Childproofing Garbage Cans
Berkeley Parents Network >
Advice >
Safety >
Childproofing Garbage Cans
Nov 2005
Our nine month old son knocks over everything. He loves getting
into anything on the floor, especially rubbish bins and diaper
pails. How do we store garbage without leaving it on the counter?
Not a Neat Freak
we had the problem of our daughther putting things in the gargage that
don't belong there... toys, shoes, dishes. i ended up finding a
trashcan at the container store in walnut creek that has a lid with a
foot petal that you have to step on to open. this worked very well. our
daughter, who is almost 2, can open it herself now but fortunately has
figured out not to put her shoes and other items in the trash!
you can order from the container store online, otherwise i'm sure you
could find a similar style elsewhere.
tami@mccanne.com
There are plastic storage bins in the shape of a trash can (tall
rectangle) that have a lockable lid (hinge on one side and latch
on the other, so you can latch and unlatch when you need to toss
somehting in). We got one to dog-proof - try Bed, Bath and
Beyond....maybe Target or Kmart....
jessica
you could
1. put the garbage under the kitchen sink and then put a baby
proof latch on the door.
2. get a tall can with a lid attached that is opened by a foot
pedal. our baby (1 year old) has not been able to get into that.
3. get a can with a lid with a flap that you have to push in to
deposit garbage. a big one could work for the kitchen and a
small one for the changing table. our baby cannot push the flap
in to get the diapers out, thank goodness!
anon garbage mom
Get one of those super heavy step cans and/or put your garbage
can behind a childproof gate. Ask your friends with dogs what
they recommend - dogs are much worse on garbage cans than
babies, I assure you!
anon
A sturdy, low metal trash can with a lid that only opens when you step
on the lever
keeps our dog out of the kitchen garbage; for diapers we use the Diaper
Dekor.
N.
My third son was obsessed with throwing things away in the
garbage can- remote, keys, etc... I finally got him his own
garbage can which he could throw whatever he wanted into. It
seemed to help him get it out of his system. There are diaper
pails that latch (diaper genie or others like that) but that
would mean buying another thing.
cb
Feb 2004
My 16-month old loves to play with our kitchen trash can. I
have a Rubbermaid with a lid that slides open, and he loves to
open it and pull out trash. I have considered getting it
smaller can and placing it under out kitchen sink, but I think
it would be a pain to always undo the child-proof latch every
time I throw something away. I've also thought about
purchasing one of those metal cans with a foot petal. However
the lids are just as easy for my toddler to open. I'm tired of
saying ''no'' every time he plays with it. So any suggestions
would be appreciated!
Karen
This won't work forever, but for now you could keep the garbage
can up on the counter (or other out-of-reach spot). For a long
time, we kept our bathroom trash can on top of the toilet!
You may also find that you get used to doing the child-latch
pretty quickly if you have to.
Another possibility - a child gate across the kitchen door.
Put the garbage can on whatever side of the gate your crawling
child isn't on.
R.K.
My son has been doing the same thing since he was about 10
months- I know that we have lost toys and a remote control
because he is constantly playing with the trashcan. I finally
decided that I would get him his own trashcan and he loves it.
It has a flip top lid just like the one in our kitchen. He
actually drags it around the house with him putting his toys in
it and he really doesn't bother with the real one anymore. It
seems to have worked rather than to have encouraged him to
throw things away even more. I guess it was so irresistible
because it was forbidden. Now it's not.
CB
When we had a dog we started putting our kitchen trash can on top of a
kitchen chair/stepstool, and now, 5 years after the dog passed away,
and after the birth of 2 daughters, that's still the best place for the
trashcan. It's at a height that's perfect for us, the kids can't get into it, and
we just move the trashcan down if we need to use the stool. For waste
baskets in the other rooms, we just try to put them where the kids can't
easily reach them; back behind the toilets, in corners where they're less
noticeable. For the kids' room we have one with a lid that flips up when
you push a tab, but that one is also back in a corner, behind the
changing table. We just tried to say, ''Don't touch; that's dirty'', while
making a ''yuck!'' face...that's worked well with our now 2 and 4 year
olds.
Hope this helps,
Heidi
Try taping it shut for a while, after a few trys opening it
with no joy, he may lose interest. (my son did.)
this page was last updated: Oct 29, 2012
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network