UPDATED: Child Home Alone

[PWK]

PWK's Wife: I am a mother of 4 boys, the youngest being 15. I suggest you add to your "plan" noise and light. From what I understand, most intruders are not interested in breaking into a house that is not empty. I think they sometimes even ring the bell to make sure the house is empty. If he suspects trouble he could turn on the porch light and turn up the stereo or tv.
You might also consider an intercom system for the front door.

[ghentry]

At dinner last night I gave him a couple of "what if" scenarios and it was enlightening how badly this needed to be discussed. My wife and I have worked out what we would do in the case of an intruder, but apparently we didn't communicate to him well enough what we expected him to do. When asked "what would you do if the alarm went off in the middle of the nght", he responded he would run into our bedroom and protect his mom. We had to discuss my ambush point and how him running blindly into the bedroom and likely me with a gun in my hand was not a good idea. Also, she would be the one protecting him, not the other way around.

Once we settled those details, we then moved to the scenario of him being alone and someone breaks in. He said he would call the police and try to fight the guy if he came upstairs. Again, not the best answer. I told him how the alarm works and the police woul d be called and that his number one priority was to get away form the house. I explained to him how I didn't care what he had to break or damage to get out his window, to do it and get safely enough away.

Anyway, I am still going to look into the cameras as this would give him a way to see who's at the front door without being a doors thickness away form the potential intruder (peephole).

We put in an application with the local Boxer rescue and we'll see what becomes of that. This girl is beautiful.

[stevie_d_64]

There's a real special place for folks who adopt and give a good home to one or more of those pups!

You're heading in the right direction!

[Charles L. Cotton]

Gentry:

This story isn’t an attempt to convince you to provide a firearm to your son, if you don’t feel it would be prudent. The age at which any person develops the maturity to make decisions concerning the use of deadly force varies dramatically and only you and your wife can make that decision. This is a story of something that happed to our youngest son.

This happened when our youngest son was 15. I was at my office when the phone rang. It was my private direct line so it didn’t come through the receptionist and I didn’t know who was calling. When I answered, my son simply said “Aw ________!� I wasn’t at all pleased to be greeted with that language from my son, but I knew something was clearly wrong. I asked what was going on and he said, “I was hoping you wouldn’t answer because someone is in the house downstairs and I was hoping it was you.� As you can imagine, the pucker factor went off the scale and I told him to go into my bedroom and get one of my 1911 .45 ACP’s, but he had already done so. I then told him to lock his bedroom door, hide behind his bed with the gun aimed at the door, be as quite as possible and call the police. This too he had already done, except for calling the police. He really didn’t want to hang up with me, but he did when I told him I would call the Friendswood PD dispatcher as well, so he’d be able to relay a message to me if necessary.

It couldn’t have been more than one minute before I was able to talk to the dispatcher - a lady I’ve known for years. She assured me two units would arrive in less than 2 minutes, but it seemed like two hours for me and two years for my son. When the four (yes 4) units arrived, one officer started beating on the door. The dispatcher told my son to lay his pistol on the bed and he told her “not until I see one of my Dad’s friends slide his badge under my bedroom door!� (Good response in my book. I wonder where he learned that one?) Finally, my son heard the front door open, some COP’s yelling and our oldest son hollering, “Bryan, what the heck are you doing!!?� (Cleaned up to meet the “10 year old daughter rule�) Yep, our UT student had come home unannounced not knowing his brother had stayed home from school because he was sick. (Years later he confessed it was to finish a project due the next day.)

It seems that the oldest son had come in, rummaged around the kitchen for a while, then went to the restroom to sit a spell. When he heard the knocking/beating on the door, he thought it was a salesman and wasn’t about to cut his project short to answer the door. When it became clear someone was going to break the door down, he reluctantly went to the door, peeked out and saw “half the Friendswood PD� with their guns drawn and looking mighty unhappy. When he opened the door, he said it looked like that Chuck Norris movie with the scene involving an attempt to rob a COP bar. “Everyone had their muzzle pressed firmly against my nose� he said, obviously exaggerating. Quickly, two of the guys recognized him and the whole thing was over.

When the debriefing was finished, I was very pleased with my youngest son’s handling of a terrifying situation. He was absolutely convinced there was a burglar in the house. I was in my downtown Houston office 25 miles away with no way to get there in time to join the fight; it was all up to him if the “burglar� came into his room before the police arrived.

He told me he’d never been so scared in his life, but he knew what to do and maintained self-control. I asked him if he felt he would have been able to hold fire until he identified his target and his answer was an honest, “I don’t know, I think so, but I was really scared. Now that this happened, I know I would next time; I’m not going to kill my brother.� He said he remembered a line I had preached to him from the first day I let him put his hands on a gun - “There are very few things in life worse than getting shot, but killing a loved one by mistake is certainly one of them!�

I was pretty much useless the rest of the day thinking about what could have happened; thankfully I didn’t have a trial going. Since no one was hurt, I was actually thankful it had happened. I taught both sons to shoot very early, but you can’t teach maturity and you can’t simulate being scared to death! This event gave him a taste of being scared he might die and having to perform under that pressure. That’s asking a lot of a fifteen year old, but he handled it well and he was definitely prepared for the next time. (That happened 12 years later and it was not his brother!) For you young folks yet to be parents, this is why our hair turns gray and falls out!

Gentry, I would definitely get the pepper spray in addition to other efforts you make.

Regards,
Chas.

[Chris]

solid core doors
dead bolt throw of at least 1.5"
2.5" - 3" screws in the strike plate
backup window locks (can be as simple as a hole with a nail in it on moving windows
trim bushes around the house to prevent hiding spaces
make sure there is adequate lighting
video cameras are great for actually seeing who is at the front door


i do commercial and residential crime prevention security surveys and am certified through TCLEOSE as a CP inspector for the homeowner's insurance discounts, and CPTED certified. not to mention, i've worked on hundreds and hundreds of burglaries.

you need to look at your house in relation to those around you. thieves are opportunists. they're not going to break in if they know someone is at home. they don't know that the only person there is 14. ever see home alone? as ridiculous as it sounds, that's exactly the mentality of burglars. they don't want confrontation. the random crazed crackhead is few and far between.

[XD_Dan]

They are very nice looking. I was thinking about a boxer. From what I've read, a good guard dog and good disposition. The short hair would be a plus.

+1 for a guard dog, and a BIG +1 for a boxer.

She was just a pup in these pics. She's much bigger now.



I know she looks like a big, goofy dog, but she has a deep, intimidating growl & bark. As you can see, she has a great disposition.

We put in an application with the local Boxer rescue and we'll see what becomes of that. This girl is beautiful.

Good luck.

[ghentry]

Wow Charles, I was tense just reading the story. Add that to your other story about you and your Dad, and you've got some good war stories.

I asked him if he felt he would have been able to hold fire until he identified his target and his answer was an honest, “I don’t know, I think so, but I was really scared.

That's the concern right there. Being scared out of your mind, would he have the knee-jerk reaction and shoot as soon as someone turned the door knob and it end up being his grandmother that didn't know he was home.

We are still looking into the Boxer and we will talk more about getting out of the house. Pepper spray would be an inexpensive and safe addition to the safety plan.

I appreciate everyone's input. It's great to have a place where you can get valuable input and not be flamed or ridiculed like other boards do.

[Charles L. Cotton]

. . . Add that to your other story about you and your Dad, and you've got some good war stories.

That event is why I've been a fanatic about target identification since I was a teenager.

Chas.

[Paladin]

2.5" - 3" screws in the strike plate

Good advice.

My advice to everybody is to check the screws in your strike plate. The contractors who built my house threw away the 3 inch screws that came with the deadbolts used on the house. They installed 0.5 inch screws!!! in their place. The shorter screws are much easier to install, but aren't worth anything.

Using (worthless) shorter screws seems to be standard procedure these days for homebuilders.

[j1132s]

ghentry,

Do you live in a dense neighborhood? If so, do you know/trust your neighbors and does any of them stay at home (e.g. retired/work from home)?

I used to come home from school alone all the time when I was in middle and high school and not think much of it. Both of my parents work and I get off school sooner than they get off work. Thinking back, 1 of the key factors was that we knew all the neighbors and I'm friends w/ their kids. Also, lots of my friends are home alone too. Frankly, we hardly stay inside, generally prefer to go play basketball, ride our bikes, etc.

14 years old is fine. I think I was about there back then. But back then I didn't mind and having the independence allowed me to do whatever I wanted, which (come to think of it) isn't good when you are 14.

Summer was excellent. We all loved the fact of less supervision. I did go to some camps, but they were only for a few weeks. So there were lots of times I'm home alone all day.

I remember the big issue was being home when my parents came back. Sometimes we'll be out too long. Once we got cars, then everything is even better.

So, don't worry too much about your kid. I think I grew up ok, well maybe not. But I'm still alive.

Don't give that 14yr old access to guns. Give him a phone & contact numbers. gDepending on where you live nd neighborhood kids situation, your son may not even be home all that time.

[jbirds1210]

Will someone please direct me to the other story that caused Charles to be a target identification finatic......I would appreciate it. I had my wife read this thread last night and it brought up some questions that I assumed she knew. Thanks in advance.
Jason

[ghentry]

Here you go:

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... php?t=1405

[Lonegun1894]

I was given a SKS at 14, and a .38 at 15 to go with it. Before that, i always ahd access to a firearm of some type sincce i hit 10, but on the condition of taking it and using it only if my oarents were unable to for any reason. I never once got in trouble with those guns. The rifle sat next to my bed and the revolver was on the nightstand, but i wasnt allowed to touch them unless we were going to shoot them, or i was cleaning them. They also stayed loaded, just in case the need arose for them to be used. We also always had a G. Sheperd in the house at all times, who absolutely hated anyone who wasnt family or a close friend. Not the best disposition for a dog to have, but it worked very well for us when the need came one day.

Having said that, since you said you arent planning on arming him, that is your choice and i respect that. But i also agree with everyone above who recommended a dog. A boy just has to have a good dog, and i'm not talking lap dogs here either.

[ghentry]

Update: I have to admit to being a little lax around the house and so today was catch up day:

• - The front shrubs were all trimmed back and you now cannot hide behind them much at all.
  - I replaced the landscape lighting which has been out for about 6 months. That helps light up the front of the house.
  - I put a weatherproof padlock on the gate door since we are always checking to see if someone has opened it.

Things I still need to do:

• - Pin some windows that are rarely opened.
  - Continue researching cameras.
  - Secure the phone line in conduit.

We also had our "home visit" by the rescue organization today, so we are hoping to meet Alexandria (pictured above) within the next week or so. I'll let everyone know if she comes home with us.

[Lonegun1894]

sounds like you have a good handle on things. Way to go.