Tips to Keep Children Safe Near Garage Doors

It’s no secret that the garage isn’t the safest place for young children. You’ve probably already childproofed any drawers or cabinets in your garage to keep your kids from accessing sharp tools or cleaning agents. You also know not to leave power tools plugged in. But how can you childproof a garage door?

Garage door child safety starts with you as a parent, just like any other kind of safety you teach your kids about. Not only are there garage door safety tips you should share with your children, but you should also perform regular maintenance to keep children safe near garage doors.

How to Childproof Garage Doors

From regular maintenance to features designed specifically with safety in mind, here are some steps you can take to childproof a garage door:

1. Inspect Your Garage Door Often

Even if your door is operating smoothly, you should be on the lookout for any broken cables or springs and get them fixed immediately.

2. Test the Reversing Mechanism

This is an essential safety feature for a garage door, so if you don’t have one, you should look into it. With this feature, your garage door will automatically reverse if there is anything in its path.

Test it at least once a month using an object like a piece of wood, and make sure the door reverses as soon as it comes in contact with the object. Contact your garage door service provider right away if the mechanism fails.

3. Keep the Garage Door Opener Out of Reach

You might consider enlisting the help of a technician to reposition your garage door opener so that children can’t reach it and touch the buttons. Placing a cover on top is also a good idea.

4. Seal Any Gaps With Rubber

Adding seals will keep small hands from getting stuck in gaps in panels — and it helps with insulation, too.

Garage Door Safety Tips for Children

Once you know how to childproof your garage door and keep up with maintenance, your work is halfway done! Here are some garage door safety tips you should share with your children:

1. Never play near garage doors. It’s easy to bump into hinges and joints that can injure your child as well as cause damage to the door. Not only that, but someone could press a button — either accidentally, or not knowing that children are nearby — and close the garage door. Make sure kids understand this and remember to keep a safe distance from the door.
2. Don’t press any buttons. Younger children, in particular, may need to be reminded not to press the button to open or close the garage door. Just like pushing buttons on the stove, this is a task for adults to handle.

Your garage door might be a stylish, functional feature of your home, but it’s also a complex mechanical system. Practice garage door safety around your child and keep your door well maintained so that it can protect your home for years to come.

Oregon City Garage Door is your trusted local company for all garage door needs in Portland and the surrounding areas! Give us a call at 503-632-3070 or contact us for childproofing and other garage door services today.