Safe Home - Happy Home: Essential Precautions for Modern Family Living

One of the main priorities of modern family living besides providing a comfortable and healthy home is safety. Safety at home is of vital importance for families and one of the first things they look into when considering purchasing or building their new home.

Security questions shouldn’t stop at the neighbourhood and community level but responsible homeowners need to improve their home safety as well so here are several aspects to consider when protecting one’s family at home.

Secure your home

One of the easiest moves towards improving your home security is locking your doors and windows. According to several researches, most burglars enter the house through the unlocked front door and nearly 25% of surveyed homeowners admitted to leaving their doors and windows unlocked when not at home.

Furthermore, burglars generally target homes that appear vacant than those that looked occupied. You can use timers and lights to create an impression of a house lived in even if everyone is out at the moment. Exterior lighting should be used both in the front and the back of the house to minimize any dark areas where burglars could hide. With motion sensors, the lights would not be on for the entire night which is a great cost-effective measure and would also serve as an element of surprise for anyone lurking around.

Finally, you can consider installing a home security system. It may not prevent burglars from breaking in but it will certainly set off the alarm that would scare them and alert the police, both of which can minimize your losses. Many modern forms of home security systems have additional options such as alerting you when the kids get home from school or if a door or window was left unlocked or opened. It’s necessary for every homeowner to take into consideration their family’s lifestyle and habits when choosing the right home security system.

Get the right home insurance

Getting home insurance can give homeowners a peace of mind knowing that in addition to physical measures they have introduced to make their homes safe, they also have a back-up option. However, finding the best home insurance policy does take some research and effort. The first aspect is knowing who is insured under the policy in case of loss of personal property and for allegations of liability in case of injury to others. The term insured typically means you and other household residents that are under 21, but it’s also necessary to check if other members such as non-relatives, partners, partner’s children, roommates, boarders, tenants, elderly parents or in-law who helps with the kids can be included as well.

In addition to loss of personal property, it’s also important to cover the option of alleged liability. For instance, in case your family member has a home-based business or your child’s dog bites a passer-by, there would be no liability coverage for that if the policy is strictly in your name.

The similar goes for your personal car insurance that can exclude or limit coverage for other family members so it makes good sense to consider getting comprehensive car insurance to cover all the options.

Ensure child safety

Another important aspect of modern family living is ensuring your home is safe for children. It may turn out that your adult-friendly home is not that child-friendly. If you already have kids or you’re thinking of starting a family soon, there are important aspects of child safety that need to be considered so you can be aware of the risks and remove them in a timely manner.

Even then, there are still risks as children are naturally curious and known to find trouble everywhere so marinating supervision of them is another important part of home safety. As children grow and learn about things in their home, the risks of injuries grow as well and parents need to be alert for new potential hazards. Childproofing your home is necessary in order to adapt to the environment so it can be a safe and creative zone for your kids to play in and explore. Measures typically include prevention of falls, burns and scalds, house fires, poisoning, strangulation, suffocation, water safety, electrical safety, safety outdoors and others.

Know your neighbours

A great way to contribute to the all-around safety of your neighbourhood is to get to know your neighbours better. If you’re all friends or at least friendly, the chances are you’ll help each other more. You’ll keep an eye on things and alert each other if anything suspicious appears, mow a lawn if someone gets sick or water the plants and take care of pets when someone’s away on holiday. A friendly neighbourhood is by all means a safer one as well.

Prevention is the road to safety and by taking these essential precautionary measures, your home will be more secure and a much safer place to live.