs so he could jump off the top of the dresser. Not fun.

Because the dresser was impossible to keep closed with traditional child-safety devices, we purchased two tow straps (there are two banks of drawers side by side) and just wrapped one vertically around the whole dresser to hold the drawers shut. The ratchet is on top of the dresser, and has to be released every time we need to get in a drawer, and re-tightened when we are done. Not ideal, but it serves its purpose, and keeps him safe.

Oh, and be sure that the dresser is anchored firmly to the wall. Kids playing with drawers are bound to tip something onto themselves.

Now see, if more parents were *this* creative and willing to adapt, life would be sooo much easier. Except of course for the shreiking that no doubt ensued when those drawers wouldn't open







Excellent solution!


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## mommyemily (Jul 7, 2005)

Duct tape... no seriously... I have used it for almost everything. From the seatbelt that holds the carseat in place to dresser drawers to closet drawers.
I have found that most "childproof" latches do not work. That or I lock the bedroom door closed from the inside while my girls are in school so the brothers can't get in.
Also, not to be a worry wart, but is the dresser anchored to the wall? My oldest opened drawers at a friends house that wasn't and the whole dresser got pulled over. Luckily it fell onto a bed which prevented my DD from being hurt, but it could have been really bad.
Good luck, and remember this too shall pass as all wonderful childhood stages do.


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

What kind of doors are on her closet? Can her dresser go in the closet and then a key lock on the the door?

Tot locks work really well. They are approved for CA child care providers to use on medicine and gun cabinets...
It's a lock that only opens with a strong magnetic key. I have them on 4 cupboards and one drawer in my kitchen (cleaning supplies, garbage, and knives).
http://www.babyguard.com/totlok.html


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## Stackmama (Mar 12, 2008)

See I thought about the closet thing. We live in an apartment and we have those crappy metal double doors that fold - the ones that unite in the middle. So I don't know what I could put on them.







: I do have her pick them up but she mixes them with her sisters clothes and they all get jammed down into the drawer. I'm not a perfectionist by any means (ha not anymore since having kids!) but I can't stand having her mix all the clothes up. Then when I go to get them dressed, it's like digging for a needle in a haystack to find a sock!









I know it sounds like a petty problem - keeping her out of the drawers. But jeez! The problem too is that as soon as she grows out of it, guess who is going to be old enough to start doing it too!


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## Stackmama (Mar 12, 2008)

oh, also, she gets into my room, my clothes, my closet. She even swings on my rod in my closet! I'm a single mama with my hands FULL, ladies.







I've tried the hook and eye locks for every door in this apartment but she barged through them!







drop: The other option I am considering is chain locks. I don't know what else to do!


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## anne+arun (Feb 13, 2007)

im wondering if you can get behind what else is happening for your dd when she does what you described. Is it a cry for attention or does she just love playing with clothes?

maybe she needs a "dress up bag"?*in our case this is a bag of all sorts of clothes for fantasy dress ups and games. From pirate eye patches, indian shawls to russian hats









meanwhile the other thing i did with dd at 4 (though we did not have the same problem as you) was draw pictures of different articles of clothing with her for the different draws. That was part of what made her start putting clothes away... occasionally anyway.

arun


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## ssh (Aug 12, 2007)

My DD's been able to get into most drawers since she was about 14 months old. So I turned the 2 nightstand tables and one kitchen drawer into her personal drawers. The nightstand ones have toys and books. The kitchen one is a junk drawer, but only safe junk that she can look at. I think the idea of a dress-up drawer would be great for your DD. My DD still goes through my husbands sock drawer sometimes, but we don't make a big deal out of it. She can open the ones on her dresser but only goes into the one we keep her pullups in when she needs a new pullup (she's 27 months). I think the reason it's not a problem is we've never made an issue of it.

It seems like maybe your DD has some other issue though. Maybe needs more attention.


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## Dabble (Jun 14, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *laoxinat* 
Now see, if more parents were *this* creative and willing to adapt, life would be sooo much easier. Except of course for the shreiking that no doubt ensued when those drawers wouldn't open







Excellent solution!

Awww, thanks! I thought I might get flamed for posting that! I'll admit it doesn't seem very GD/AP or whatever, but it works for us.

And it was truly amazing how quickly he adapted to the idea that those drawers simply do not open for him - no shrieking!


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## Nanu (Nov 26, 2007)

Our daughter does this as well. To be honest, we gave up worrying about it. The clothes are all over the floor and we just dig through and find what we need.

The good news is, a couple of weeks ago she decided she was tired of the mess and she CLEANED HER ROOM. It was messy again within a day and she asked me to write her a list (like I do for her older siblings.) She dictated the list to me and it included "Clean room and put away clothes."

What I'm saying is "This too shall pass."

If cleanliness is very important to you, work with your child to realize that messing up means cleaning up. For us, it's an issue like "potty training" and sleeping in their own bed -- a battle not worth fighting and a milestone that children will learn on their own in time.


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## Piglet68 (Apr 5, 2002)

I'll agree with Nanu.

IME kids go through phases and the more resistance you put up the longer it will last until it becomes this huge issue.

I would just let them do it, grit my teeth, and know that the novelty will wear off pretty soon. Over the years my kids have gone through exploratory phases that were darned annoying at the time, but they passed pretty quickly when just allowed to get it out of their system.

If it was a safety issue I would either have a strong tether or just go without a dresser for a while - I used stacking plastic tubs when DD was little, before we had a room for her.


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## oceanbaby (Nov 19, 2001)

Yep - try to let it go. I would just keep telling her calmly to please put the socks/clothes back. She will be over it really soon. (Or else you could just not put much in those lower drawers right now.)


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## AlpineMama (Aug 16, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *abi&ben'smom* 
She likes to change her clothes many times a day, and just leaves them all over the house.... I don't know if that sounds too extreme, but she would literally change 5x a day. That's 5 shirts, 5 pants/skirts, 5 pairs of socks/tights, and sometimes even underware! That's a lot of laundry!! (And a big mess!)

That sounds like my DH. No kidding. He does this and it drives me batty.


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