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When living with kids, it is important to make the home a safe space for them. Whether your child is a baby, toddler, preschooler, or school-aged child, their safety is a top priority. They are curious by nature and tend to get into trouble, which reiterates the point of extra caution and safety.
We often have things around the home which if a child gets a hold of may cause them harm, and their inability to gauge danger puts them at risk. In addition to dangerous items, there are also valuables, important documents, and electronic devices that need to be kept away from children, simply because if they get their hands on them, they are sure to damage or destroy them!
The best way to keep both your valuables and family safe is to keep such items away from the reach of children. The best way to do that is to keep them in childproof safes. Compared to locked drawers and cupboards, safes are much more secure and offer benefits such as fire and water resistance.
Read on to find out all about childproof safes, their key features, why they are important, and some of the best types of childproof safes to invest in:
WHAT ARE CHILDPROOF SAFES?
Safes are secure storage boxes used to keep your valuables safe from theft and damage. They are built with sturdy materials to prevent breaking and tampering, and they come equipped with locking mechanisms that make it very difficult to break into them.
There are several types of safes available for domestic use. They come in various shapes and sizes and can be used to store different items. Some of the most commonly stored items include cash, jewellery, important documents, items of sentimental value, medications, and electronic media such as USBs and hard drives.
Although home safes are generally very secure and can prevent unauthorised access, some are equipped with special features that make them childproof and difficult to open. As mentioned above, some items need to be kept as far away as possible from children, and childproof safes offer the perfect solution for this.
KEY FEATURES OF CHILDPROOF SAFES
All good safes have a few important features that make them a secure option for protecting your valuables. Two of the most basic features are sturdy construction and a secure locking mechanism. The more feature-rich a safe is, the better it is at keeping its contents safe.
When it comes to childproof safes, they have a few key features that make it difficult for children to pry them open and get their hands on the contents. These include:
Secure Locking Mechanism
Childproof safes are reinforced with a secure locking mechanism that a child cannot manipulate or tamper with. There are several types of safe locks available, with standard key locks being the most common option. With key safe locks, the door to the safe opens and closes with a physical key, and whoever has access to the key has access to the safe. However, if your children are old enough to operate a key, this option may not be the most suitable.
Combination locks are high-quality mechanical locks that require dialling a code in a certain sequence to unlock the safe’s door. They are strong and secure and are often difficult for children to operate, especially little ones. Additionally, they would need the right code to open the safe, and guesswork won’t be of any help.
Electronic locks are battery-operated locks that require a code to be entered through a keypad, just like how you would enter your PIN in an ATM. They are easy to use and changing the code is very easy in case your child or an unauthorised individual gets access to it.
Biometric Access
Biometric access is an advanced form of access control that uses your unique physical features such as your fingerprint, retina scan, and voice recognition to grant access. Biometric locks are very secure locks that are now being widely adopted for domestic and commercial use.
Biometric safe locks are impossible to manipulate as they operate only with an authorised individual’s biometrics. Unlike keys, combinations, and codes that can be stolen, copied, or shared, biometric authentication is the ideal choice for childproofing your safe.
Dual Authentication
Dual authentication for safes refers to using two forms of authentication methods for opening the safe lock. It is also called two-factor authentication since it uses two forms of different identification to grant or deny access.
The safe may use a pin code along with a fingerprint, or a physical key along with a password to open the lock. Both forms of authentication are required, and it is impossible to open the safe with just one. This way, even if your child gets a hold of the safe key or somehow gets to know the code, they will still need the second authentication method to open the safe.
Mounting
Safes can be installed in various places around the house. Mounting them to a wall can prevent children from being able to reach the safe and move it or try to pry it open. It is recommended to place them at a height so that they are a safe distance.
Wall safes are specific types of security safes that are installed inside a wall. They are usually small and can accommodate a few items such as papers, a bit of emergency cash, medicines, boxed jewellery, or loose jewels.
The great thing about wall safes is that they are installed at eye level, which makes it much easier to access the contents, all the while being difficult to access for children.
Motion Sensors
Some safes come equipped with motion sensors to prevent unauthorised access. The motion sensors detect movement within a certain radius of the safe and trigger alerts to send to your smartphone.
The most common type of motion sensors are passive infrared (PIR) sensors that detect changes in the infrared radiation emitted by the objects near them. These sensors are connected to an alarm that gets triggered when movement is detected.
This feature is extremely useful for keeping not only intruders and burglars away from your valuables but also great at keeping them protected from your family members, including children.
Real-Time Alerts and Notifications
The best way to protect both your valuables and your children from harm is to always be in the know. Modern safes send real-time alerts for all access attempts, including details of when the access attempt was made, how many times, and by whom.
If your child or any unauthorised individual tries to break into the safe, you will receive an instant notification on your phone. Some smart safes also can automatically lock if any tampering attempts are made.
TYPES OF CHILDPROOF SAFES
There are several types of home safes suitable for keeping your valuables protected from all kinds of threats. With the right features, any type of safe can become childproof. All it requires is proper installation, a secure locking mechanism, and a high level of access control.
Some of the most popular home safes for childproofing include:
Wall Safes
Wall safes are one of the most popular types of home safes. They are a great option for securing your valuables as well as providing easy access. They are installed in the walls of your home and, since they are usually at eye level, accessing them is much easier on your back, especially when compared to safes installed on the floor.
Their size is dependent on the size and depth of the walls in your home, and they can easily be hidden from plain sight by covering the door of the safe with a painting or piece of furniture.
Underfloor Safes
Underfloor safes are secure storage boxes that, as their name suggests, are installed under the floor of your home. They are placed within the concrete flooring and offer a high level of security for storing your valuables.
Due to their position and permanent installation into the flooring, they are difficult to pry open by unauthorised individuals, including children, and their opening on the floor can be hidden under a carpet or piece of furniture.
Freestanding Safes
Freestanding safes aren’t installed into the walls or floors of your home. Instead, they sit on top of the floor and come with fixings to bolt them to the ground for maximum security. These safes come with an array of features and can have different locking mechanisms such as biometric and drill-resistant locks.
They come in a variety of sizes and can weigh anywhere from 10 kg up to 2 tons. They are made from sturdy materials and the larger and bulkier ones provide added protection from theft, burglaries, intrusions, and tampering due to their weight.
Fire Safes
Fire safes are safes that not only protect your valuables from theft but also from being damaged and ruined due to fires. They offer protection from the high heat and flames in case of a fire incident.
The intensity of heat that the safe can withstand is determined by its fire rating. The higher the fire rating, the longer it can withstand the fire. Fire-resistant safes have a double-walled steel body with their cavity filled with a special fire-resistant composite such as alum or gypsum that releases water vapour to create a pressure seal and keep the interior as cool as possible. They also have vents placed strategically in various areas to control the pressure and humidity levels inside the safe.
Data Safes
Data safes are made specifically for storing items such as laptops, USBs, hard drives, cash, and any important documents including IDs, passports, and birth certificates. These safes are usually smaller than other types of safes and are designed to keep paper and small electronic equipment safe.
A few important features of data safes include fire and water resistance that protect your valuables from getting destroyed in the event of a fire or flood.
SMART CHILDPROOF SAFES
Smart safes are modern safes equipped with advanced technology that enhance their level of security and control. They are a great option if you wish to have a childproof safe that keeps both your valuables and your family safe.
Smart safes have all the features of a good childproof safe including a secure locking mechanism, biometric access, motion sensors, and real-time alerts and notifications.
In addition to these amazing features, smart safes can connect to the internet and integrate seamlessly with the smart home ecosystem including smart home security devices such as smart burglar alarms, smart CCTV cameras, smart door locks, and smart lights.
If a child walks near a safe and tries to access its contents, the smart safe sends an alert to the smart burglar alarm to trigger a sound. This way, regardless of where the parents or guardians are of the child, they will know that someone is near the safe and can take instant action to remove the child from there.
The same is the case with smart CCTV cameras. They can be used to monitor the area and provide live footage and recordings of any access attempts. An alert of “human detected” will instantly be sent to the owners’ smartphone for immediate action.
The smart safes can also be connected with smart lights. If anyone tries to go near the safe in the dark, the motion sensors on the safe will trigger the smart lights to turn on to attract attention.
Another great feature of smart safes is that they can connect to voice assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri to control and manage their safety. Voice commands can be sent to lock and unlock the safe and to receive any information regarding the safe and its contents, such as how many times it was accessed, at what times, and by whom.
CONTACT CALDER SECURITY
We, at Calder Security, are members of the Master Locksmith Association (MLA) and are familiar with a wide range of safes, cash boxes, and strong boxes. Our SSAIB-approved contractors can help you assess your security needs and recommend a suitable safe perfect for your requirements.
We offer professional safe installation services to not only prevent theft and fire damage but also ensure that the safe is secured in place properly, cannot be removed, and is not in danger of falling or damaging anything.
We also offer safe opening services since misplacing the keys, forgetting the code, or failure of the safe itself can all lead to the contents of the safe being inaccessible. By design, of course, safes are very difficult to access in these circumstances and you need a professional safe engineer to do it for you. Our Calder specialists can open most safes and restore them to full working order afterward.
When you need to relocate or remove your safe entirely, you can count on us to carry out the job with ease. In addition to that, our professional safe repair and maintenance services ensure that your safes are always in optimal health providing you with the best security.
Contact us here or call us at 0800 612 9799 to talk to our security professionals for more information on childproof safes and how you can keep your valuables and family safe.
Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash