5 Genius Strategies to Stop Your Toddler Slamming Doors

Toddler slamming doors – how to deal with it without losing your cool.

Living at home with a toddler, you get the chance to listen to many delightful sounds. There’s the sound of your toddler screeching (obviously), cutlery clanking as your toddler pulls it out of the drawers, toys squeaking as they’re being thrown about everywhere….and then the unmistakable thudding sound of doors being slammed every 5 minutes.

Many toddlers seem to be obsessed with doors. And at any given time of the day can be seen opening, closing, swinging from or slamming them shut.

Slamming doors aren’t just annoying to the ears. They can also pose a huge safety hazard to your little one.

About 30,000 children trap their fingers in doors each year and more than 1,500 of them need surgery. Children and toddlers whose fingers are crushed by closing doors can end up with lifelong problems, plastic surgeons are warning.
BBC

Why do toddlers slam doors?

Unlike adults, most toddlers don’t slam doors out of anger but out of fascination. Slamming doors allows your child to witness cause and effect. It’s also fun for your child to watch the door swing and then shut with a loud bang. The animated reaction that toddlers get from caregivers is another reason toddlers slam doors.

How do you stop a toddler slamming doors?

The most effective way to deal with a toddler slamming doors is to get a door pinch guard. This is a door proofing hack most parents use because it stops the door from slamming shut and also prevents your child’s fingers from getting bruised or cut.

Stop Your Toddler Slamming Doors – 5 Strategies You Should Try

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1. Teach toddler how to close the door without slamming

This might sound very obvious and it is. But it’s amazing how many times as parents we expect our child to know what to do without ever having demonstrated to them the behavior we expect of them.

We want our kids to shut the door gently? Why not SHOW them what gently actually means.

Numerous studies and experiments show us that children behave the way they see their parents behave. In other words, its very important to be a role model for the behavior you want to see in your children.

So here’s what you can do. Go up to your child and say: “Hey I just realized I’ve never taught you how to shut the door, come let’s go practice!”

Then say you’ll teach them a little trick which helps the door shut softly instead of loudly.

Show them how if you pull the handle down or twist the handle (depending on which kind of door you have) BEFORE shutting, then it closes softly.

Make it sound exciting, as if you’ve taught them the coolest trick they’ve ever seen. Then have them practice infront of you. And when they do it right, make a big deal about it so they feel like they’ve learnt something amazing.

2. Toddler proof your door

While the above does sound wonderful and will hopefully reduce the number of times the door gets slammed in your house, it’s best to err on the side of caution (we are talking about toddlers after all!)

There are a number of products designed to toddler proof your door including door knob covers and toddler door locks.

9 Ways to Deal with a Toddler Destroying the House

To deal with the slamming issue, it’s best to use a door pinch gaurd which has specifically been designed to deal with slamming doors.

Made from soft Eva foam, this door pinch guard available on Amazon has been designed to protect against door injuries, slamming and preventing kids and pets from getting locked in.

3. Do not yell or resort to punishment

Your toddler is running in and out of the room and slamming it every time. You’ve gently asked him not to slam like 500 times in the day. But it keeps happening.

I get it. It can get really frustrating. And it can be temping to raise your voice, yell and resort to punishment.

But that’s just going to reinforce the very same behavior you don’t want to see. The second your toddler discovers that doors getting slammed winds you up, he will do it repeatedly just to get a reaction from you.

When the child misbehaves, resist the temptation to lecture, nag, scold, yell, or punish. Negative reactions will only keep the negative interaction going.
psychcentral.com

4. Avoid repeating

It can be tempting to repeat yourself. But repeatedly saying “Stop slamming the door”, “Stop it, the door will break” or “Stop doing that” will only result in your toddler tuning you out.

5. Lock the doors or leave them open

Whenever possible, try to have as many doors in your house locked or left open.

In our home the bathroom door and laundry room doors have locks on them. The kitchen cupboard, fridge and freezer doors also all have toddler proofing locks on them.

Also, I’ve noticed that the doors that tend to get slammed the most are the ones that are closed. When they’re left open, theres less likelihood of your toddler playing with the door.

And so the doors in the house that can be left open should remain open.

Extra Measures to Prevent Door Injuries to Toddlers

Even after teaching your child not to slam doors, it’s still important to take extra precautions. Door injuries to little kids is a common occurance. Toddlers in particular are still learning basic life skills and can sometimes forget to take their fingers away from the door when closing it shut. So they can easily get their finger bruised.

According to The British Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (Bapras) “injuries in some cases could lead to amputation and long-term pain”.

Most door injuries for kids aged 1-2 occurs when your child’s finger gets jammed in the hinges of the door. For older kids, injuries occur more frequently on the handle side of the door.

Here are some more ideas you can try to prevent your child’s hand or fingers getting jammed in the door:

Use door hinge protectors on doors to prevent your child’s finger getting crushed in the door hinges. These are long strips made from polypropylene material that you can easily put on your doors. They are easy to stick to the door and don’t change the way your door works.