How do I childproof my garage door?

Start with the controls, not the door

Most garage door injuries to children start with a button. The Consumer Product Safety Commission logs thousands of garage door injuries a year nationwide, and the preventable ones almost always involve a child operating the door unsupervised. Mount the wall control at least 5 feet up, out of reach of a kid on tiptoes but visible from the door. Keep remotes in the car's visor clip or a drawer, never on the kitchen counter or a low hook. If your opener has a keypad, do not share the code with kids younger than about 10, and use the vacation lock feature when you travel.

Newer LiftMaster and Chamberlain openers pair with the myQ app, which sends an alert whenever the door opens. Several Edmond and Deer Creek parents we work with use that alert as a simple way to know if the door moved while they were at work. If your opener is too old for smart features and lacks modern safety systems, a tech visit can tell you whether it is worth upgrading.

Verify the safety systems actually work

Openers made since 1993 must reverse on contact and have photo-eye sensors. Both need monthly testing, and the routine is simple: a 2x4 under the door for the contact test, a broom swept through the beam for the sensor test. Our full guide to testing the auto-reverse feature covers the steps. Two OKC-specific notes:

• Photo eyes must sit no higher than 6 inches off the floor so they detect a crawling toddler. Sensors knocked upward by bikes or mowers are one of the most common problems we find on maintenance visits.
• If the opener predates 1993 and has no photo eyes at all, replace it. There is no safe workaround, and a basic chain-drive replacement sits at the most budget-friendly end of the opener lineup — we quote it free, with no pressure, at (405) 247-0336.

Hardware upgrades worth considering

Fingers caught between closing panel sections cause some of the worst garage door injuries to children. Pinch-resistant panel designs, standard on CHI and DoorLink models we install, push fingers out of the joint as the sections close. If you are already planning a door replacement, ask for them; they add little or nothing to the price of a new door. Also look at your extension springs if you have an older single-car door in a pre-1980s home in neighborhoods like Capitol Hill or original Del City: those springs should have safety containment cables running through the coils so a broken spring cannot whip across the garage.

Rules that actually stick with kids

• Nobody runs under a moving door, ever. No exceptions for "beating" it.
• The door gets operated only by an adult or with an adult watching.
• Hands stay off the sections, hinges, and track while the door moves.
• If the door is broken, nobody touches it until the repair tech leaves.