Home Security No Childs Play

I was talking to a customer the other day about security related issues. He told me an integral part of his business involved cold calls to residences. He expressed a concern over the amount of young children who answer the door unassisted by gown-ups.

Dealing exclusively with homeowner booked appointments, I'm somewhat shielded from this type of security risk. I have to admit I was somewhat surprised more parents wouldn't sit down with their children and warn them about the dangers of opening doors to strangers.

All the locks and alarms in the world are rendered useless in the hands of an uninformed child. It's a parent's obligation to inform their children of the dangers of opening doors to strangers. Many parents feel this subject is difficult to approach because of it's complexities. Complexities like, "We don't want to scare our children", or "Our children will grow up to be unsociable adults".

Let's not make an issue out of a simple demand. In to-day's world we appear to be dishing out premature responsibility to our children. Responsibilities like answering the telephone, looking after younger siblings or even opening the door to strangers.

Parents need to assess the situation and lay down some strict do's and don'ts for not only their children, but themselves. Guidelines that might mean making some career rendering decisions like working from home or investing in professional daycare services.

In to-days world, you can't afford to under staff your home front security. Leaving a young child in charge of your home, if only for a few minutes is dangerous business. It only takes a few seconds for a predator or burglar to make his or her move. Parents must realize, no matter how much you reinforce the dangers of opening doors to strangers, there will always be children that are easily influenced because of their trusting, curious instinct.

If you have a situation where you have adult care in your home but cannot break a youngster from opening doors, you do have some choices. Choices that won't cost an arm and a leg and will give you piece of mind.

Installing double cylinder deadbolts (keyed both sides) will prevent young tots from opening doors. Of course you should always keep a spare key close by the door in case of fire, but up high enough so junior can't open the door at his or her free will. Another option is to install a second deadbolt high enough in the door to prevent a youngster from opening the door.

I would discourage installing gate type hook locks or chains at the top of doors. Once a child opens the main deadbolt lock your door security is now breached. A gate type hook lock or chain may prevent a child from escaping through the door but will offer little resistance to an intruder.

We all know when it comes to home safety, we wouldn't allow a tiny tot to cook on the family stove....... so why would we allow him or her to open the door to strangers!

Frank Fourchalk is widely recognized for his sustained commitment to education in Home and Business security throughout North America as a result of his syndicated newspaper columns. Mr.Fourchalk has written for The Toronto Star, The Vancouver Province and several other daily newspapsers including the New York Post.