My husband has figured out how to get out of the protective front door. What can I do?

My 4yo grandson is an escape artist. They have thumb-locks on the very top of every door that leads to an outside exit. Luckily, so far, he has not figured out to drag a chair to the door, b/c he's just tall enough to flip the lock.

Some doors have 3 different locks/chains on them. And they have a RING system, so you hear when ANY door opens. Even the garage, since no matter how often they change the code, he figures it out.

Also he wears a tracking device ALL THE TIME.

Kid has no fear of anything. My daughter's hair is literally going gray with this kid's antics.

What works for a 4 yo determined to fly the coop should help in keeping a dementia patient safe.

My wife was a wanderer. She left the house at 2AM one winter morning. I found her by following her footsteps in the snow. I then purchased a double keyed lock for the front door and kept the key myself. That didn't deter her. The next time she went out thru the window. Turning one's house into a locked fortress is not safe, and you can go broke trying to purchase all the safeguards. It was then that I realized I had to find her a new "home". I would suggest you weigh your options and choose the one that provides both safety for your LO and sanity for you.

It has been mentioned on the forum that placing a black mat in front of a door can sometimes deter people with dementia because changes in their visual acuity make them think it is a hole in the floor - not sure how effective that is but it's a relatively inexpensive thing to try.
Another idea would be to have a motion sensor alarm in the area before he gets to the door to alert you he is headed that way - obviously that works better in homes with a hall or foyer than in open concept designs.

I also lived with a "magician" that managed several times to "escape"
To make a long story a bit shorter for 5 or 6 years I wore the keys to our house around my neck. I changed the locks on the house so that I had keyed locks on the inside as well as out. (all keyed the same)
I also had extra keys on a string located next to each door so that getting out might have been possible for him had he tried the key that was hanging near the door.
Some people have tried the following.
1) Placing a large dark rug in front of the door so it appears that there is a hole in the floor.
2) Attach several door knobs on the door in random areas he may get confused as to what door knob is the real one. Might slow him down enough.
3) Place a large STOP sign on the door. Many people instinctively will stop when they see a sign that is one that they have been taught to obey.
4) Place a slide lock or a hook and eye lock up high on the door. (most people do not look up)
5) There are door alarms that are wedge shaped, look like a door stop. When the door is opened and hits the wedge there is an alarm that sounds. Pretty loud one. They are sold as a safety device for travelers to place on a door at motels/hotels

Have you looked into Adult Day Care for your husband? It would give you a break and him something to do a few days a week.

You say “He showed us how he opened the door”. That should give you some clues about how to spike his process. I would call in a specialist locksmith to give you specialised trade information about how to use locks to do the safety (both in and out) issues that you need to solve.

One simple thing worth trying is a sliding bolt at the top of the door, into the door jamb. Quite a lot of people never look up!