I’ll let you in on a little secret. Every parent or homeowner thinks that their property is safe. The bottom line is that if you knew there was a problem, you wouldn’t just stay. You would move and relocate to a place that is safe for your children to live. For this reason, it’s hard for me to accept the word of people that say their home is safe. Most of these individuals have no idea about the extent of home dangers. I’m not just talking about the quality of the build or the area. I’m talking about dangers that are in almost every home and that you need to think about.
I’m going to look at a basic example here to start with. You probably have heard something about asbestos. Maybe you watched a news report about how it could be damaging to the lungs or cause cancer. But you felt reassured knowing that the harmful material is certainly not present in your home. After all, your house is only, twenty, thirty years old. The last recorded use of asbestos in the home was in the 1980’s. But that’s the last recorded use. That’s not necessarily the last time it was actually used. As well as this, you don’t know that a previous owner didn’t use it as a cheap form of insulation in an extension. We removed our shed made partially from this material this summer. Huge relief!
The good news is that asbestos is only damaging if you disturb it. So, as long as you don’t know it’s there, it won’t be affecting the health of your family...yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t present a problem in the future. Unfortunately, the only way to tell if your home has asbestos is to complete a total survey. That costs a few thousand and most owners don’t think the cost is worth it. Instead, they’ll risk it despite the multiple lawsuits that are currently being put forward right now. In my mind, it’s better to know for sure. This is just one example of the danger that could be in your home and that you are completely unaware of. Let’s think about some others.
The Trouble With Water
Can you trust the water that comes out your tap is safe and clean to drink? You might say, well of course. The government and council provide my water, so I’m completely convinced it’s safe. At which point you need to ask, who do you trust more? Researchers and scientists or the government and politicians? Researchers investigated the effect of fluoride on rats. If you don’t know, fluoride is a chemical that is found in toothpaste. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why you spit toothpaste out and don’t swallow. It’s also found in drinking water. Occasionally, in incredibly high quantities. Fluoride is used to clean drinking water and, ironically, make it safe.
This chemical when tested on rats resulted in reductions in IQ and the development of brain tumors. It is believed to have the same effect on humans. In particular, children who are always more vulnerable. That’s why it’s best to use a device like a Berkey Water Filter (solid review here). You can get water filters in all different shapes and sizes. The main thing is that you are using them. Without it, there’s nothing stopping your kids swallowing those harmful chemicals.
Danger In The Street
I know no parent wants to think about this possibility, but you should consider the threat of abduction. I know the thought process here. It’ll never happen to our family. We live in a safe neighborhood. I get that and to be honest, I even buy into that idea myself. It’s hard to imagine your kids could be in danger playing outside the house in view of neighbor’s homes. But these were also the thoughts of parents who have experienced their children being taken. Unfortunately, you can’t trust strangers to be good people. You can’t even really trust your neighbors. The majority of crimes are committed by people who knew or had a relationship with the victim. The statistic is somewhere around 95 percent. 95 percent of crimes are committed by people that the victim knew. So, if you can’t trust people you know, how can you trust strangers? You need to think very carefully about whether your street really is safe for your kids to play outside. Particularly, if they are still at a young age. Even a cul de sac can be dangerous. No matter how many houses are around, you have to think about how easy it is for a car to pull over and pick up a child. Once you start to think about that, the danger becomes real and terrifying.
Burglaries And Home Invasion
How is your home protected from a house invasion? I hope my point about abductions has enlightened you to know you can’t just assume your street isn’t vulnerable. You need to think about security measures. Ideally, you want to set your home up to act as a deterrent. Deter criminals from even considering breaking in with extensive security. Start off by thinking about cameras. Remember, in some places, it’s illegal to set up cameras that record another person’s property. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them. You just have to be careful with how they are positioned. You can get other security tech as well like motion detectors. This might seem like overkill. However, if it stops someone entering your home while your kids are in, it will be worth it.
Truth be told you don’t even need these types of systems. Most homes would be a lot safer if owners just knew to lock their doors. About a third of homeowners leave their doors unlocked when they are in. They think if they’re in nothing bad is going to happen. Particularly, in the middle of the day. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you are safe if you’re in the house. It might stop most criminals, but it certainly won’t stop all of them.
I hope I haven’t scared you too much with this post. Unfortunately, these are lessons that you will have to learn if you want your home to be safe and secure.
