# Making Things Kid Proof (a rant)



## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

It still boggles my mind the destruction some children are capable of, and the cavalier attitude some parents have towards it.

Over the years I've returned to clients homes to repair more damaged cabinet doors that I've built than I care to know.

I usually get an apologetic call that goes like this _"Hi, one of your doors is cracked, I think one of the kids opened it too hard"_

Not long ago I got one of these calls and proceeded to the home where there was a stile still on the face frame with one hinge. and the splintered door leaning against the wall.

Well, IMO there are weak points on any door especially when the hinges have limited travel, and are opened with the velocity of a speeding train. Vertically, most doors can not be hung on, even by a thirty pound kid. And lastly, speaker mesh _will_ eventually give if extruded beyond it's tearing point.

It's not sad to see my work damaged, it's sad how much the parent paid the first time for that cherry or walnut door.

Lastly, most of my doors are all standard stick and cope joinery with a conservative amount of glue in the joint. I've seen the joint hold, but the face of the stile with a three inch crack in it. I would think in most cases the joint would fail first.


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## garryswf (Aug 17, 2009)

*Hard to believe*

Joe,
I read your thread and would like to comment (i'm on your side on this one) but what i would have to say could possibly get me kicked off this forum. Here is my softer take on this issue (i will be polite) my cabinet doors, doors going into the kids bedrooms, and most anything else that i put alot of sweat into so the kids could have a nice home were "NOT" damaged due to kids that needed a good ole fashion &***%&##@&. I did have a door intentionaly kicked which also put a hole in the drywall, long story short, i fixed the drywall took the door off the hindges and did not replace it until i was asked one day (which was about three months later) if i was going to replace the door so they could have some privacy. Now i'm getting to what could make the moderator throw me off this forum.:furious::furious:


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Garry, you have it correct. It is not the doors nor the kids that are the problem. It is the parents!!!

These days too many parents do not know how to raise their children. Part of the blame for this rest on society for its preoccupation with no physical punishment. The old saying of "spare the rod, spoil the child" holds true now and will hold true for the foreseeable future. Of course you just cannot beat the children to pieces, but the threat and occasional use of physical punishment is still the best method of instilling discipline.

A well rounded, educated disciplinary program is the preferred method. However, too many parents abdicate to their children and they therefore run wild.

G


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## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Accountablilty*

Yep, I agree. It's the parents not properly teaching about accountability and then following up with appropriate discipline.
I see it everyday when I go out to shop. Especially at the grocery stores.


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## Tangoshoes (Dec 24, 2009)

I agree here about parenting now days. I'm 26 years old I have a half brother and sister who are 7 and 10. The way I was raised was that you should treat furniture and your house so that it lasts forever. I can remember my father yelling at me as a teen for walking too hard on the hardwood floors lol! Unfortunately my brother and sister have literally wrecked their house they have no sense of how to treat things. My brother climbs on the couch like a monkey!!! Some where along the line my father "gave up". It makes me cringe to see the things they have destroyed especially in these economic times.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

The biggest problem is that most people don't believe in physical punishment. Let me tell you, I am not one of them. I have big hands and they are like leather, and my kids know that if they go to far they are going to get to feel the leather on their backside. I do agree however that some people take it too far. One good swat is good enough to get the kids attention. It has been a long time since I have needed to do that. All I have to do now is give them the look, and they know what is coming if they don't stop. Just my .02


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## Dusty82 (Dec 23, 2009)

What he said ^^^! Thankfully all of our kids are grown now, so that's not really a problem around here.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

*IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE KIDS*

Two phone calls come to mind.

*The first:* Little old lady..."Hello...cabinetman...could you come out and fix one of your doors...it's falling off the cabinet".

*What I saw:* This was a desk assembly. It had upper cabinets over the length of the desk. One door directly above the kneehole was hanging from one hinge.

*What actually happened:* Little old lady has trouble getting out of her chair. She grabs the handle of the door above to lift herself up.


*The second:* Client that I had done a complete kitchen, bedroom furniture, entertainment center and a dining buffet..."Hello...cabinetman...would you come out and fix a door on the buffet you made...it won't close".

*What I saw:* A door on the buffet would not close. I opened the door and there were table linnens packed so full inside, preventing closure. BTW, yes...she was a blonde.

I made it a habit to include with delivery and installation, a *CABINET CARE AND MAINTENANCE* instructions. What I outlined was the proper use and handling, how to clean, what not to use, all based on what the product was, either wood or laminate. It's hard to believe they even read that stuff.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

"It's hard to believe they even read that stuff."

Just what makes you think they do read it?

G


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