Childproofing in Westlake Village often comes down to water. The community was planned in the 1960s around Westlake Lake, a 125-acre man-made lake finished in 1969, and many homes sit on the shoreline or a short walk from it. Add backyard pools, spas and shared HOA pools, and the doors to the outside become the first item in the plan. Childproofing LA assesses the house and the way it opens to the yard, then installs locks, window stops, gates and anchors where they matter most.
Homes in Westlake Village and what they need
Westlake began as a single master-planned community, with neighborhoods connected by greenbelts, and the original tract was split by the Los Angeles and Ventura county line. The Los Angeles County portion incorporated as the City of Westlake Village in 1981, while roughly two-thirds of the community became part of Thousand Oaks. The housing is similar on both sides, and so is the childproofing.
Lakefront and island homes
More than 1,300 houses sit on the lake or within access of it, and some are on an island in the middle. In a lakefront home, the water is a short walk from the back door. For a family with a toddler, the back of the house matters most: sliders, French doors, a side door from the garage, and any window low enough to climb through.
Family neighborhoods and townhomes
Away from the shore, neighborhoods built from the late 1960s onward mix single-story and two-story houses, and there are townhome communities with shared pools and greenbelts. Some still have original brick fireplaces and wood railings, and others have been remodeled top to bottom. Upstairs bedrooms in two-story homes and townhomes need window stops, and the stairs need hardware-mounted gates.
Rooms built for adults
Some Westlake homes were set up long before a baby arrived, by the current owners or by grandparents who now host grandchildren. Those houses often have glass coffee tables, low display shelves and a fireplace hearth that nobody thought about until a toddler did. Our page for grandparents covers how we childproof a house the kids only visit.
Common childproofing projects in Westlake Village
- High-mounted locks on every door that faces the lake, the pool or a shared greenbelt.
- Window stops on lake-facing windows and on second-floor bedrooms, with a release an adult can work in a hurry. Our window safety page shows the hardware.
- Hearth pads and corner guards on brick or stone fireplaces, and a gate if the fireplace is still used.
- Cabinet and drawer locks in kitchens and bathrooms, plus a locked spot for medications.
- Screw-mounted gates for townhome and two-story staircases, since a pressure gate shouldn’t be used at the top.
- Anchors for bookcases, dressers, curio cabinets and TVs.
- Corner guards on glass and stone coffee tables.
Earthquake, outdoor and pool safety in Westlake Village
Open water is the defining hazard here. Besides the lake, many houses have a backyard pool or spa, and some townhome communities share a pool behind a gate.
Pool fencing and shoreline barriers call for a specialty contractor, so we don’t build them. What we do is trace every route from the house to the water with you and test whether each door and side gate latches by itself. The indoor part of each route then gets a lock mounted out of reach.
The surrounding hills are part of the appeal, and they bring sloped yards, retaining walls and decks with a drop on the far side. We look at deck railings for gaps and climbable rails, and at outdoor furniture a toddler could push to the edge.
For earthquakes, the water heater comes first. State law calls for bracing, anchoring or strapping, and in older homes the straps may be missing, loose or rusted, so we check them on every visit. Inside, tall bookcases and curio cabinets full of glass get anchored to studs, and heavy frames above beds and cribs come down or get secured.
What a visit looks like
When you book, tell us which side of the lake or county line you’re on, if the home is a house or a townhome, and who the childproofing is for, your own baby or visiting grandchildren. The visit itself works the same way everywhere in Westlake.
Together we go through the house and yard, try each door and window a child could reach, and crouch down to see the furniture the way a toddler does. The itemized plan that follows is organized by room, with the water-side doors at the top. When you’re happy with it, we set an install date, and if your HOA reviews exterior changes, we can list those items separately.
We serve Westlake Village in ZIP codes 91361 and 91362, which both cross the county line, from the lakefront and the island to the neighborhoods on the Thousand Oaks side. Townhome communities and single-family streets get the same assessment.
Nearby areas we serve
From Westlake we also cover Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park to the north and west, Agoura Hills and Oak Park just to the east, and Calabasas and Hidden Hills a little farther along the 101. Each is a short drive from the lake.