Safety and Security Considerations

The main reason for locking anything is for safety and security. You obviously don't want everyone being able to open the cabinet and look through it to see what you have in there. But equally you don't want tiny hands going anywhere they shouldn't be going – in case they find something that could be dangerous.

Security Benefits
  • Privacy protection
  • Child safety
  • Medication security
Safety Concerns
  • Child access
  • Dangerous items
  • Unauthorized access

Parental Considerations

For many parents, having a lockable bathroom cabinet is a must. Even when their children are tiny there is still a chance that they could get up to the cabinet somehow and open it. This danger, however slight it may be, is enough to warrant buying a lockable bathroom cabinet in most if not all cases.

Child Safety Priority

This danger, however slight it may be, is enough to warrant buying a lockable bathroom cabinet in most if not all cases.

Child-Free Households

Many other people don't think there is any need to lock the cabinet. Some people living in child free households keep their most important medication elsewhere, perhaps so they don't forget to take it. The bathroom cabinet isn't always the first place to go to, so it doesn't always take on the first priority for some people.

Child-Free Homes
  • Alternative storage
  • Different priorities
  • Less safety concerns
Medication Storage
  • Remember to take
  • Convenient access
  • Daily routine

Market Availability

It is perhaps surprising then that when you start to look at the various cabinets that are on sale today, there aren't too many lockable ones to choose from. They are usually called medicine cabinets, and they often don't fit in with the rest of the choices you might want to select for your bathroom.

Design Limitations

Perhaps this is why many people don't have lockable cabinets to use. If you are going to buy more than one wall cabinet for your bathroom, you won't want two or more that don't fit in with each other.

Alternative Safety Measures

Of course if you are going to go down this route you need to be sure that no child can reach the cabinet. This applies regardless of whether you have children yourself or not. Supposing someone visits with their young child and they are able to reach into the cabinet to see what you have there?

Upper Shelf Storage
  • Harder to reach
  • Safer for children
  • Medication security
Alternative Storage
  • Other locations
  • Privacy protection
  • Controlled access
Visitor Safety

You cannot be certain that no one will go in there looking for a painkiller or plaster. While most of us would ask, you can't guarantee that this will happen!

Final Recommendation

So think carefully before you buy your next bathroom cabinet. You might find that you start looking for something very different than you thought you would. And if lockable really is that important for you, you will be much better placed to buy just the right thing.