Darah has been asking me recently why the sun isn’t awake yet when she is getting ready for school. There’s no denying that the sun is coming up later and later every day. It’s just that time of year! And once daylight saving hits in a few weeks, it will be dark SO EARLY! Fall and Winter are on their way!
It is important for us grownups to remember that we are also heading into the two biggest seasons for burglaries. I know the topic isn’t tons of fun to think about, but trust me, it is so much better to think about your family safety and security plan and to beef it up in a few areas now, than to play Monday-morning quarterback after your things have already been stolen. It’s also important to make sure that every family member is on the same page about expectations for things like children’s weeknight and weekend curfews, and if your children are old enough to ever be home alone, what processes your child might need to go through when they get home (locking the doors right away, sending mom/dad a text message that they arrived, not answering the door, etc.).
While the weather outside is still nice, take a bit of time to do any home improvement projects that can help with overall safety matters. Make sure your front and back porch lights are in good working order, and note if they provide sufficient lighting. Think about if additional lighting might help deter would-be intruders from targeting your home. Also be sure to prune your hedges and make sure that your house number can very clearly be seen.
If you haven’t already put your outdoor grill and any other outdoor pieces that could theoretically be picked up and moved on lock down, I can’t stress enough how important this is (remember my post about how our weed eater was stolen? ). Master Lock has a 3 pack of red, blue and green cable locks that we are definitely loving and that we would recommend to anyone. I especially like that they are keyed alike for easier access (on the part of the owner, NOT on the part of the person who wishes they could steal it!). I love that there are several ties to go around, so every child, for example, could have their own secure bike lock, and can get in the habit of locking it up every day. Should a key get lost during this learning process, it is also not as big of a deal, since the remaining keys will also work.
Finally, take a moment to write down some ICE (in case of emergency) information for you kids to keep in their backpacks or wallets. Most people do not have phone numbers memorized since our phones do that for us. If your child ever needs to get in touch with you and doesn’t have his or her cell phone on hand, this could be a problem! This simple step will only take a minute or two but could make it so much easier for your child to reach you when needed.
What are you doing this season to make your home and its contents more secure?
Giveaway! One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of cable locks!
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.
I am a member of the Master Lock Live Secure Safety Squad, and as such, I receive complimentary products as a thank you for my time. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own, however.
I would put my computer on lock down.
Our bikes aren’t locked up so they’d go on lock down.
Thanks for the giveaway…riding lawnmower & moped.
my kids 3 bikes
I’d put this on my BBQ grill
Realy need a new one for our bikes. Locking down the grill isn’t a bad idea either.
I will use it on my bike as I ride it to work everyday and I would feel so much better if it was locked down better than I have it now,
lauraemerson17 at yahoo dot com
Our ladders
I really need these for our bikes and one for our boat.
id lock my new bike 🙂
This would be for our bikes
Our Bikes, Our Kyaks, just about anything we own!
Definitely for the bikes!
My bike will be on lockdown
for my bike
Thats hubby’s department!
Our bikes!
My husbands bike.
strollers 🙂
our bikes
i would use it for the bikes
My bicycle
My kids bikes.
We will lock our bikes and lawnmower.
I will be locking down; my daughter’s bike (to use at work), our backyard shed and my husband’s gun cabinet (as a safety double-lock).
These will be for bikes and maybe the stroller
Bikes!
Our Bikes
sibabe64 at ptd dot net
our bikes when we go to the park
We’d be using these on our bikes
rsgrandinetti@yahoo(dot)com
Our grill
My fridge.
We will be using them for our bikes.
I would use that for my bike
will use for the kids bikes.
brich22 at earthlink dot net
This would be good for my bike.
My propane tank on my fish house
I’d use them for our bikes and our stroller that we take to theme parks.
I would be putting our ladders on lockdown, they seem to like to dissappear and they are expensive!
I will be putting the BBQ and bikes on lock down.
It’s for my son’s locker. and bike.
My Snowboard
Our bikes.
I think I’ll do the basketball hoop so the bad weather doesn’t take it away !!
for my bike
Stroller and grill
our bikes and strollers
definitely our grill!
Definitely locking up bicycles and probably also the lawnmower.
These would be great for my bike, or my kayak when I travel with it on my car.
Probably my bike, thanks! jessicapeeling@yahoo.com
I would use them to lock up our bikes.
I would lock my bike
I would be using this lock for bikes, door cabinets, and luggage when we travel!
Thank You!!!
I’d give it to my husband for his bike
The grill and lawn mower!
I’d lock up the bike for going to/from work
I’d lock up the Scooter and the bikes!
The BBQ Grill and bike.
The little just got a new big boy bike for his birthday 2 weeks ago, this is perfect timing!!
Gas grill, bikes, stuff when we travel.
Marysa {at} marysa {dot} com
Bikes
The bikes – I would be great
I’d put one of these on our metal building outside.
I would use the lock down on the kids bikes. thank you!
one for my bike one for the grill and one for the snow blower
bikes for kids
My bike! I ride it everywhere and I always have to do my best to hide it becasue I’m scared that people might steal it so this would save me a lot of time and stress!
Great giveaway!
3 kids with 3 bikes is how we would use them.
The kid’s bikes!
look bikes
this would be great for our bikes. Thanks for the giveaway!
our generator and grill
Our stroller and our grill!
I need to lock down some doors. My son keeps escaping.
My bike
I would definitely put one on our sons dirtbike and maybe one on our lawnmower.. people steal the weirdest things!
Our Bicycles – and maybe some yard furniture this Winter – not to prevent theft so much as to keep some items from blowing away in the wind!
My precious macbook. Thanks for the chance to win.
My husband’s future grill purchase–waiting for some good sale prices!
The chairs on our front porch!
Im sure my husband would find some stuff to lock up.
My bike!
I keep things locked up,I would use this to lock up the stroller when taking it out an having to leave it for a bit
i would use them for our bikes
I would be using these locks for each of our bikes
I’d use them for our bikes
This locks are handy, i can use them for my bike and also for my folding cloth which people steal from me in front of my own yard
The Kiddos bikes.
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill12@gmail.com
Our families bikes!
Thanks so much for the chance to win!!!
~Ola
probably somebody’s bike.
I’d use it to lock down a trailer.
I would put them on a cabinet door.
I think these would work great for our barbecue grill and also my outdoor furniture on our deck.
A trike and kid’s bike!
Bikes
I’ll be using them to lock down our generator if/when we have bad weather and lose electricity for an extended time!
my oldest daughter’s bike
I will be locking up my step kids bikes…its a shame so many thefts are happening in our small town!
My daughters bike, always worried about it!
kids bikes & probably the lawnmower
My daughter could lock up her bike and computer at college.
I am adding a security system to my home to make it more secure. Please enter me into the drawing for the lock cables. I could really use these when traveling with our RV to lock down our bikes.
I would lock my kids bikes with them.
This would be perfect for our bikes.
I would be using these locks for each of our bikes
We have three strollers and a bike trailer desperately in need of locking. These would be great!
I will use these on my bike around the neighborhood. Thanks:)
I’d actually send them to my son at college. Things have a way of disappearing out of dorm rooms.
I will be putting our bikes on lock down. Thanks for the giveaway!