As babies are getting bigger they also start to explore more and more of their environment. When they manage to reach the kitchen, they have reached exploration heaven!
There is no reason to make your life harder and lock up every cupboard in your kitchen. Why not leave the cupboards in which they can do minimal damage accessible to toddlers. You're certainly not doing your kids' development a favor by locking them out of the world...
We had a drawer with plastic containers and silicone baking forms which we decided not to lock. We also emptied one of the lower drawers and filled it up with stuff from the kids. This would be their drawer.
But the drawers and cupboards with pots, pans and cutlery would have to be locked, so on to the local DIY shop to buy some child locks. I had only one requirement and that was that I didn't want anything which required to be glued on the outside of the cupboards. I didn't want any glue traces to remain when the locks would be removed and actually I don't really believe in the durability of those glued solutions.
The most simple and failproof solution I could find are sliding locks for double cupboards. They require no installation, are straight forward in their use and we never had a child who managed to open them. They allow to close of the cupboards completely. The downside of this solution is that you require both hands to open and close them.
We did manage to break one ourselves so better look for models which are made from softer, less brittle plastic.
The second solution which worked the best in keeping out the kids is a lock and a latch combination.
It is important that the hook on the end of the latch is shaped so that it works like a barb. When kids want to open the cupboard, they will pull the door open until the latch hooks into the lock. They will then notice the latch and try to push it to open the door further. This will not work as the hook on the latch will have already engaged the lock. As an adult, you know the lock is there, you will pull the latch while opening the door thus avoiding the hook on the latch engaging with the lock so you will be able to open the door completely.
Finding the right position when installing them might be a little bit tricky. Best is to first position them with some double sided tape and test them until you find the right position. Then screw them in place.
These locks can be used both on doors and on drawers.
With some handiness, the door/drawer can be opened with just one hand.
Watch out because they allow for kids to open the doors/drawers for about 6 centimeters before they lock. So any items near the edge might still be in the kids' reach.
We managed to break a few of them when pushing the latch too hard or opening the door too energetically while forgetting the lock is there. If you can find some of a softer, less brittle plastic they are to be preferred.
The below child lock should kind of work on the same principle as the above one but because there is not really a hook working as a 'bard' the kids could easily open this lock by simply pushing on the latch. We removed it and installed a lock as the one described above. I do not recommend buying these locks.
A third solution which I installed was a sliding latch and hook. This one can only be used on drawers and is based on the same principle as above. When a toddler opens the drawer, the lock engages and then it is to late to disengage it. An adult will pull aside the latch while opening the drawer and thus avoid the latch and hook to engage.
These locks are easiest to install on wooden drawers as you need a place to fix the lock. I managed to attach the lock to a metal drawer but I had to be creative with some tie wraps and double sided tape. If you have a metal drawer, better stick to the second solution here above.
For these locks you will need both hands to open the drawer and disengage the latch. Just as in the second solution, a child can open the drawer for about 6 centimeters so it might still be able to reach inside.
The final solution to lock a drawer is an own invention. It is for our cutlery drawer which is located just under the cooker. It is a shallow drawer so there is not much space to install any hardware. The space is even more limited because the cooker protrudes the kitchen top.
I screwed a hook into the back of the drawers' front and attached a ring on a short rope with a screw to the cabinet.
When placing the ring over the hook, it will stop the drawer from opening further. When trying to open the drawer completely you have to open the drawer just a little to unhook the ring first and then you can pull it open entirely. You want to make the rope just long enough so you can just manage to hook and unhook the ring. As this lock is in the top drawer, toddlers can't see how it works and won't manage to unlock it.
You could try this solution also for cabinets and other drawers but when toddlers would see how it locks, they might figure out how to unlock... Try at your own risk.
A disadvantage of this solution is that you must not forget to put the ring unto the hook when closing the drawer otherwise it won't be locked.
I would also like to share a hack to make your cutlery drawer safer at no cost. We used to have our chef's knives in a big tray on the right side of our drawer. They were very easy to reach by the kids. We reorganized our drawer so all knives are in the back and the spoons in front. For us this solution was quite easily applicable because our drawer is square and we have a removable drawer insert. We just had to turn the insert 90 degrees.
When using the above solution for locking the cutlery drawer, the toddlers will be able to open the drawer just far enough to allow them to reach for the spoons in front but all other kitchen utensils will remain out of reach. This is great once they grow a little bigger, they will be able to get there spoons themselves from the kitchen when they need them.
Good luck in making your kitchen safe but still usable!