Practical Home Security Tips – Guest Article

We see a lot on television, billboards, and other advertising space about how to keep our homes safe through the use of home security systems. Indeed, it can greatly enhance the security of your home if you decide to invest in a professionally designed security system – however, it is also important not to forget about more practical, basic ways to keep your home safe. Home security systems, while effective and necessary in many ways, can also be expensive, so if you can find cheaper ways to keep your home safe, you should do your best to practice them. Here are a few suggestions of some such methods to help get you started.

• Teach your children some of the basics. While maintaining your home without the benefit of a home security system is dangerous, most break-ins actually occur because of simple imperfections – a window is left open, a door is left unlocked, etc. Generally, these are things that adults prevent. However, it is vital to stay alert with regard to locking doors and closing windows, and you should particularly make efforts to teach your children to do the same. A child doesn’t always understand the potential danger in leaving a door open, or opening a door for a stranger, etc., and the more you teach them basic security, the safer your home will be for them.
• Install additional locks. Again, most break-ins do not occur through the use of force – rather, criminals tend to look for vulnerabilities. Some locks can be picked or easily broken, and if you feel that your home is equipped with these sorts of locks, it can actually be fairly cheap to install second locks on your doors for added security. This may seem like a small investment, but with regard to criminals, additional locks turn your home from a vulnerable property into one that would require force to break into – and this is not worth the risk to most potential criminals.
• Befriend your neighbors. Again, this may seem like a simple concept not related to home security, but it is actually a very helpful way to keep your home safe. If your neighbors consider you a friend, they will be more likely to report any suspicious activity they may notice near your home – such as a stranger watching for an extended period of time, etc. Additionally, you will have a family in the neighborhood available for watching your home should you need to go out of town. Your home is always safest when you can keep an eye on it, and if you become good friends with your neighbors you can consider their eyes extensions of your own.

Katie M.. is a writer and blog contributor for Home Security System, an online resource for home security equipment and advice.