Building a chest of drawers for new granddaughter, any ideas to avoid finger pinches?

[Jim Andrew]

Am considering leaving a gap between drawer fronts, so tiny fingers don't get pinched, any ideas?

[Cary Falk]

How about soft close drawer slides. It wouldn't eliminate it but it might ease it.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd avoid self-closing slides -- including soft-close ones. Drawers that pull themselves in are ones that could pinch.

Other than that, I think you don't need to make huge gaps between the drawers. If your granddaughter is pushing the drawer closed, she's most likely just to push on the drawer front, so no pinches there. If she has her fingers on the top edge of the drawer front while she's pushing the drawer closed, they're just hit the front of the drawer above or drawer below, and again get no pinches.

[johnny means]

You can't engineer out every possibility. Really, what do you think might happen? Once they're dressing themselves they can work a drawer safely. Make sure it straps to the wall (this is the important one) and that the drawers don't slide out. Nice radiused corners at any height that might ever be at eye level. We just want to avoid maiming and death.

[Bill Dufour]

Flush fit drawer with no lips.
Bill D

[Richard Wolf]

You are trying to eliminate a learning opportunity.

[John K Jordan]

You are trying to eliminate a learning opportunity.

Exactly my thought. It's a wood drawer, not a planer.

[Tom Bender]

There are two places to get pinched, top and bottom.

My solution is for the bottom. Glue the bottoms into a rabbit instead or a dado. That will make the bottom flush with the front.