Home is where everyone should feel safe. However, safety cannot be achieved by a single person. It requires everyone’s participation – both adults and children.
Installing safety features like smart locks, smoke alarms, and baby gates can ensure the safety and health of your family. But having safety rules ensures all security features are worthwhile.
Here are a few thoughts we have on keeping your home safe and secure across the year.
1. Keep the Doors Closed & Locked
Your door is the entry point to your haven, and while it may sound like an obvious one, it’s important to ensure your doors are closed and locked every night. If you leave it open, don’t get surprised when an intruder finds their way in (and we don’t always mean people).
Children are curious and friendly and tend to know who is knocking at the door. Not every visitor means well. So ensure you keep the door closed all the time. Teach kids under the age of 5 years to always let an older person open the door.
And if you have young kids, ensuring your doors are closed and locked will also limit the risk of them getting out and about without you knowing – every parents biggest fear!
2. Security Lights Should Be On at Night
The security light is primarily aimed at protecting your family against intrusion. Darkness is a great motivator for intruders since they know no one will see them. Lights an often deter criminals so having a safety light on or sensor lights around your premises can act as a deterrent.
Consider installing an LED light bulb at your gate, on the lawn, or around your patio. You might not be around all the time to ensure lights are on, so solar powered lights or safety lighting controlled by a security system is worth considering investing in.
This can help create a safety culture within your household where everyone plays a role for the safety of each other.
3. Ensure Alarm Systems Are Functional
A properly installed alarm system scares off intruders who might be targeting your valuables. The market is quite flooded with different alarm systems to choose from. They also come at a range of prices but do your research and pick the system that’s best for you.
Which is a great website to identify alarm systems for your home, while the likes of Ring and SimpliSafe have become increasingly popular in recent years.
4. Have an Emergency Plan
An accident can happen at any time. It’s imperative to prepare for an emergency, especially if you have children. Let everyone know how to react in case of an emergency.
You can ensure everyone knows how to use a fire extinguisher. You should also train family members on how to perform first aid. And as a family you should also have a meeting place in the worst case scenario of a house fire.
This safety rule should be introduced to guests who intend to stay with the family, whether for a long or short period. It’s also important to have first aid kits around your house and easy to get – something we have ensured we have around our home.
5. Don’t Give Out Personal Information
Creating a smart home makes operations easy, thanks to technological advancement. However, cybersecurity attacks are on the rise. Hackers look for loopholes to interfere with your information, and you may lose vital documents.
Avoid sharing WiFi passwords with friends and neighbours. And in case you share, make sure you change the password frequently. You may also want to consider regularly changing passwords connected to your email account(s), and also look at additional safety measures like two step authentication.
Got Something to Add?
These are just some rules to consider to try and keep your family safe. Establish a culture where everyone feels responsible for the safety of the family both inside and outside the home. We’ve found our desire to create a safe and environment has dramatically increased since Lewis was born, so like us, you may see this emphasis for safety increase as your family grows.
Share your family safety tips with us in the comments section below.
Until next time, thanks for reading and stay safe.
Helen, Nial and Lewis.
Welcome to Pikalily, an award-winning food, travel and lifestyle blog. We are Nial and Helen, a happily married couple from Northern Ireland, who share a passion for food and travel among many things. We became parents to our beautiful boy Lewis in 2017. Follow our adventures through the blog.
