Childproofing Package (Whole-Home)
The Handis whole-home childproofing package is a one-visit install — magnetic cabinet locks, tamper-resistant outlet covers, cushioned corner guards, stove knob covers, toilet locks, and pressure gates at doorways — walked room by room before any hardware goes in, from $250 for a small two-room scope to $700 for a full whole-home. A baby learns to crawl around seven months and finds every hazard in the house in the following week. Childproofing is the work that has to be done in one visit and finished before the child does the finding. Handis sends a vetted handyman with the hardware in the truck — and we walk the house with you first so the install matches your child's actual reach, not a generic checklist.
Service
What Does the Whole-Home Childproofing Package Include?
The childproofing package is one whole-home visit, not a kit. It bundles a room-by-room walkthrough, magnetic and adhesive cabinet locks, tamper-resistant outlet cover plates, cushioned corner and edge guards, stove knob covers, an oven lock, toilet lid locks, and pressure-mounted gates at doorways and room dividers — installed in a single pass after the walkthrough lists exactly what your house needs. Stair gates and grab bars are separate line items because they have to back into studs; anti-tip anchoring is also separate and lives on the canonical mounting page.
Room-by-Room Walkthrough
Before the first screw, we walk every room a child can reach. We note what you already have installed, what looks like a near-miss waiting (the under-sink chemical bay with no lock, the floor register in the hallway, the laundry detergent shelf two feet off the ground), and what does not need anything. The walkthrough is included and typically takes 20 to 30 minutes for an average single-family home. By the end of it you have a written list of what we are installing and what we are leaving alone.
Cabinet & Drawer Locks
Magnetic locks on quality kitchen and bath cabinets (the magnetic key stays on the fridge, the lock is invisible from the outside), adhesive latches on cabinets where magnetic hardware will not fit (cabinet wood too thin, hinge geometry wrong), and slide locks on knob-pair cabinets where neither magnetic nor adhesive will hold. Most kitchens take 12 to 20 locks; most baths take 4 to 8. We carry all three types in the truck and pick the right one per cabinet.
Tamper-Resistant Outlet Covers
Tamper-resistant (TR) outlet covers replace standard wall plates and have internal shutters that block single-prong insertion (a child pushing a key or a paperclip into one slot). The National Electrical Code has required TR receptacles in new construction since 2008, but older homes still have standard outlets — we swap the cover plate on every accessible outlet in the rooms your child uses. About two minutes per outlet. We do not replace the receptacle itself (that is electrician work for hardwire); the TR cover plate is the standard handyman swap.
Corner & Edge Guards
Coffee tables, side tables, fireplace hearths, and granite kitchen counter overhangs all sit at exactly the right height for a toddler's forehead. Cushioned corner guards (foam-filled, adhesive-backed) go on the corners; edge strips run along the long edges of hearth stones and counter overhangs. The adhesive holds through daily contact but releases without damage when the child outgrows the guard. From the manufacturer's spec, the adhesive needs 24 hours to fully cure — we tell you on install to leave it untouched overnight.
Stove Knob Covers and Oven Lock
Plastic shrouds over the stove knobs prevent a child from twisting a burner on. An oven door lock keeps the oven from being opened (most child burns from ovens happen when the door is open and the child grabs the inside of the door, not the burners themselves). Both are quick installs and a meaningful prevention layer on a gas or electric range.
Toilet Locks
Adhesive-mount toilet lid locks prevent the lid from being opened (drowning risk is real for toddlers — the CDC notes that infants and toddlers can drown in less than two inches of water). Adult release requires a side button and lift; the child cannot operate it without the button.
Pressure Gates at Doorways and Room Dividers
Pressure-mounted gates at kitchen doorways, hallway openings, and room dividers — installed level, tension-checked, and verified to stay put under a sustained push. These are NOT for the top of stairs (hardware-mounted required there — see stair gate installation). Pressure gates are appropriate for any opening where the wall material can take the lateral load and a small bump is the maximum force.
How the Childproofing Package Works
Six sequential steps from the room-by-room walkthrough to the pressure-gate tension check — the actual sequence we follow on every whole-home childproofing visit.
Room-by-Room Walkthrough
Before the first screw, we walk every room a child can reach with you, note what is already installed and what looks marginal, and flag the items most parents miss — under-sink chemical bays, floor registers, laundry detergent shelves. Twenty to thirty minutes for an average home, included in every package.
Cabinet & Drawer Locks
Magnetic locks on quality plywood cabinets (magnetic key stays on the fridge, lock invisible from outside), adhesive latches where magnetic hardware will not fit, and slide locks on knob-pair cabinets. We carry all three types in the truck and pick the right one per cabinet — most kitchens take 12 to 20 locks.
Tamper-Resistant Outlet Covers
Swap the standard wall plate for a tamper-resistant cover plate with internal shutters that block single-prong insertion on every accessible outlet in rooms your child uses. About two minutes per outlet. Full receptacle replacement is licensed electrician work — the TR cover plate is the handyman-scope install.
Corner Guards & Edge Strips
Cushioned foam-filled adhesive corner guards on coffee tables, side tables, and fireplace hearths; edge strips along the long edges of hearth stones and granite counter overhangs. The adhesive needs twenty-four hours to fully cure — we tell you on install to leave it untouched overnight.
Stove Knob Covers, Oven Lock, Toilet Locks
Plastic shrouds over stove knobs to prevent burner twist-on, an oven door lock to keep the door from being opened, and adhesive-mount toilet lid locks (a real drowning risk for toddlers per CDC guidance). Quick installs, meaningful prevention layer on gas or electric ranges.
Pressure Gate Install & Tension Check
Pressure-mounted gates at kitchen doorways, hallway openings, and room dividers — installed level, tension-checked, and verified to stay put under a sustained push. NOT for the top of stairs; that requires a hardware-mounted gate on the separate stair gate page.
Childproofing Package Pricing
Final pricing depends on room count, cabinet count, and outlet count. Stair gates, grab bars, and anti-tip anchoring are separate line items. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
How many rooms, what age — we will walk the house, list the hardware, and quote the whole visit.
Why Parents Book Handis for Childproofing
Most childproofing kits are sold for one child in one mental model of a house — kitchen lowers, bath under-sink, a doorway gate. The kit ships, the parent installs three things, the rest of the package sits in the closet, and the child still finds the laundry detergent because that shelf was not in the kit. After a few hundred walkthroughs across Seattle homes from 1924 craftsmans to brand-new builds, the pattern is clear — every house has its own set of items the previous owner skipped and items this layout makes harder to reach, and the only way to catch them is to walk the house before installing anything. The package is structured around the walkthrough; the hardware comes second.
Walked first, installed second
Every childproofing visit starts with a walkthrough — 20 to 30 minutes for the typical home. We note what you already have, what is missing, what looks marginal (a magnetic lock half-installed by the previous owner, a corner guard that has lost its adhesive), and what does not need anything. Only then do we open the truck and start installing. The walkthrough is included in every package; it is the single biggest reason real childproofing differs from a kit install.
Locks matched to the cabinet, not bought from a kit
Magnetic locks are the cleanest install but they need a flat inside cabinet face and enough wood depth for the screws — a quality plywood cabinet takes them; a 1/2-inch MDF particle-board cabinet often does not. Adhesive latches work where magnetic does not but they need a clean, dry surface and 24 hours to cure. Slide locks handle knob-pair cabinets that neither of the others will fit. We carry all three in the truck and pick per cabinet, not per kit.
Hardware that releases without damage at move-out
Most childproofing hardware is adhesive-mounted on purpose so it leaves no holes — outlet covers swap with the existing plate, corner guards and edge strips use a moderate-tack adhesive that releases with a heat gun or even a hair dryer, magnetic locks use small screws into the inside cabinet wall (invisible from the outside). Renters can outfit a unit fully and remove every piece at move-out with minimal patching.
NEC tamper-resistant standard followed
Tamper-resistant outlets have been required by the National Electrical Code in new residential construction since the 2008 cycle, but older homes still have standard receptacles. Our standard install is the TR cover plate on every accessible outlet, which provides the shutter behavior without requiring a receptacle swap (which would be electrician work). If you want full NEC-compliant TR receptacles installed, that is a separate visit by a licensed Washington L&I electrician and we are happy to refer.
Cross-linked to anti-tip and stair gates
Childproofing is one trade with several physical jobs — locks and covers (this page), stair gates (next page over), anti-tip anchoring (canonical mounting page), grab bars (separate page). We combine all of them into one visit when you ask. The package pricing on this page is for the locks-covers-guards-pressure-gate scope; stair gates and grab bars are separate line items because they back into studs and take longer per piece. Mention everything on the booking call and we will quote the whole visit.
Estimate
Share the room count, the cabinet count (lower kitchen and bath cabinets are the headcount), the approximate outlet count in accessible rooms, and your child's age (or due date if pre-crawl). We will quote the full visit.
Customer Reviews
Whole-home and single-room childproofing package reviews from real Handis customers.
Whole-home childproofing six weeks before our son was due. The walkthrough is what sold us — the tech flagged a magnetic latch the previous owner had left half-installed under the kitchen sink, the laundry detergent shelf that was two feet off the ground, and a hallway floor register we had not even thought of. Then he installed 18 cabinet locks, every accessible outlet, eight corner guards, a stove knob set, a toilet lock, and pressure gates at three doorways. Done in an afternoon.
Just needed the kitchen done before our daughter started exploring near the cabinets. The tech walked the kitchen, installed magnetic locks on every lower cabinet, an adhesive latch on the two cabinets that the magnetic style would not fit, an oven door lock, and stove knob covers. He also pointed out two drawers we had not thought about (the one with the cling wrap with the serrated edge, and the silverware drawer). About 50 minutes.
Renter-friendly install on a one-bedroom apartment. Outlet covers, adhesive cabinet latches (no holes), pressure gate at the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway, corner guards on the coffee table and the TV stand. Everything will come off without damage at move-out. Tech was clear about which items would leave a small hole (none of these) and which would not. Forty minutes for the apartment plus the walkthrough.
Three-room package for kitchen, primary bath, and nursery. The tech did the kitchen with magnetics and a slide lock on the under-sink knob pair, the bath with the same plus a toilet lock, and the nursery with outlet covers and a pressure gate at the doorway. He also recommended anti-tip on the dresser and the changing table — added those to the same visit since he was already there. About two hours, one trip charge for everything.
Update to childproofing we did three years ago for our first kid. New gates for the playroom we converted last year, a lock on the new laundry-room cabinet, and four new outlet covers in the office (our second is starting to crawl over there now). The tech reused the old magnetic key from our first round so we did not need a new one. In and out in 40 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the whole-home childproofing package — scope, pricing, products, and what to expect.