Our 2yr old left fridge open all night!!!

[Iott Family]

Our 2 yr old must have gotten up in the middle of the night while we
were all sleeping and left both doors on our fridge wide open. Fridge
side is room temp so im tossing all that food. Freezer side is cold
but completely thawed, do I have to toss all that too or can it safely
be refrozen?

I am just heart sick. We had just stocked up and I dont have to tell
you how tight money is, most of us deal with short budgets! And he was up wondering unattended, he could have
gotten into anything or gotten out of the house because there isnt a
lock we have installed he hasnt mastered! Thankfully when I woke up at
4:30 to feed the baby he was laying there between DH and I snoozing
away.

 

[NikiM20]

I know how difficult it is to deal with 2 yr olds. Maybe you can get a lock for the fridge? Hopw your day gets better hon

 

[epcotfan]

Freezer side is cold
but completely thawed, do I have to toss all that too or can it safely
be refrozen?

Throw it out if it is thawed. I know it is a pain to throw it out, due to expense, but not worth illness.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

If you had frozen meat it must be cooked first in order to be refrozen. Everything else I'd probably either cook up and try to refreeze or throw it away to avoid freezer burn. You could always have an early Thanksgiving.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I can't say anything because yesterday I left the refridgerator open a crack all day while Lauri and I were at work.. enough for the light to come on. Lauri walked in the kitchen when she got home and was wondering what the weird glow was. Luckily the fridge was able to keep everything pretty cold with the door open the crack but I'm sure our electric bill jumped a bit from yesterday!

We are lucky the dogs didnt notice.. they could have opened it the rest of the way and had a feast!!

Try to cook up what you can from the freezer and refreeze it like the above poster suggested.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Just got a job in my dd's school cafeteria... Went thru the safety food class.

Here is the thing...40-140 is the unsafe zone. So if it is at that temp, bacteria does and WILL grow.
If it is at that temp for a short time you are OK. All night means several hours at an unsafe temp zone for the fridge for sure.
Hard to tell with the freezer however, if it thawed meat it means that it was probably room temp which means unsafe.

I would throw everything out, but I am like that. Esp. if you have a 2yo...they can get very ill from food poisoning.

 

[mickeyboat]

Sorry about your fridge, that stinks. I agree, you will have to really throw most everything away.

I am actually more concerned about your two year old wandering at night. Can he get around a baby gate installed in his doorway?

Denae

 

[DawnCt1]

cook all the food that is tawed,make some meals ahead ane refreeze. i think to can at least salvage the freezer items.

 

[Beth76]

Oh man that sucks! Yeah, I would throw everything out in the fridge. And anything that melted in the freezer. But I would think that any meat in the freezer wouldn't have thawed completely. That could probably be saved. It takes awhile for a frozen hunk of meat to thaw at room temp and the freezer would have stayed colder than the fridge.

BTW, we have door knob covers on my 2yo bedroom door, so he can't get out.

 

[Hannathy]

Alot of the food in the fridge side is probably salvagable at least if used quickly.
Also remember we refridgerate a lot of things that don't really need it like the ketchup. Use the eggs this week, the butter should be ok check the labels on the jelly and mustard etc. your refrig. should have retained enough coolness to keep these kind of things ok. The leftovers I would throw and lunchmeat but some things and the veggies should be ok.

Once my sister got up and left a full 1/2 gallon of ice cream out on top of the refrigerator through the night. My Mom was met by a river of melted ice cream the next morning, down the refridg, and across the floor.

 

[U2_rocks!]

Alot of the food in the fridge side is probably salvagable at least if used quickly.
Also remember we refridgerate a lot of things that don't really need it like the ketchup. Use the eggs this week, the butter should be ok check the labels on the jelly and mustard etc. your refrig. should have retained enough coolness to keep these kind of things ok. The leftovers I would throw and lunchmeat but some things and the veggies should be ok.

Agreed. Anything that you couldn't leave out on the counter all day should be tossed, but there's a lot in your fridge that you could leave out safely enough. All your fruits and veggies are fine, your butter, hard cheese, jams and jellies, condiments like ketchup and mustard. However, they may go "off" quicker - watch them carefully. The eggs would be OK, but won't last long. I'd toss the mayo, any meats, soft cheese, leftovers. Milk and yogurt would likely be bad. Juice may last another day or two, depending on the type - smell it and/or taste a bit.

If the meat from the freezer is still cold (not just cool) to the touch, it is fine to use, just not to refreeze uncooked. Unfortunately, if you just stocked up, you will not have time to cook it all! Maybe save your more expensive or favorite pieces? I would toss defrosted processed food. If you had frozen sticks of butter, they'll be OK. Bacon can put in the fridge to eat soon (I see a big bacon and eggs breakfast in your future!! ), provided it's still cold to the touch.

Sorry about the wastage - that would really bother me!

 

[Iott Family]

For the poster who mentioned the biggest worry was a toddler roving unattended. Yeah, I know! He can scale child gates, unlock any lock we have installed which is why DH has contact alarms on all exterior doors that we enable before bedtime and there is a lock on the fridge that he can undue given enough time which at night while the house is sleeping he has plenty of. This is the first time he has done this. No I refuse to lock him in his room at night. What if there was a fire or tornado and he was trapped? Putting a child gate at the stairs worked briefly until he attempted to climb that which to me is more of a hazard to him. All meds in the house are in a closet with a keyed lock, cleaning items are stored up high, which doesnt mean he couldnt find a way to climb just that we try to keep them out of reach and sight.

The poster who said her worry was him being up and about has really made me feel defensive. Im sorry. As parents of four kids this isnt our first rodeo.
We have done everything we can think of to keep him safe, it just never occurred to us our refrigerator was on his hit list! Beyond a lock to keep him out of frig during the day( he likes to help himself to food/drink) I am going to have DH rig another contact alarm.

Thank you to all who gave advice and great hugs!

 

[hydster]

I feel your pain! My last child *who will be 8 soon* was a holy terror and made me comment several times that it was good he was my last or he'd have been my only.

I'd do as others suggested with those things that can be salvaged and then silently wish when he has kids they make him crazy as well.

I am sorry though!

 

[wilderness01]

Aww, come on now, did the poster that said she was worried say it meanly? I didn't take it like that. Maybe I missed something. I thought it was just general concern?? Nobody said you did anything wrong and you did come on here looking for advice. Why are you being so defensive now?

At the risk of offering a suggestion, what about a cribtent? Is the 2 year old still in a crib? It worked wonders for our little one that wanted to fall out/climb out of his crib.

If not, our pediatrician suggested cutting down a cheap wood door so the child could look slightly over it, but couldn't get over it and placing it in the doorway. Thankfully for us, the cribtent worked because I wasn't too keen on the above idea. It worried me that my child would fall down the stairs or over the 2 story foyer among other things, so that is the main reason I didn't want him "loose" at night. Maybe you can come up with another means of keeping him in where he needs to be.

 

[U2_rocks!]

Our fridge door won't stay open by itself - it automatically swings back in. The worst that could happen is that it doesn't shut completely and some cold air gets out - but that wouldn't be nearly as big of a problem!

Not that I'm suggesting running out and buying a new fridge! But if you have cause to replace your fridge soon, it might be a good idea to look for this feature. This is good advice for anyone with little snackers who might leave the fridge door open at any time. Also, I found that it takes much more effort to get into a freezer that's on top of a fridge rather than beside (you have to find something to climb up on etc.) - less likely to be interference and doors left open! If you regularly stock up on meat, a chest freezer is useful in that you cannot leave the hatch door open - it will always shut by itself.

Not trying to tell you what you should have done, OP - just trying to help you and others when it's time to buy a new fridge!

ETA: OP: is there a point to which you can open your fridge doors where they will swing back in? Perhaps if you were to put something on your doors, or set up sme sort of object to be a door stop, your toddler would be unable to open the fridge doors far enough for them to stay open. What you want is for the doors to always swing back in by themselves. Do someexperimenting and see if there's a point at which they are open enough for you to get at stuf easily, but not open far enough to stay open on their own. Yeah it can be a pain to have to use your body or a fridge drawer to keep the door open when you're rummaging around in there a long time - but it would prevent this from happening again, and an added bonus is that it forces you to get in and out of your fridge quickly before the door shuts on you (saves power!).

 

[mickeyboat]

For the poster who mentioned the biggest worry was a toddler roving unattended. Yeah, I know! He can scale child gates, unlock any lock we have installed which is why DH has contact alarms on all exterior doors that we enable before bedtime and there is a lock on the fridge that he can undue given enough time which at night while the house is sleeping he has plenty of. This is the first time he has done this. No I refuse to lock him in his room at night. What if there was a fire or tornado and he was trapped? Putting a child gate at the stairs worked briefly until he attempted to climb that which to me is more of a hazard to him. All meds in the house are in a closet with a keyed lock, cleaning items are stored up high, which doesnt mean he couldnt find a way to climb just that we try to keep them out of reach and sight.

The poster who said her worry was him being up and about has really made me feel defensive. Im sorry. As parents of four kids this isnt our first rodeo.
We have done everything we can think of to keep him safe, it just never occurred to us our refrigerator was on his hit list! Beyond a lock to keep him out of frig during the day( he likes to help himself to food/drink) I am going to have DH rig another contact alarm.

Thank you to all who gave advice and great hugs!

That was me who said she was concerned, and I still am. Please don't take it as a slam on your parenting skills, take it as amazement that your toddler is so adept at getting around all of your safety precautions. I am glad to hear that you have installed alarms. All I can think about is the story last summer of a small child getting out of a house while a caregiver was sleeping, and drowning in the neighbor's pool. (and in my defense, you did not mention all of the precautions you take in your original post).

Again, good luck with salvaging what you can in your fridge, and with your little guy! I bet he will be an engineer some day.

Denae

 

[ducklite]

I agree with a lot of the other posts--your friuts, veggies, breads and rolls, even some cheeses and butter is still fine to keep, as are most condiments--ketsup, pickles, mustard, oil based salad dressings, etc. I'd toss the mayo for sure, as well as any creamy salad dressings, and any leftovers or meat that was in the fridge.

Anything in the freezer is probably still good. Frozen veggies are safe to refreeze, as are frozen breads. Ice cream is unsalvageable, but frozen popsicles are still safe--although probably too melted to bother saving. All the meat needs to be recooked to save it. Fire up that grill and grill up burgers and chicken. Make meatballs. Throw two pounds of ground beef in a fry pan and cook it, then split it into batches and now you've got the fixins for chili or sauce. Roast any whole chickens, then carve and refreeze, same with any beef or lamb or pork roast. It will be a busy day, but as long as you keep those cold, previously frozen meats in the fridge they will be fine for another day or two until you can get to cooking them.

I had a similar problem when my DS was younger. I put a string of very noisy jingle bells on his door so if it opened at night I'd wake up.

My son decided to "cook" a couple times...the floor was the bowl, and eggs, grated cheese, flour, sugar, and the contents of a spice rack were his ingredients.

Anne

 

[Iott Family]

Ok, we are digressing. I didnt come here for advice on how to cage my toddler DS but on what food if any was salvageable. Thankfully to those of you who answered and a well placed call to my DM I wont have to dump the whole frig/freezer but man is my frig as bare as the shelves of the grocery right before a big winter storm! HA!

DS will be 3 in February. He is 38 inches tall and weighs 40 lbs. He no longer sleeps in a crib and hasnt for nearly 8 months. So a crib tent is not an option. As for gates, he can climb over. Cutting a door in half? I actually did that when my oldest two were toddlers and we lived in an old farm house. But kids are smart and problem solvers and my two oldst would pull out dresser drawers to use to climb over the gate/door. Why the dresser drawers? Because we removed all the toys when they used those first. Locking him in his room is not an option. So we do our best by installing safety locks, alarms, etc. BUT like I said before we had not alarmed the frig because it never occurred to us he would wonder about at night going to war with the frig on his hit list! HA!

 

[Iott Family]

I had a similar problem when my DS was younger. I put a string of very noisy jingle bells on his door so if it opened at night I'd wake up.

My son decided to "cook" a couple times...the floor was the bowl, and eggs, grated cheese, flour, sugar, and the contents of a spice rack were his ingredients.

Anne

Thank you for this. Its comforting to know Im not the only parent of a mischief making imp!!! My oldest DD who is nearly 11 now painted herself "pretty' as she said with a tub of margarine. THAT was a mess that required dawn dish soap and several baths to remedy. Now she is in 5th grade and doing basic algebra, reads with a lexile score of 1200 and has been in gifted/talented classes since first grade. If only we had known her toddler years were a forebearance of such greatness I might not have scolded her so for all her mischief/curiosity! HA! Im guessing you to have a small genius on your hands who just might be the next Emeril or Alton Brown!

 

[Iott Family]

That was me who said she was concerned, and I still am. Please don't take it as a slam on your parenting skills, take it as amazement that your toddler is so adept at getting around all of your safety precautions. I am glad to hear that you have installed alarms. All I can think about is the story last summer of a small child getting out of a house while a caregiver was sleeping, and drowning in the neighbor's pool. (and in my defense, you did not mention all of the precautions you take in your original post).

Again, good luck with salvaging what you can in your fridge, and with your little guy! I bet he will be an engineer some day.

Denae

I appreciate your concern. Believe me, DH and I just looked at each other and were caught between grief over the lost food and knowing our son had been up and about on the lam. My DM even said she doesnt understand why he left the doors open...laughs! Evidence of his crime!
As for him being so adept, most kids are. Atleast in my experience kids are the greatest problem solvers. Like the story of the semi who's trailer got stuck under a bypass. The adults were thinking of all these complicated soluions but it took a kid to say let the air out of tires to make enough room for clearance.
What makes him being up and about is he went to sleep in bed with us, in the middle, and when the baby fussed at 4am for feeding time he was in bed with us so at some point he got up and climbed back in and we didnt even feel him move about.