Install alarm for your kid?

Question

Would you go so far as to install an alarm system in your home just to keep your 2 year old from going outside without your knowledge? Open, honesty please.

Answer 1

Assuming talking to the child, timeouts, rewards for not leaving the house, etc. hadn't worked:
- If I had tried other things first such as a deadbolt high up where the child couldn't reach, keeping the child busy and distracted, and I was properly supervising the child (perhaps even sleeping in shifts to keep the child safe), yes I sure would. A child's safety comes first and you do whatever you have to in order to keep them happy, healthy and safe.
- I might also try setting up a situation where the child got out of the house "accidentally" with my full knowledge first, with someone I trust waiting outside to catch the child. Depends on the child - two is pretty young, but I prefer natural consequences for a child to manufactured ones where possible and when a child could possibly learn more from that than being talked to etc. Please note I am *not* saying scare the child to death or let them be in any actual danger - just let them see for themselves it's not necessarily the best thing to just take off without permission.

Answer 2

Absolutely!!! We just built a new house and installed an alarm system so the doors make a loud beeping noise if anyone opens them. And then obviously I can set the alarm as well so an alarm will go off continuously if someone opens a door. I would do anything to keep my children safe.

*EDIT* - I can't believe how many people are against this! First, its easy to say "watch your kid better" when you only have one child. I have three kids, and one is autistic and used to wander off (it can happen in the middle of the night while you're sleeping even!!), and its impossible to watch all three at the same time every second of the day. And sure, you can discipline them not to go out without telling you, but what about while they're still learning that concept?? It just takes one time to lose a child. And locks up high do work for a 2 year old, but not for long - they'll soon get old enough to open those locks if they want to get out bad enough. And I'd use an alarm even if I lived in a dead end with no traffic - your child can still wander off and get lost!! Deadbolts that require a key is a good measure, but it can be a pain to have to get a key to unlock the door whenever you want to get out or let someone in. Anyways, bottom line is safety is the upmost importance, regardless of what you do!!

Answer 3

I don't think it is a bad idea if you are worried about your child getting away from you and going outside. My sister has a swimming pool, and they have an alarm system that beeps every time someone opens the door. So I think it is a good idea to have one. You can keep the doors locked and you can keep your eyes on the kids, but no matter how good a parent you are, there is always that one time that the kid does something you don't allow or that you don't see until it is too late. I also had a friend whose child was a sleepwalker. The put deadbolts up at the very top of the door where he couldn't reach them to keep him from going outside when they were asleep.

Answer 4

I have locks on the doorknobs, dead bolts on all exterior doors, chain locks at about the 5'5" point on all exterior doors and I keep all the windows closed and locked. This keeps my grandchildren inside and if they try to get out the noise created gets my attention immediately.

Honestly, installing an alarm system is not going to keep the child from going outside. All it will do is let you know the child has opened a door or window. Can you get to him/her before harm is done if you have to shut off the alarm and figure out how and where the child escaped? I wouldn't waste my money on an alarm. Prevention is the best answer when it comes to children wandering off.

Answer 5

If I lived in an area where the two-year-old could get lost, hurt, hit by a car, etc, when he wandered outside and there was no other way to keep him in the house (close supervision, locking the doors, putting up child gates) I think an alarm system would definitely be an option.

Answer 6

They have much cheaper alternatives at Target, WalMart, Kmart etc.

They're alarms that you attach directly to doors or windows which beep loudly when the door or window opens.

And yes, I would. It's impossible to keep your eye on them every minute, and that's the age when kids generally learn to open doors and are curious and naive enough to walk on out and explore.



Safety first, no matter how silly it may seem to some folks.

Answer 7

No, I would just go to the hardware store and buy a couple of hooks... Install them on the door so you have that latch that he can't reach. Has worked like a charm for my 2 and 4 year old.

Answer 8

No, that seems excessive to me for normal neighborhoods and normal situations. What we do have are 3 point locks on the exterior doors, locks on all the windows, and strict rules about not going outside w/out telling us.

Answer 9

=== please read the instructions and determine if the carbon dioxide detector must be on the ceiling or on the wall about 5 or 6 feet off the floor ... the best course would be to install a wall outlet plug next to the mounting place for the CO machine or make an extension cord that will reach the nearby wall plug outlet ...

Answer 10

nope. i would never need that i am not a lazy parent my son never gets out of my eye sight.plus i had knob covers on the door and kept the deadbolts locked. i am not a lazy mother. i watch my son.

you dont need an alarm you need to get off your backside and watch your child. if the child is properly watched they cant get out side.

social services would tell you the same.
a 2 year old should never be unattended. for a second