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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
RnMommy1
member
Random post! Security while at home with baby
RnMommy1
member
I'm new to the bump so hello! 
I was hoping to get a little feedback from some of you out there.
I'm now a single mommy to a 7 month old. Though not the way I pictured it..I must say being a parent is the best. I've learned to love in a way I never imagined. But I'm also now a worry wort!
I tend to have family with me on the weekends and although my ex lives about 35 min away.. I worry about what I would do if someone broke into my home at night while I'm with the baby. Now this post may sound a little extreme but bare with me. I'm alone in a pretty large home with floor to ceiling windows on the first two floors. Though I am by far not wealthy my neighborhood is well kept and looks quaint. It recently attracted some kids during the summer and they broke into a few of our cars. Mine was one of them and a few items were taken while my car was parked in my driveway. Now I no longer have any peace of mind. On top of this when the police officer called me to tell me that some of my belongings were found he told me this: Sometimes the robbers will knock on the doors and leave if they realize someone is home. However, if no one answers they take the cue that no one is home and may proceed. THat is how some of the robberies have occurred. I then realized that on three occasions either myself or one of my family members answered the door to a guy who gave us the following response, "My boss is selling steaks/chicken and we were wondering if you wanted to buy some". We declined each time thinking it odd. I pieced the two together after speaking with the detective.
Here are my questions:
1. Does anyone have a home security system and would you recommend them?
2. Excluding guns (this is not an invitation for a chat on gun control at all) what would you do or have you ever thought of how you would protect yourself if you had a break in? I realize its not the easiest to run away while carrying an infant so my thought is "hide" and hope she doesn't wake up while holding her. I also stashed a little fire extinguisher in my closet because my 5'1 self could not possibly defend anyone. I think my 15 pound puppy would do more harm to a stranger than I could. I also make sure to keep my cell phone charged at all times.
I know this sounds crazy but when I'm alone at night with my little one next to me I honestly worry about this stuff! THanks for any feedback!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Random post! Security while at home with baby
On the few occasions my husband has been gone overnight, i have felt that vulnerable feeling you have. I dont' have a security system but I live in a really safe neighborhood.
You could get one of those cheap audible alarms that squeal if the door is opened and sleep with your bedroom door locked, so that if the squeal from the door alarm goes off you are in a locked room and that would give you plenty of time to call 911. Odds are itll never happen, but having the alarm and being behind a locked bedroom door may just give you that added comfort of safety.
lol. This made me laugh.
Good point! Yea i keep thinking that we have plenty of neighbors in our culdesac to take notice if something were to happen but somehow no one realized our things were being taken from our very own driveway. I just purchased my home a few months ago and the neighborhood is safe but this proved to be a double edged sword because now we are targeted by people thinking we have money. They see a quaint community with relatively new homes that were all built at the same time and they think we are all well to do. It makes me angry when I think of how hard I work to afford what I have and I do it the honest way versus these people who want it the easy way.
My parents (in the suburbs) had an attempted burglary in the middle of the day. They knocked on the door several times and my parents didn't answer because they thought they were solicitors. A few minutes later they were trying to break through the back door. The police said most burglaries happen during the day, when the house is usually empty because people are at work.
To give me peace of mind at night I have a baseball bat under my bed and we recently got a land line (how archaic I know!)-Vonage, I think it's like $10/month, because sometimes we don't have great cell phone service.
Good Luck!
"I will show you the kind of big sister I will be..."
Thanks!! How difficult is it to work the taser? This is a good thought! I had figured a fire extinguisher would be a decent thing to spray but I like the idea you threw out.
I used to be a neighborhood watch block captain until DS arrived. Our police department offered several tips for burglar deterrents including leaving outside lights on all night who wants to break in when you could be caught in the light?, reporting solicitors they have to have a cityissued permit here, being very aware of surroundings sounds like you are, and creating/participating in a neighborhood watch program. Other suggestions: getting to know your neighbors they don't need the full details of your story, but if everyone watches out for each other it'll bring some peace of mind, posting a sign in your yard/flower beds that says "XYZ Alarm company" even if you don't have an alarm, get a sign/window decal about supporting gun control, consider parking in the garage then it's not evident if you're home or away when they're "scouting the area", always lock the door between the garage and the house there are those garage door code unscrambler things.
That's all I've got after this MOTN feeding!
We have ADT, it was installed in the house when we bought it,and like you we are not "wealthy" but live in a larger house in a very nice community. A few things things I think help are putting up blinds or curtains on windows, we also gave my mother who lives alone one of our ADT signs to put in the front yard- we heard it can help "fake out" burglars, I always even when H is home leave one or two lights on in random places, also install if you don't have them motion lights outside your house- especially around doors. Another thing I saw on a crime show was a couple bought fake security cameras and place them around the outside of their house to make it look like a camera was recording their house at all times. Not sure where you buy those but I'm sure you could google it.
I second getting pepper spray or a taser since you are by yourself. But honestly if you could afford it I would look into getting a security system like ADT if for nothing else.
When you hear a noise: If you have a 2 story house, you could turn on the light for the stairwell, since it has a switch on both sides. If you have a 1 story, you may have to run an extension cord, but same thing. Stay safely near the bedroom, but turn on a light in the living room.
Also, make sure that you have a security light that is motion activated. You can get solar powered ones that will not require running electrical, or you can replace a light fixture with a standard one. The idea is that if the creep can't hide in the shadows, he will move on. Also, don't do anything consistent that would indicate if you are home or not, like always opening the blinds, but closing them when you leave. If they are checking out the neighborhood, they are looking for patterns as well. Some days I will not open the blinds, others I will.
Get a "Beware of Dog" sign. People don't want he noise of a barking dog drawing attention to the house.
Put better locks on your doors. If you look online, there are suggestions for locks that are much longer than normal and go past the casing of the door into the wall.
The taser is really easy to work. I was surprised at how easy it is and I am not very comfortable with guns and stuff. I have gone shooting with my husband before and I hated it. I cried the first time because I was so nervous.
I was going to say get a gun and learn how to use it. But since you said "no guns", my next suggestion is a tazer. Make sure to get one that still shocks after the probes have been fired. (Still shocks at the end of the tool itself, with a fired cartridge or no cartridge at all.)
I have this one: https://www.phazzerstore.com/Phazzer-Dragon-Complete-Set-Black-_p_24.html
:-)
I've lived in a number of city neighborhoods of varying degrees of safety. In general, burglars really want to avoid attention and confrontation. Your puppy will definitely do more harm than you would-just by barking! The noise (and possible confrontation with an angry, territorial dog) is a good deterrent. A few other things you can do to help make your home more secure are:
-Get motion-triggered lights for around your house.
-Cut down bushes and shrubs near the house so a burglar doesn't have good cover.
-Use timers for lights to give the appearance of someone being home.
-Get an alarm company sign and display it prominently (even if you don't have an alarm).
-Call your local PD and see if they'll do a safety inspection; many PDs will come to your house and provide specific suggestions to make it less attractive to a criminal.
I've had alarm systems, but never had one triggered. However, just having one made me feel significantly safer. Some home insurance companies have special rates with preferred providers, and almost all will give you a discount on your insurance. Call your insurer to ask about any special programs they may have. (You may also get a discount for things like motion sensors too.)
As a father who is fixated on the safety of my family, and the son of a former police officer, there are three sure things that will keep the average street burglar or rapist away from your house.
1) A larger breed dog. Anything from a Labrador to a Golden Retriever. The street criminal is not looking to bring attention to themselves. Big breeds are great protectors, and any little noise that they hear, or, more importantly, any scent they get on, they are going to investigate it and sound the alarm on it by barking. That bark, for most loser criminals, is enough to get out of there quick. I have not had any house I have ever lived in broken into, and I have lived in some pretty rough neighborhoods. I credit my labradors for that.
2) Get alarm stickers and put them on the windows of your entry doors to the house. You do not need the alarm system, just the stickers. You can order them online, or sometimes Lowe's or HD will have them. Add the neighborhood watch sign in the front window for good measure.
3) Get a motion-sensor security light (180 degrees minimum) for the exterior so when you leave or return at night, that light will be on. Again, the common criminal does not want to target homes that have bright lights going on at night when they are creeping.
The whole van pulling up and a team of professional crooks casing and robbing a family in the middle of the night is a myth that is used to sell alarm systems in commercials. The reality is that most criminals who rob people are crackheads and other types of addicts who want to creep in and out without detection. When we create those chances for detection in our homes, they move to where there are not chances to be detected.