Today (for the second time since he was born), Aiden has scared 10 years off my life. This time Paul got to be scared with me (last time he was running an errand). Recently Aiden learned how to open doors using a traditional door knob. He LOVES going to his PaPa’s (Paul’s Dad) house and his Lubby’s(Paul’s Mom) house because they have the door handles that open all the doors. He has been able to open those for about a year…lol. We also realized recently that he knows how to unlock doors as well…and he is so durn tall that he can unlock the top lock on the front door!!!
On a daily basis he goes outside to walk our dog with his Daddy-Dad(what he now calls Paul…lol)…no big deal right? So this afternoon he decided to take him out on his own. I was upstairs putting the baby to sleep for his nap and Paul was going to get the water out of the car. We both thought Aiden was with the other parent…that always is a bad recipe. So Paul comes upstairs, after I hear doors open and close about 5 times, and asks me if Aiden was with me. OH HELLLLLL NO!!!! Good thing the baby was sleep because I put him in the swing and ran out the house. My strategy was to find the dog because he was going to hear me calling and come running before Aiden would hear me. And I assumed that Aiden would be with him. THANK GOD I WAS RIGHT!!!! I only had to call out once and a man asked me if I was looking for a little boy and pointed down the street. And sure enough Aiden was following behind park. But he was ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STREET. He was crying and happy to see Mommy!!! And boy was I happy to see him!!!!
So what did I do as soon as I got in the house I told Paul…we HAVE to get door knob covers. We have a 3 story townhouse so we only need them for the 3 doors downstairs. So let the research begin. I went to Babies R Us first because I assumed they would have more than one brand, but I was wrong. They only carried the Safety 1st Twist & Grip Knob Covers that had HORRIBLE reviews everywhere I looked. The most common reviews were that the material was flimsy and that the child would figure out pretty quickly that if they put their fingers thru the holes they could grip the door knob. Then I went to Amazon.com because they have everything. So next up I looked at the Mommy’s Helper Door Knob Safety Knob Covers and those reviews were a little better but the most common review stated that they were made of flimsy material and easy to break with pressure.
So I tried one more brand…American Red Cross Door Knob Covers. I mean you want a product that will prevent the CHILD from getting out and not the ADULT….lol. All of the reviews stated that after trying 4-5 different brands this was the one that worked!!! So I ordered those puppies!!! I mean you get 3 for $3.59 (free shipping and no tax!!), and I am willing to loose that little bit of money to get a WHOLE lot of piece of mind. Aiden is a VERY smart child and I am sure that he will figure out how to get around the door knob locks but at the same time he could also get mad at this little obstacle and forget about trying to go outside. Or get distracted by one of his trucks or trains while trying to get around the cover…lol. We can all hope huh?
So be on the look out for my update to this entry on how they work. I got free second day shipping and they shipped out about an hour and a half after I placed the order!!!! How about them apples….I will have them in the mail box on Monday afternoon!!!!
