Locks And Picks

So the Gremlin was wreaking havoc the other day, and in a desperate attempt (wait for it, you'll see) to keep him occupied, I brought him to the front closet, sat him down, and pulled out: the locks we changed when we first moved in.

That's right, I had the brackets, the deadbolt, the cylinder, and the knob. Two sets were spilled out on the floor, and I showed him how the lock cylinder has a flat stick that went through the bolt and into the knob so that when either the knob turned or the cylinder was turned by the key, the bolt slid over.

So not only was he then obsessed with how it worked, but I decided to show him the fully-assembled deadbolt on the front door as I'd removed the lock to his room before he could ever so conveniently lock himself in there, and how each turned internally. And sadly, I forgot the most important thing about the Gremlin - his amazing power of internalization and learning.

As it was time for the Gremlin's nap, I neglected to take any further precautions. It was only later that night after I put him to bed and was closing his door on the way out that I noticed his door wouldn't close. Upon further inspection, the bolt on the lock had been extended. The interesting thing was that I'd removed the lock (the easy turn mechanism for the bolt) just after AJ started walking - over a year ago.

He realized that you could stick something (like a key, or possibly even a pen with enough torque) into the hole where the knob used to be, and turn the square inside it and allow the bolt to come out, or:

He understands completely how locks work, and picked his first lock.

2 years, 5 months ladies and gentlemen.