Child-Resistant Products can be Adult Friendly

Abstract

The technical feasibility of adding to products child-resistant features that rely solely on differences in cognitive skill between adults and children, i.e., differences in the ways the groups think, rather than on presumed differences in physical strength or manual dexterity, has been studied. With this approach, the child-resistant features of the product present a problem (e.g., how to open the package) to its potential user (child or adult). This approach to incorporating child-resistant design features relies on the fact that children under age five use a different strategy for problem-solving than that used by both young and older adults. The approach has been tested with prescription medicine containers and child safety seat buckles and is applicable to other products, such as cigarette lighters, that would benefit from child resistant features.