condo safety for climbing toddlers

[tanusa]

Hello. Just arrived in Singapore three days ago. Started our home search today and was immediately concerned about the windows and balconies in the condos we saw. I have a 2.5 year-old son who is a MAJOR climber. When I asked about safety options for the windows, the only option for three of the four places we saw were child locks on the windows. Which means, I'd never be able to keep them open. Doesn't seem like a good option for this climate. The other option in one of the places was to ask for grills (bars) to be added to the windows. They cover the entire window (not just the lower half as we had back home) and are huge. They really seem to block the view and make you feel caged in (they had the grills already covering the balcony).

I've asked to see town homes and cluster homes next and am hoping they may be better for us until my son is a bit older. I guess we could look at ground floor places, but I haven't seen that as an option since there seems to be other things like the gym, etc. on the ground level.

Has anyone else had this issue? What did you do?

[QRM]

A town houses will still have a second or third floor windows a kid can fall out off.

If its a modern condo most windows will have a saftey latch to restrict the opening to a 100mm. Just take a common sense approach to furniture layout, dont give the kid the opportunity to climb near an opening, no tables, shelves against a wall with a window. All curtains and roller cords tied up out of reach.

We also had a no furniture/pot plant on the balcony rule at home.

Another issue is stopping the kid from chucking stuff out of windows, mounted mozzie nets work well.

[Mom2one]

I am real concerned about this too ! I am thinking of getting those sticky alrams that can be mounted on windows such that if someone opens a window beyond the adjusted height the circuit is broke and the alarm goes off (hopefully this won't become a game !). I am just wondering if any of the safety locks found in the US in babies r us will work here. The ones I have seen are mostly for double hung windows of US. I am scared.

[tanusa]

Hi Mom2one, those alarms are a good idea. We ended up finding a ground floor apartment. It has two levels, so the landlord was kind enough to put safety grills on the second floor in the kids' rooms. I've been told by several people most landlords will put bars on the windows if you request them. I wasn't crazy about the idea of bars on every window, so we took the ground level approach. It has worked out well, except that now we have the pool to worry about. It's literally only a few meters from our back patio. I have our gate padlocked! Good luck with your search. I found apartment searching to be pretty stressfull, but in the end we found a place we're pretty happy with. I hope it works out well for you too.

[QRM]

Not that I want to add fuel to the fire, but many people are concerned the window grills are a potential fire trap. Not a problem on a high floor but on lower floors it hampers rescue efforts by neighbours.

[tanusa]

Not that I want to add fuel to the fire, but many people are concerned the window grills are a potential fire trap. Not a problem on a high floor but on lower floors it hampers rescue efforts by neighbours.

yes, I agree. the grills in my daughter's room were locked with no key available. We are having a new lock put on it with the key. We'll literally attach the key to the grill out of reach of my son, but so that it is right by the lock if needed. we also have fire escape ladders for the rooms upstairs.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Not that I want to add fuel to the fire, but many people are concerned the window grills are a potential fire trap. Not a problem on a high floor but on lower floors it hampers rescue efforts by neighbours.

yes, I agree. the grills in my daughter's room were locked with no key available. We are having a new lock put on it with the key. We'll literally attach the key to the grill out of reach of my son, but so that it is right by the lock if needed. we also have fire escape ladders for the rooms upstairs.

Sounds like a cool thing to do! Do you have any idea why there are grills on the doors & windows? Primarily to keep cat-burglars out. (Not the cat stealing type) Sounds like an primo idea to keep the key to the locks next to the locks! NOT.

[road.not.taken]

The management installed grills on our 'backyard area' when we were 27 floors up because a poor, unfortunate maid fell to her death while hanging laundry

We had three toddlers when we moved to Singapore and we found a place that had no balconies and awning type windows which only opened 4 inches or so. When the same management company came up to 'fix' the windows so they would open wider I said 'no thank you'.

When it's all said and done, I'd rather have some peace of mind and a little less fresh air circulation.

[tanusa]

Not that I want to add fuel to the fire, but many people are concerned the window grills are a potential fire trap. Not a problem on a high floor but on lower floors it hampers rescue efforts by neighbours.

yes, I agree. the grills in my daughter's room were locked with no key available. We are having a new lock put on it with the key. We'll literally attach the key to the grill out of reach of my son, but so that it is right by the lock if needed. we also have fire escape ladders for the rooms upstairs.

Sounds like a cool thing to do! Do you have any idea why there are grills on the doors & windows? Primarily to keep cat-burglars out. (Not the cat stealing type) Sounds like an primo idea to keep the key to the locks next to the locks! NOT.

Well, our grills are on the second level to keep my two-year-old son from climbing out the window. I'm not too concerned about cat-burglars trying to get in. But I am, as the other poster brought up, concerned about fire hazards.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Proper fireproof of the home is the way to go. Everybody should take a course in fire safety and how to spot potential fire hazards. As far a taking a chance on the grill locks. Well, suit yourself. As the old saying goes here (courtesy of addadude who coined the phrase) Low crime doesn't mean NO crime! Forewarned is forearmed. Anyway, good luck with your climbing toddler (my daughter was great for that in her day as well).

[Mom2one]

What is this bit about the cat burglers. Are they common in Singapore ?

Also I believe that most houses have air-conditioning in the window type unit (not central a/c) so does one need to keep the window open a lot ? Do folks use ceiling fans ?

Tanusa was it difficult to find a ground floor house ? Our budget is to keep it below $5000 and be near an MRT.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Common? Depends on your definition of common. Yes there are, but not as many as in the west, primarily due to all the grills on the doors & windows.

I think you will find that Split air conditioners is the most common type of aircon here. About the only window units you will find are the casement types (vertical, not horizontal) as sliding windows (left & right as opposed to up & down) are more popular here. Ceiling fans? I've used ceiling fans here for 28 years. In fact, I don't even have air conditioning and never have had except for a small casement unit in the computer room that, maybe gets used once every couple of months.

[tanusa]

What is this bit about the cat burglers. Are they common in Singapore ?

Also I believe that most houses have air-conditioning in the window type unit (not central a/c) so does one need to keep the window open a lot ? Do folks use ceiling fans ?

Tanusa was it difficult to find a ground floor house ? Our budget is to keep it below $5000 and be near an MRT.

The apartment we're in was the only ground floor we saw. We looked at about 40 places. Most were high-rise buildings. We also saw cluster homes (sort of like a townhouse) and semi- and detached houses. A house would have been our next option, but we lucked out with the apartment.

[hbw65]

we are on the 4th floor and all of windows are locked shut b/c of our 2 year old. we never really open our windows. we tried opening our doors to our balcony, but tons of flies came in.....i think it's just b/c we are on a low floor. i am ok with using a/c if it means that my child is safe.

[christieS]

I live on the 26th floor and my windows have no locks or grills. As if that's not terrifying enough, there are ledges in the children's bedrooms that when climbed up on make it so that the window's opening is waist-high to the toddler! I have been trying to find someone who will install a safety latch or lock on my windows, and every contractor I've asked acts like this is totally impossible and completely unheard of! Can someone please recommend a window company that can do either a latch or lock? I prefer to avoid grills if possible because (a) it will cost about $2000 and (b) I'm just renting and the landlord won't chip in.

Thanks,
Christie