Emergency locksmith: child alone in the flat

Your child is alone in the flat in the district of Ludwigsburg and the door has slammed shut? Stay calm at the door and talk to your child. If your child is in danger, call 112. Otherwise we come and open the door quickly and without damage.

Talk calmly to your child through the door. Check whether the cooker, bath, balcony or windows are a danger. If there is danger: 112. Otherwise call us and stay at the door.

Stay at the door and speak calmly. Tell your child that someone is coming soon to open the door. Ask your child to sit down or play with something. Don’t let them go to the window or the balcony.

If your child does not answer, water is running, the cooker is on, you can smell smoke or a window high up is open, it is an emergency. Then call 112. The fire brigade is there for cases like this.

Door opening, door slammed shut: Mon–Fri 8 am–6 pm 99 €, Mon–Fri 6 pm–8 am, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 149 €. Locked: 129 € or 179 €. No surcharge because a child is inside.

We usually open the door via the latch, without damaging the cylinder. With a door that has slammed shut, this is often quick. Then you are back with your child.

Many flat doors have a fixed knob on the outside. If the door slams shut, you cannot get in without a key. Children sometimes push the door shut from inside while their parents are briefly outside. If only the latch has clicked into place, opening is usually quick and without damage.

If the child has turned the key on the inside, the bolt is out. Then it is a locked door. We can usually open that without damage too; it just takes a little longer.

Parents or legal guardians who live there. After opening, briefly show your ID card or passport, or post with your address. If grandparents or a babysitter call, we clarify on the phone who is responsible.

Is the child answering? Is the cooker off, is no water running, are the windows closed? Is there a key in the lock on the inside? Is the door slammed shut or locked? Danger: 112. Otherwise call us and stay at the door.

If someone else is looking after the child and is locked out, call the parents first. We open the door if a parent agrees, for example on the phone, and it is clear on site who is responsible.

A school-age child can often help on the phone: is there a key in the lock on the inside? Is the door locked? Ask the child not to do anything dangerous and not to go to the window or balcony.

Later, talk calmly with your child about what happened. Clear rules help: do not leave the key in the lock on the inside, do not push the door shut when Mum or Dad is outside. A spare key with neighbours gives peace of mind.

If a toddler is asleep inside and you are outside, stay within earshot of the door. If the child wakes up and cries for a long time, talk to them calmly. If there are also signs of danger, call 112.

When a school-age child gets their own key, practise locking and unlocking calmly together. Explain that they must not open the door to strangers. A key with neighbours is the backup.

A small note inside next to the door with the most important numbers helps babysitters and grandparents: parents, neighbours, emergency number 112. That way, everyone knows who to call first.

If an adult is also in the flat besides the child and does not respond, that is an emergency for 112. The ambulance service and the fire brigade come together if needed.

Rattling the door with force, which frightens the child. Asking the child to go to the lock or the window. Calling a locksmith first instead of 112 when there is danger.

Take time for your child. Take the key out of the lock when you leave the flat. A spare key with neighbours helps next time.