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Child Safe Light Switch

 Safety device keeps little hands away from electricity.
  (+1, -12)(+1, -12)(+1, -12)
(+1, -12) 		  [vote for,
against]

By combining the push and twist mechanism from a medicine bottle with a rotary style light dimmer, I plan to make a child proof switch. In addition, a spring loaded toggle switch will be mounted 4 feet away. For an adult, turning the lights on or off would be an easy matter of holding the toggle while pressing down and rotating the dimmer, a task almost impossible for a toddler. An added benefit would be the ability to safely lock the lights at different levels of dimming.
—prune, Feb 21 2002

Baked: Exhibit A http://www.leviton..../sheets/kidcop4.htm
child proof switch lock [quarterbaker, Feb 21 2002]

Baked: Exhibit B http://www.emedco.c...T5.asp?dept_id=1591
More serious switch lockouts [quarterbaker, Feb 21 2002]

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       why is it unsafe for a child to dim the lights? aside from making the room so dark that he/she can't see where he's going, that is.
—mihali, Feb 21 2002
   

       Which is this about: keeping kids from electricity, or from changing lighting settings?
—bristolz, Feb 21 2002
   

       caught me bris, I was just going to say that you had been doing the wiring again and then I thought better of it.
—po, Feb 21 2002
   

       As others have noted, there is some confusion here. "Child safe" implies safe for children, which is baked (No, YOU do the google search). Whereas the description is for "child-proof." A simple way to have a child-proof dimmer switch is to get a remote-control one, and have the adults keep control of the remote.
—quarterbaker, Feb 21 2002
   

       I used the term "safe" because safety was my key concern. Electricity kills! No electricity will flow unless the spring loaded toggle is held. The dimmer feature was just a bonus idea, since the light switch was a dimmer type anyway.
—prune, Feb 21 2002
   

       You must come from Safe Nation , Prune
—Sulla 's Ghost, Feb 21 2002
   

       ah "safe" then -- Baked. Ground-fault protected circuits are about as safe as you can get.
—quarterbaker, Feb 21 2002
   

       Ground-fault protected circuits only kick in after something shorts them out. This invention works before that happens (not-baked). Plus, this switch would continue to work even if it got wet.
—prune, Feb 21 2002
   

       ...which is a bad idea because then one is likely to get electrocuted, especially if one is supposed to have a hand on another electrical source at the same time as well.   

       You still haven't answered why it's dangerous for kids to be able to turn on the lights, or dim them.
—StarChaser, Feb 21 2002
   

       and baked even further - do your own fucking google search for waterproof electrical components.
—quarterbaker, Feb 21 2002
   

       language qb!
—po, Feb 21 2002
   

       Who said anything about waterproof? I just said it would continue to work. It's safe because children couldn't operate it wet or dry.
—prune, Feb 21 2002
   

       You're equivocating now. Earlier, you wanted something safe, that wouldn't shock the kids, "electricity kills," you said. From your last post, you seem to want a child-proof switch. A link shall appear.
—quarterbaker, Feb 21 2002
   

       yes, but why is it wet? have we turned on the sprinkler system at some point?
—po, Feb 21 2002
   

       I am normally very civil with my language. But the obstreperousness of prune just irritated the fuck out of me, so to speak.
—quarterbaker, Feb 21 2002
   

       prunes are renowned for having that effect my dear!
—po, Feb 21 2002
   

       Please don't use words like obstreperousness in this family-oriented forum.
—Krate, Feb 21 2002
   

       or the word irritation - I am having trouble with Mick Jagger else where but that is another story.
—po, Feb 21 2002
   

       I'll FedEx you a croissant, QB.
—bristolz, Feb 22 2002
   

       //Plus, this switch would continue to work even if it got wet.//   

       Ahh, yes. Hot and cold running lights.
—mighty_cheese, Feb 22 2002
   

       why not put light switch too high on wall for child to reach, instead of 2 switches (toggle + dimmer)?
—Sprocket, Feb 22 2002
   

       // No electricity will flow unless the spring loaded toggle is held.//
Excellent. A room that goes dark if you stop holding on to the light switch.
—st3f, Feb 22 2002
   

       Er, if the kid is strong enough to push a chair to the wall to turn on the light, surely the kid is old enough to turn on the light?
—jetgrrl, Feb 22 2002
   

       Obviously prune's just worried about his kid coming in and ruining his sensitive low-level ambient lighting when he's got a honey in his love nest. Or maybe he just hates kids.
—pottedstu, Feb 22 2002
   

       No, it can't be that; I hate kids and I think this is stupid.
—angel, Feb 22 2002
   

       if you make something child-proof, someone will just a make a better child.   

       [marked-for-deletion] product exists.
—mihali, Feb 22 2002
   

       Lame. But there is something that appeals to me about the idea of a line of child-safe versions of products that aren't unsafe anyway.
—waugsqueke, Feb 22 2002
   

       true waugs, like child safe kleenex and child safe toilet paper.
—po, Feb 22 2002
   

       The only way a kid is going to get a shock from a wall light switch is if there are exposed wires or metal parts, surely its easier to make sure your switches are all in order rather than fit twin switches which I'm guessing are going to need twin feeds, therefore new wiring installing, ie expensive. Do the maths.
—LardyBloke, Feb 22 2002
   

       Or remove all the insulation from around the light switch. That'll teach the brat not to touch it.   

       And need I point out that many adults can't open child-proof bottles, etc.? Hey, maybe prune wants to keep people with arthritis away from his lights as well.
—pottedstu, Feb 22 2002
   

       If you put the lightswitch at 5 1/2 feet from the floor they will need a very tall chair to reach it.   

       besides, why don't you just learn to discipline you children properly. Then the rest of society wouldn't have to put up with them. It's quite simple... teach them *NOT* to play with the lights. I learned if I played about with anything like that unnecesserily then I got a smack. Worked for me.
—CasaLoco, Feb 22 2002
   

       I must say, Prune's ideas, while incredibly stupid, have kept me laughing so hard the tears are coming out! My god, Prune, KEEP 'EM COMING! Oh jeez...I think I'm going to pee...HA HA HA...
—gb2000, May 02 2002
   

       How the hell am I going to zap myself using a light switch, unless my hands were wire thin and conducted. GFCI works right away. Also, the electricity is still there, in the switch, no matter whether it is on or off. Learn something about the subject before you write about it. JEEZ.
—-----, Nov 03 2004
   

       I've got switches in my kitchen and bathroom. One controls the garbage disposal, which I operate on a regular basis with dripping wet hands, while touching a waterfilled stainless steel sink at the same time. I've never once been shocked by it.   

       What is it, exactly, that you're trying to protect kids from?
—Freefall, Nov 03 2004
   

       Duct-tape his thumbs together behind his neck.
—angel, Nov 03 2004
   

       What stops him freeing himself by lifting his hands over his head?
—st3f, Nov 03 2004
   

       More duct-tape. Duh!
—angel, Nov 03 2004
   

       Three rolls of duct-tape please... kidnap size.
—st3f, Nov 03 2004
   

       ...or hang him from the ceiling by his duct taped thumbs.
That'll keep him out of any trouble.
—brodie, Nov 03 2004
   

       What's wrong with sticking bare wires in wall sockets?
< /sarcasm>		   

       I've used a keychain in a wall socket to make sure a circuit was off before I worked on it. (it wasn't. Big sparks and a blown circuit breaker followed. Circuit was now off, and I didn't have to go down two flights of stairs and dig through a pile of old wallboard to get to the breakerbox.) I was at least smart enough to wear gloves when I did it.
—Freefall, Nov 04 2004
   

       this kid in my science class in 5th grade almost blew up the school. He tried to plug a flashlight bulb into the mains
—-----, Nov 04 2004
   

       Surely it would just act as a fuse? A small exploding fuse, possibly, but a fues nonethless.
—st3f, Nov 04 2004
   

       When my dad was building my room I used to sometimes accidentally and other times on prupose stick my finger in the lgiht switch node and shock myself. Yes I know it is "dangerous", but whats life without a little *jump-start* to the old heart? Oh yeah that was back when I was 13.   

       Oh yeah and: This idea sucks.
—EvilPickels, Nov 04 2004
   


 

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