Any good mother will go into hysteria if they cannot get to their young child, or if the child is out of sight. I distinctly remember coming home one day when my daughter was about three years old and in the care of her teenage sister. I walked into the house through the garage door and through the kitchen, calling out their names, but there was only a still silence amidst the walls. I ran through the whole house, starting on the main floor, and it was a very large house. No response came back to me on the first floor. I ran up the stairs and began going through each room looking for the two girls. Now I am really in a panic. We lived in a wooded area off of a neighborhood. We were isolated from the rest of the houses with a long, winding driveway. Liana was always responsible, and I had no fear about her babysitting Sharnell, but rather I feared the worst, that the two children had been kidnapped right from our yard. Oddly enough, our dog did not come to the door nor was he visible in any of the rooms I had searched. Finally, I went back to our master bedroom and opened up the shower only to find the two girls singing in the shower! Where was the dog? He was in the bathroom with the door shut. He would not bark at me of course. I was angry and relieved at the same time.
Today I witnessed my own daughter, who was the little girl in the above scenario, desperately trying to get my attention while I babysat her daughter (my granddaughter, who was the same age her mother had been in the above story). Mike and I were babysitting and he went off to get a few items at the store, so Harlan and I went upstairs. I got into the shower while she lay on my master bed watching cartoons. About the time I got into the shower, Sharlene had sent a text saying that they would be here in twenty minutes or so. That was one hour earlier than she had planned! I answer my phone to hear my daughter screaming at me asking where I had been and why I had not answered the door.
Harlyn is getting really upset to find her mother screaming at her grandma for no reason. We were happy as punch. Now Mike walks in on this verbal mess trying to understand why my daughter had cut the screen in the porch door to look into the house! I told Harlyn that her mother and dad were here so she went downstairs and tried to open the patio door as she smilingly looked into the faces of her worried parents. Now the wooden board wedged between the patio doors keeps her distraught mother from entering the house! Omg! I told my daughter that she was over-reacting, but that did not go over very well! I simply asked her where she kept my house key, and I asked her husband what the security code was on our back door that he had set. Neither adult thought at the time it was necessary! I guess this was a wake up call for all of us if something had really happened to me. This situation really made me feel old, like nursing home material when I definitely am not there, hey but bad stuff does happen to good people!
Our door bell does not make a loud enough sound. Rather it is worthless. Our dog, Sadie, did not bark but rather just laid on the foyer floor looking at my daughter and son-in-law. By the time I got downstairs she was growling at the door. So when does good house security work against you? The thought had entered my mind as to what I should do about the door. Should it be locked just in case they return earlier than expected? I answered myself “no” because then I would have gotten the safety lecture!
Today we gracefully exchanged codes for our homes! I have asked for their house entrance code more than once. With cell phones being the only phones around and the house itself not having one, what should a child do in case of an emergency? Parents please set up some security plans for your children should you have an emergency at home. Show your child how to unlock your cell phone and call 911. Have them recite their last name and what town they live in or near. Teach them the names of their parents. If there is a neighbor or friend close by should they go there to seek help?
Ask yourself, what should we all do in an emergency situation? Set the ground rules parents, you are responsible, not them.