Night Safety...Do You Leave Windows Open?

No way, no how! We did growing up in a very small town, but even small towns have rapists, kidnappers, etc. I won't take my chances.

There are window blockers that allow you to place a hard metal or wooden stopper so the window can only be opened a certain amount. I only leave my windows open when it's REALLY cool outside.

NO, NO, and NO. I used to and then had too many creepy people near my yard so I stopped. Now since I have children, I would never do it. I would worry to much about their safety or ours. I too love the fresh air, but its not worth the risk to me.

Reasonable safe area doesn't mean anything to me when you could be that 1% that has a break-in, armed home invasion, etc. Don't take the risk

M

M

The media has made us paranoid. Not every man is a rapist. Not every man that says hi to your kids is a kidnapper or pedophile.

If someone really wanted to break in to your home, a closed window wouldn't stop them. Having a small yappy dog will keep a night time burglar out and away from your home. Why? Because a thief doesn't want to be seen or heard. If they did, they would simply ring your doorbell and barge in.

Good luck to you and yours.

I never sleep with the windows open. I also triple check all the doors to make sure they are locked at night.

We have a big dog, but I still don't feel safe unless everything is closed up tight.

From a Love & Logic seminar my husband and I attended together I appreciated these points about safety and feeling safe.
> we live in an incredibly safe country generally speaking
> stop watching the news, better yet turn off the television, build awareness of the neighborhood...fear mongering sensationalized news separates us from each other building fear upon fear upon fear
> get to know your neighbors, all the kids get to know neighbors, too, that's how we keep each other safe

I understand the rhetorical nature of your question, and I'll still answer, "yes" anywhere is really safe. Fear is a gift, and when used consciously will add to safety, not isolation.

All the time. I don't have air conditioning. I also have dogs. You can get some motion dector lights to attach to the side of your house where the kids bedroom is, if anyone is lurking around the lights should switch on. You can also hang strings of bells or wind chimes on the inside of the windows, or maybe from the ceiling agbout 2-3 feet out from the window. make sure it's long enough so anyone coming in the window will hit it.

Personally I refuse to live in fear.

You can keep the windows open - not all the way - but still keep them open - have your hubby cut a broom stick to a certain length (I don't know what size windows you have) so that the windows can still be open, no one can fit through them and no one can open them further....

To answer your question whether anywhere is REALLY safe anymore, yes and no. It helps to think of safe versus unsafe situations, not locations. Crime can and does occur in every kind of neighborhood; being too unconcerned is not healthy, but being too paranoid is nto healthy either. The best you can do is to just take common precausions and hope for the best. You should read the book The Gift of Fear. And you may be reassured to know that the rate of stranger abductions (as opposed to abductions by a family member) has remained steady (that is, it has not risen) since the 1970's.

I sleep with windows open, our bedrooms are on the second & third floors. It will take a whole heck of a lot of racket to get up there & by then my big dog will have long gone bonkers.

I tend not to be paranoid, just aware. Paranoid parents make paranoid children, which saddens me greatly.

We have a big dog that's scary and protects our house and will go for people creeping around our place day or night. I like the fresh air, but I am safety conscious and will not leave my children's windows open even on the hottest nights. I don't even feel too comfortable about saying much on this forum. You never know who's collecting information.

During the time of year that its nice ...ABSOLUTELY, i love fresh air as opposed to central recycled air....i feel safe though because i have a gun in a safe that i know how to use.

Thats such a comforting thought followed by a scary one.....sorry

I get paranoid all the time about EVERYTHING. You are right when you say is anywhere REALLY safe anymore? I don't think so.

I must say though, that I continually tone myself down to keep things in check. The percentages of anything like someone coming in your home to take your children is less than your children's chances of getting struck by lightening - even if you keep them inside during a storm. Not that the worry is not warranted it just means you need to use your logic to calm down. No one is going to make it through your kids window at night, it is too high, cumbersome and risky for anyone to go that route. Not to mention the fact, that if someone was lurking around with a huge ladder in them middle of the night, you are gonna hear it and wake up.

I think you should get the dog, open the windows and call it a day. = )

We don't leave our daughter's windows open, but all the other windows are opened enough to let the air flow, but not to let intruders in. We also have a bar in each window to prevent it from being opened wider. Hope that helps.

I'm the same way! I sometimes will do our windows on the highest level, but never the kids' or main level. The statistics come from somewhere and it's not always somebody else. Chances are small, but I'd die if something ever happened to my children...

I think about this a lot too.
My family just moved into our new house about 2 months ago. All the bedrooms are on the 2nd floor, which I like.
But on the 1st floor there are 28 windows!! It's beautiful for the light and breeze that is always going through my house. But it does freak me out a bit too lol
I don't know our area too well yet. From what the neighbors say, it is a quiet nice area. I'm still nervous though.
We close up our windows down stairs at night. in the kids rooms, they are open a little bit but have locks also. So they can be open about 6inch while locked.
My husband went out and got us ADT. That made me feel better. We obviously can't afford to put censors on ALL the windows..I mean come on 28 of them?? So we have censors on the doors and a motion detector at the bottom of the stairs.
My husband said he put that in to keep me sane. :)
Yes, in theory someone could break into one of our windows and steal our stuff. But they will NOT be able to get anywhere near me or my family without setting off the alarm. Oh and that thing is SOOOO LOUD. Hurts my ears haha

NO way!
Sleep w/the air on and have protection!

Personally, I wouldn't do this.
If "something happened"....you would be kicking yourself (that's an understatement) that you didn't just close the windows.
People DO sneak in....it happens....no matter how remote the actual odds....do you really want to take the chance? That's the way i look at it....I prefer not to take chances like that. I AM somewhat "paranoid."....but I don't think there's anything wrong with that....personally I think it's smart. ;-) lol
So not only would I close the windows - I would lock them!

Listen, I totally understand the question. I basically had the same insecurities or fears for a long time, and to make matters worse, the hubby started working the graveyard shift for a while. The only thing I could really do to keep myself sane was to finally admit that I lived in a basically good area, and that if someone wanted to get into my home, well a thin piece of glass wasn't going to stop them. I guess my point is, if you close the windows and someone wanted to get in, they could easily break a window, and if you are on a different floor you may not even hear it. I gave up all of the fear, do the "normal" things to be and feel as safe as we can, and if it's especially warm out or nice enough to have a window open, I leave it open. I don't leave my kids windows open, but not only for fear of someone coming in. I fear my kids may fall out. We only have 1 floor, but still, I don't want them getting hurt. They have ceiling fans, etc. Good luck! It's really too bad that we have to think about ANY of this these days, isn't it?