Making your family home secure is one of the most important things in life. In fact, it’s part of what turns a house in to a home isn’t it? Feeling safe and protected there. Ask any parent and they’ll tell you that this feeling is amplified further when you have children around. Not only do you want a safe haven for yourself but you want to protect those that you’re responsible for. Which is why home security is so important.

Since moving to our home a number of years ago, we’ve been working hard to turn our house into somewhere that we love to live. Initially we made sure that the house was secure for two adults and a dog to live in. Four years and two children later, we’ve been revisiting our home security set up to ensure that it fits our needs as part of our plans for this year. After all, we want to keep some people out and a couple of people in… these toddlers are mini Houdinis! Here’s our guide on how to make your family home secure.

How To Make Your Family Home Secure

A Good Fence

Our back garden used to be bordered by hedges and makeshift fences from various neighbouring properties. One of our first jobs when we tackled the garden was to put in a tall fence the entire way round. It gives us privacy but most importantly ensures there are no little gaps for little people to sneak through and get out. Additionally, it makes accessing the rear of the property that little bit more difficult. Yes, it could be climbed if someone wanted to but scaling a 6 foot fence is more of a deterrent than nothing.

Secure Garden Entry Points

Installing gated entry to your home helps in the same way as a good fence. I would always recommend gating access to the rear of your house, making it harder for people to just wander either in or out. If you’ve got kids, make it a tall gate with a latch up nice and high so that they can’t undo it themselves. At the front of the house, if possible, why not consider adding a gate to your driveway. Electronic or manually opened and closed, it’s another barrier to stopping opportunistic people wandering in. Plus, you don’t require a lot of room to install one and make your property more secure. A bifold driveway gate works without a track and swings differently from a traditional gate, allowing you to control how much space it takes up. A gated entry will also help stop your children from straying out into the road although I would never advise leaving them unattended! For extra security use high or trickier latches and locks for side gates, add a bell for additional awareness as well.

Locked Windows & Doors

It goes without saying that if you’re leaving the house you should make sure your doors and windows are locked and secure but you should also do the same when you’re in the house or garden. Lock your doors and windows then remove the keys; this prevents the ability to smash the glass and reach through to open the door. Instead, place your keys somewhere safe nearby, so they’re accessible when required but out of immediate reach (and little hands!). The same applies to windows; I once saw someone attach their keys to a small hook they installed near each window. Remember if you’ve got small children to keep those keys up high; windows in the upper stories of your home should always stay locked to prevent small children falling from them!

Install A Home Security System

If you ask me, all homes should have a decent home security system fitted. Alarm systems have come a long way in recent years with features such as security cameras becoming more and more present outside homes across the country. One of my favourite features is the use of remotely accessible camera systems, allowing you to see exactly what’s going on outside your home wherever you are in the world. Great for peace of mind whether you’re travelling, at work or even to see who’s at the door before you answer it.

Light It Up Outside…

External security lighting attached to your home is a huge deterrent to anyone trying to sneak into your property at night. It can also provide you with some protection for when you’re late coming home or letting the dog out! You can get lights which are rigged up to your security system or just simple motion activated ones with a sensor built in. Fit them in through-fares and access points; pointing down the drive, by the front door and into the back garden. We also have motion activated lights on our porch; it means we can safely see where we’re going at night without having to remember to turn lights on and off all the time!

… And In

Whilst we’re probably all fairly aware of external security lights, we’re also huge fans of having internal lights as a security feature. By using remotely controlled bulbs in some of your lights, you can set your lighting to turn on and off at different times; perfect for when you’re away or if you want to make sure there are lights on when you return home. Controlled via an app you can set up different schedules if you like to suit your requirements, there’s even a feature to be able to vary the time by half an hour or so so that it looks more natural. One of my favourite tools for keeping the home looking inhabited when you’re away and making it far nicer to come home to with little ones in tow in the winter.