How to keep a kid from going out a storm/screen door?

In a rental I have to go to in a little bit, I have to switch around a couple entry door locks(one is a lever lock) and slip on those child-proof knob covers.

But I asked the tenant the other day, when I also was there, that if he is trying to keep the kid inside, then what about the storm door? I asked him that since there are few operable windows in the living room and kitchen to let a breeze through in the summer (one each), and each of these rooms has a nice metal-screen door -are they looking to make it so those doors cannot open?

Well, for now their main concern is the entry door. I don't think they really even gave thought to the storm/screen door that much.

I metnioned to the dad, with the clever 2 1/4 year old boy, why he just doesn't latch the storm door. I tried it and it works. He said, "Because he gets a stool and unlatches it". Really! You've got to be kiddin'!", I said. I then said, 'YOUR kid is TOO smart, unfortunately.

I thought of barrel bolting the door up high. But in case of a fire, might one not be liable for installing something like this where a tenant might forget that extra latch is there?

Any company make anything clever, or a special latch kit, for storm doors, that both make it so kids can't just go out and wander off, and yet not complicate one's ability to quickly vacate the premises?

We can send a man to the moon, so......................

 

What happened when you did stuff like that when you were a kid???? You got smacked, or if your parents were gooshy liberal, you were scolded severely. Like you say, you don't want to get into a liability thing, so parental control is the next best thing. Of course, now, we don't spank, and we don't talk harshly, so I don't know what to do. Glad my kids are grown.

 

Hitting a 2 year old just because our idiot parents did it in the 50s is not the answer. I'm sure your kids are glad they are grown too.

The original poster is looking for a reasonable way to keep the tenant's family safe & comfortable at the same time. A sliding bolt is fine. A red warning label can be added on the wall or door to notify anyone who is not familiar that it's there or who may forget in a panic.

Edit: I hope there is a fire extinguisher in the place.

 

There is a difference in disciplining a child and "hitting" them. I don't advocate hitting a child. I was merely bringing up how things have changed over the years. If you're old enough, you remember. If you aren't, you'll never know. I do advocate discipline. My kids grew up just fine, and without any hitting, thankyouverymuch.
There is no reasonable way for the OP to make the screen door both impenetrable by a child and penetrable in an emergency at the same time. In a panic, little red warning signs are invisible. Fire extinguishers are good for 30 seconds.
Train the child. Leave the door as a "door", not a jail cell.

 

Yes, I'm old enough to remember.
Are you saying that there should be a fire extinguisher there?
I still think the door should be safely secured the way I described. I wouldn't worry about the fire dept.

 

I'm not worried about the fire deparment.....they're on oxygen tanks.....the kid inside ain't. So we agree to disagree. That's ok.

 

Simple hook and eye with the spring loaded latch on the hook? Though with a metal door, that can be problematic.

If the kid is smart enough to get a stool and unlatch whats there, then he should be smart enough to understand why he shouldn't do it. Next time he does it, have him sit on the stool in the corner, until he apologizes and promises not to do it again. No one here watches SuperNanny? lol

 

Legally, you may be not allowed to have a primary residential door be lockable on the inside. Unless you can prove this door is a secondary door, then you can stall a double cylinder lock.

Otherwise Fire/Life Safety Codes require emergency escape.

You want to childproof?

Consider one of those hinge locks....very inexpensive, easy to fit and quick to use.

 

A hook & eye is a good idea too, unless the boy rents a scaffold to open it.