Home Security Gadgets & Reviews

If you have kids and you’re tired of neighbors zipping their cars through your neighborhood (the worst are those people who don’t even live nearby and just cut through your street to avoid lights), this “kid alert” sign can remind drivers to slow down. After all, most folks are just in their own world and not really thinking about their speed. The vibrant yellow sign will catch their eye and remind them that children are at play nearby.

“Kid Alert sends a “Children at Play” safety signal. Child like figure stands 32″ high and holds a 39″ tall red warning flag to alert motorists. Flourescent body and reflector strip belt are visible during twilight hours. Easy positioning at end of drive to heigten driver awareness of children at play. For optimum recognition, set up and removal for each play time is recommended. Constructed of heavy duty plastic, minimal assembly required.”

$36 from Stacks and Stacks:

Kid Alert Road Sign

When you think of fire escapes, you may think of those big metal ladders going up the side of apartment buildings. They’re a good idea if you live on the second or higher floor of a big building, right? But what if you live in a two-story house?

It makes sense to consider residential fire escape ladders too. These aren’t traditionally big clunky permanent structures such as you see on apartment buildings. They’re collapsible ladders that can simply be thrust out the window in an emergency. Then you and your family members just climb down to safety.

When you’re not using them, the ladders usually tuck into little boxes at the base of the windows on the inside. Just consider the box a bit of extra shelf space (it’s easy enough to knock objects off when you need to get to the ladder).

If you do get a ladder, make sure everyone in the family knows how to use it and has practiced. You may not be able to reach your kids to help them in an actual fire emergency.

Prices start around $70 (going up for higher than second story houses).

It’s not often that you say, “Check out that bad boy” when you’re talking about smoke detectors, but this sleek unit might prompt you to utter those words.

The Jacon Jensen smoke alarm looks a lot more interesting than your usual round, white unit. It’s functional as well as stylish: “It is an ionising smoke detector which reacts rapidly to fast growing and especially hot fires.”

Runs on a single 9-volt battery.

From Questo Design.

You can spend thousands of dollars building a fancy home security system to protect your material belongings from burglars, but don’t forget about home safety; it’s just as important to protect your family from accidents.

If you’ve got a swimming pool in your backyard, this is a place where people, especially small children, can be injured or even drowned. Kids just shouldn’t be using the pool without adult supervision. Try telling them that though.

If you’re worried your children, or perhaps the neighborhood children, will enter your pool when you’re not in the yard, a pool alarm is a good way to add some peace of mind. These devices alert you whenever someone tries to get into the water.

The Aquaguard alarm from Frontgate has two sirens to ensure you’ll be alerted if a child enters the pool, but they aren’t supposed to go off (false alarms) due to high winds or other “natural” disturbances. The system looks pretty easy to install and is available online for about $500.

Frontgate

A lot of home security is designed to keep unwanted people out of your home, but it’s important to think about safety on the inside too–especially if you have a family including small children. A lock on the front door is great, but what if there’s a door leading to steep steps or a pantry with cleaning agents inside and you don’t want your kids to be able to get through? That’s where a child safety lock like this one can come in handy.

The Door Guardian Security Latch is an inside home security and child safety device that mounts to the wood or metal frames of inward swinging doors. It’s supposed to be easy to install (no special tools required) and is available in 5 finishes (brass, satin chrome, antique brass, satin nickel, and white) so you can find a version that matches your decor. The lock is $22 and is available from Amazon where reviews are positive:

Door Guardian Home Security and Child Safety Lock

As far as home security and home safety goes, it’s a good idea to have house numbers that are easily visible not only by day but by night too. That way if the police or an ambulance has to find your house in the middle of the night, they won’t have to guess at which home is yours (and it helps the pizza delivery guy get your dinner there on time too).

These illuminated house numbers are made with long-lasting LEDs that are more visible than solar-powered signs. You can get your choice of blue, green, red, or white, and the sign can be powered by a standard-wired doorbell system or another low voltage power supply.

Prices start at $85 (for one number… you folks with long addresses will have to fork over more cash) and the signs are available at Unica Home.

We tend to forget about flashlights until the power goes out. Then there’s a mad scramble, tripping over furniture and people and dogs, and rummaging until you find one. If it’s been a while since you checked the batteries, you may be in for a disappointment however. It’s a pain in the butt if the flashlight is dead.

This rechargeable flashlight from Home Depot is a smart alternative to the traditional battery-powered units. If you keep it plugged into the outlet all the time, not only will you always have a charged flashlight, but you’ll also know exactly where it is when the lights go out. In addition, there’s a built-in night light panel that automatically turns on when the lights are off, so that will help you locate it in the dark. At $13, you’re not looking at a big investment either. It sounds like a good idea to me!

Home Depot

If you have a house where the bedrooms are on the 2nd or 3rd floors, you should think about how you and your family would get out in the event of a fire or other emergency (such as an earthquake) that might render the hallway and stairs inaccessible. The obvious alternative is the window, but unless you’re Spiderman, flinging yourself to the yard from 10 or more feet could be as dangerous as the fire. This is why it makes sense to have fire escape ladders in each upper story bedroom.

You can get residential escape ladders that can be hidden away until they’re needed (then you secure them to the window sill and drop them down or expand them). This is a fairly insignificant expenditure that will make you feel safer in your own home. Remember to regularly talk to children and family members about what to do in a fire (if you get ladders, make sure everybody knows how to use them!).

You can get home escape ladders online, starting at about $75. Here’s one store that sells them:

Safe Home Products