Some Home Security Tips Not Often Considered

28 July, 2010

How many times have you told your children to never answer the door, or to always ask who it is before opening the door? If you're anything at all like me when it comes to parenting, then it's countless times. After all, it is great advice and will serve them well throughout their lives. On the flip side, how many times have you answered the door without giving this advice a second thought? Again, if you're like me then it's countless times.

Until recently I realized I wasn't heeding my own advice. It was starting to make me feel like I was one of those "do as I say, not as I do" parents, and that's definitely not the message I want to be sending to my children, particularly when it comes to anything involving home security tips. Skilled burglars will disguise themselves as deliverymen, repairmen, bill collectors, survey takers, and just about anything else that will cause people to open their front doors without so much as a hesitation. I did not want that for my family, so a couple of months ago I decided I was going to make a conscious effort to change my door-answering habits.

I decided it would be a two-step process for me, after I'd decided it would be a one step process. Let me explain. Our front door was not equipped with a peephole, so I figured it was time to install one. I didn't know why I had it in my mind that this was some kind of involved process that might take someone with a handier set of skills to install, but that was my initial thought about installing one. I'm actually embarrassed to admit that it was very simple. Essentially this: drill a hole, install the peephole. Anyone ever say to you that if they can do it anyone can? Trust me when I tell you that. It was simple and I was super pleased after the work was done.

It didn't take too many knocks on the door before I realized my smaller children couldn't see through the peephole. That's when I decided it was time to turn to some modern technology. A wireless camera above the front door of our house was exactly that ticket. Again, the installation was simpler than I thought, not to mention I'd had my confidence boosted when I installed the peephole a couple of weeks earlier.

Because I was already using a monitored ADT monitored security system, the addition of a wireless camera above my door was a snap. The way it works is pretty awesome. I can see who's at the door from any web-enabled computer, PDA, or cell phone, or any TV or other monitor in my house, or even a dedicated monitor. We're a modern family and have enough computer and other web-enabled devices around our house, which in turn made this option totally feasible.

Now we know who's at our front door without having to ask, and everyone in the house has gotten in the habit of checking a monitor before answering the door, me included. Trust your home security to a monitored ADT home security system and discover the true peace of mind that comes with doing everything you can to protect your family.