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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

In Winnie the Pooh, existentialist Eeyore frequently reveals universal secrets, including his insight, “The thing about accidents is that you’re never having them until you’re having them.” Keep household accidents from blind-siding you. In addition to taking aggressive accident-prevention and theft-protection measures all around your home, wrap the entire house in a big protective blanket with a home security system. San Diego Sheriff’s Detective Anthony Portillo emphasizes, “In today’s dangerous society, home security is not a needless extravagance. It is essential.” A good home security system gives families…

Fire safety. Make sure you have the right fire extinguishers in all the right places—especially the kitchen, garage, and laundry room, where fires frequently start and can spread rapidly. Make equally certain you have escape ladders in upstairs bedrooms, and take time to hold family fire drills, because house fires can engulf whole structures in just minutes. During fire seasons, keep the outside of your home fire safe, clearing foliage and dried brush and coating dry eaves with fresh fireproof paint. Then, take comfort from the knowledge that your home security system will alert fire fighters and sound loud alarms the second it detects smoke.

Quick access to first responders. As soon as they are old enough to understand your home phone and cell phone, teach your children how to reach emergency services. Make sure they know your address and phone number, and identify safe places for them to go if they get separated from you in household emergencies. Then, show everyone in the family how to use the one-touch alarm on today’s state-of-the-art home security systems. Activating “the SOS bar” on the system, a family member instantly summons police, fire, and medical assistance, and first responders will follow your security system’s built-in GPS precisely to your location. If you have a household emergency while you are away from home, your system also will notify you via cell phone or e-mail.

Protection against burglars and intruders. Outfitted with motion-sensitive lights and programmed either for silent alarm to police or deafening alarm for the family and neighbors, your home security system protects your home’s perimeter as well as alerting you and the police if someone forces a lock or breaks a window. Most state-of-the-art security systems allow you to turn on lights, secure entrances, and activate alarms via apps on your cellphone, and most enable you to take these protective measures from anywhere in the world. The best even have features that let you check to make sure you turned off the coffee maker, the iron, or other appliances.

Reassurance for “the sandwich generation.” If you worry equally about your ‘tweens, teens, and aging parents, your home security system may come with one-touch remote access buttons family members may carry with them when they are home alone. Pushing the button activates the entire alarm system and notifies you of the household emergency, so that you are in-touch with loved-ones wherever you go. This feature also relieves lots of the stress that goes with leaving young children in a baby-sitter’s care.

Added value. If you sell your home, your security system adds appeal and value to your house. Meanwhile, the system gives you considerable savings on your homeowner’s insurance premiums. In many cases, insurance savings offset the cost of maintaining your home security system.

Young families inevitably will sustain their fair share of bumps and scrapes, the price they pay for growing up and growing wise. However, a high quality home security system helps to minimize the family’s risk of catastrophic injuries and losses, bringing some comfort and peace-of-mind to hard-working young parents. Consult a local security system expert to assess your needs and schedule your installation.

Andrew Greene is a freelance writer and blogs for ppiclaims.org.uk, a site that can help you get ppi refunds.

Earnest Parenting: help for parents who want to be secure.

Image courtesy of ArthurGouveia via Creative Commons license, some rights reserved.