Security

What are you like when it comes to your personal security.

I think I am far to lax about it, and it is bad as I am at home by myself with 2 children. I leave my back door unlocked until just before I got o bed or after I have my last smoke of the day. I am at the other end of the house and anyone could open the door and come on in. But my back door is noisy and I have heard every single person come in to my house from being down here, but I think I could be better.

We live down a back section so not viewable from the road, we are very conscious of this. We do know that the windows are very easy for the girls to open, not that they would, but when ayja was smaller and risky i was pedantic about them. However, both our front and back gates are padlocked so no-one can get into the yard unless they jump the 2metre high fences that surround us. and theoretically no little person can get out.

Ranchslider is always latched, even the girls know that when they close the ranch slider that they lock it (of course unless the other one is out there lol.. and even then they sometimes do it to be mean) Front door always locked - again mostly because ayja's a runner.. although to be honest, if she tried she could easily turn the latch and be off - cos the door leads onto our long driveway with no gate to stop her going on the road.   

All windows are closed when we go out (again cos they are easy to get in and out of, and cos then they could just open the latch on the door, or open the garage and off they go. I do have a few security issues about the fact the windows are so easy to open etc from the inside, and also because there's no lock on the door between the internal access garage.

Windows also closed when we are all going for a sleep, 1 to stop little people getting out, and 2 to stop people getting in.    We live about 10 mins away fromt he bad part of town.   I think especially since we are back section - security is important. also i got alot of that from my mum who is OCD about security.

Edited by mum2paris

I'm pretty lax with it- our front door locks automatically but I always have the back door open during the day in summer (except for if we go out). I leave all the windows open all day even when we go out. Downstairs is fully shut up and locked once it gets dark- upstairs we lock the girls windows, and the bathroom but leave ours open.
When DH is away I am the exact opposite! I lock everything constantly- triple check it all and even leave the hall light on overnight I'm a scardy cat when I'm on my own.

I am very strict about enusring everything is locked. I hate staying at home by myself, but have done it a few times.

I am a little paranoid about home invasion as we live semi-rural and it worries me. Crime is just getting worse and worse these days and tough financial times at the moment for lots of people doesn't help especially when people leave temptation in view.

we live semi-rural in a small farm house just back from a main road and surrounded by a large hedge, it's good cause people don't realise there's a house here, just think it's part of the neighbours

DH has just put up a big wooden gate which we use a chain and padlock when we are not home. We have an extra lock on the front ranchslider which is always locked (haven't gotten around to installing the other one just yet) the back door is usually unlocked when DH is home.. DH is planning to go to Police college next year so we got a dog a few months ago for a bit of company (and security) for me, when DH isn't home then the dog sleeps in with me (Shhhhh don't tell DH!! haha)

I am bordering on paranoid about it. I hate being at home overnight without DH. Luckily we are at the end of a cul-de-sac and our house is visible to all of our neighbours (at least from the front). Out the back is very private and I worry about how easy it would be for someone to break in around there - ie without anyone seeing.

I always double check the doors and windows, and I do drive around the doors locked when I am on my own.

 

I'm very vigilant about it, each night I go into lock down mode.. make sure all the french doors are locked, and curtains closed. Chain put on the front door.

When I leave each morning to take Nyah to school, I double check the doors and close the doors from the lounge to the kitchen so if anyone comes around the back, the can't see into the lounge.

As for my own personal security, I never go anywhere with Cooper where I feel that we could be "jumped"

We are very security concious. We are alarmed day and night while we're sleeping, have a panic button, a big steel door on the garage and bars across the actual garage doors so you can't ram them. My dad's making bars for our windows and we've got a camera thing that we're having installed. In terms of burglary our area gets hit a lot so we have to be mindful of that, we have a very good neighbourhood support group though, but because of some other occurences we need to be sure that we've done as much as we can.
I also shred our personal mail when we no longer need it.
Personal safety when out and about, I always make sure I have a firm grip on my bag and I lock the doors when I get in the car. DH doesn't usually send me out anywhere on my own after dark either. Always comes with me.

We have two aluminium french doors which we lock with a key when we are out or at night time, but our fron't door isn't lock with key from inside for safety/fire escape purposes.

I am better than DH.  It kinda bugs me that when he leaves in the morning and I am still in bed he doesnt lock the door.  Itsnot so bad out here in a small town but I didnt like it in the city.

Since we moved out here I have become more lax.  Many times I have shot out to the shops and not locked the door because I was too lazy.  We used toleave a window open for the cats 24/7.  Only closed it coz it got too cold.

 

If we moved back into the city I would step back up but DH.....he used to leave the key in his front door (on the outside) when he was asleep..........argh!!!!!