It happens more often than parents admit. A toddler finds the thumb-turn on the inside of the front door, or the key left in it. A gust of wind closes the door with a baby asleep inside and the keys on the hall table. A child locks the bathroom from the inside and cannot work out how to undo it.
Minute one: is anybody in danger?
Ring 112 straight away if:
- the child is very young and alone, or cannot be heard or seen;
- there is a cooker, a bath, a heater, a window or medicine within reach;
- the child is distressed, unwell or not answering;
- it is a car, on a warm day.
112 can send the emergency services, who will force a door if they have to. A locksmith is the right call when nobody is at risk and the aim is to open the door without breaking it.
Minutes two to five: keep talking
- Stay by the door and keep your voice calm. Talk, sing, tell them what you are doing.
- If the child can reach the lock, try simple instructions: “turn the little handle the other way”. If they cannot manage it after a couple of tries, stop asking; frustration makes it worse.
- Do not let them try to climb out of a window.
- Send somebody else to make the calls while you stay at the door.
When you ring a locksmith
Say straight away that a child is inside, and how old. Say what kind of door it is and how it closed: a door that swung shut on its latch is usually opened in minutes and without a mark, while a door locked with the key takes longer. Describe the address precisely; in a block, the floor and the door letter, and whether the street door is open. How each kind of door is opened, and what happens on an emergency call.
A car is different
Children and animals in a closed car are at risk much sooner than in a house, especially in the sun. Ring 112 first. Then a locksmith for the door: opening a locked car.
Afterwards
Take the key out of the inside of the front door, and think about a bathroom lock that opens from outside with a coin. Small changes, and it will probably never happen again.