(I copied and pasted the following article from physorg.com in hopes that you will take seriously the importance of providing the necessary safety measures for the well-being of your children. The article is evidence-base and very informative.)  

The Faculty of Health Sciences professor of children’s health was a co-investigator on A Randomized Controlled Trial of Home Injury Hazard Reduction, published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (April 2011).

The two-year study in Cincinnati, OH looked at how young children in more than 300 homes with safety devices fared compared to those in homes without the devices. They included stairway gates, cabinet locks, electrical outlet covers, safety storage for sharp objects such as knives and hot water heaters set below 48 degrees Celsius (120 F).

Along with Lanphear, five researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, including the lead investigator Doctor Kieran J. Phelan, studied the impact of installing and maintaining the devices. Their efficacy was studied during the first two years of a baby’s life.

The researchers found children in the equipped homes experienced 70 per cent fewer preventable injuries. The rate of all housing-related injuries dropped by 30 per cent.

“The results of this study are important because injuries are the leading cause of morbidity, mortality and disability in Canada and other developed countries,” explains Lanphear.

“Injuries that occur in the home are the most common and preventable injuries. Cuts, bruises, burns, poisonings or falls are not usually severe or fatal, but falling down stairs or out of an open window can result in serious injuries or death. Ingestions, fires or poisonings occur frequently and can be serious or fatal.”

This is the first study of home-safety device efficacy to go so far as installing, maintaining and evaluating their injury reduction. Previous studies typically only provided families with educational literature. 

Motion Sensors: 3 Things to Consider

Motions sensors represent the technology which enables motion sensors to trigger all types of security alarms, lights, and cameras, and alert police and emergency personnel. Before this technology the main challenge for an intruder was to move quietly without being seen. Therefore, motion sensors should be part of your efforts to provide protection for home and family. Here are some things to consider:

1) Motion sensors fall into two main categories; "outdoor" and "indoor." The main difference involves the resiliency of the unit. If you have outdoor areas you would like to secure by detecting motion you will want a motion sensor reliable enough to function efficiently during various weather conditions.

Keep that in mind before you select a particular type of motion sensor. The main decision is whether you want a motion sensor that turns on outside lights, sounds a alarm, or takes pictures of what is moving. I recommend an outdoor unit that turns on outside lights because there are a lot of things that move in the night so if you have an piercing alarm attached to your motion sensors you will undoubtedly find yourself being awakened by a lot of false alarms, i.e. racoons, cats, blowing limbs, etc. Lights are quiet but very effective in scaring away a would-be intruder.

I want an alarm to warn me primarily if a door or window is opened. An intruder would have to be a lot more crazy than he already is by just being an intruder to enter a home after a loud alarm sounds. One thing you can be sure of; all intruders hate attention, and alarms and lights bring a lot of it.

2) Motion sensors can be pricey, particularly the ones with video and camera capabilities. For the normal homeowner, you have to question whether there is enough benefit for you personally to justify the higher prices.

Regarding outside motion sensors I am not as interested in viewing the culprit as I am in scaring him away. Videos units connected to inside motion sensors, however, are particularly useful for monitoring and viewing the goings-on in areas of concern, for example, an infant or toddler bedroom.

It is very difficult to recommend any particular motion sensor because of the many variations of features as I mentioned above, as well as the wide range of prices. There are very simple units as well as some more expensive ones. Something to keep in mind; you don't necessarily need an expensive unit with all the bells and whistles to detect motion.

3) Check out this website. It's a great company with great product support. Start simple, try the unit to see if it is what you are looking for, and if not, return it for something more useful. I want a motion sensor unit which primarily lets me know when a window or door is opened. Once someone is in the house, you have less time to react.

At this point, you need to make a decision and acquire a motion sensor unit that gives you and your family ample warning to take the appropriate action. Don't procrastinate, your life and the lives of your loved ones depend on decisiveness and action. Saving lives always does.

For your safety,

Dr. Martin Wooten

Is a Pit Bull for Me?

As I have recommended to hundreds of people and wrote in my post on owning a dog, there is no stronger deterrent to an attacker's plans than a protection dog. No question about it. Even if you are  holding someone at gunpoint, your hesitancy because of fear or reluctance to shoot someone can put you in harm's way. 

A good protection dog has no fear of protecting; that is his one and only job. Pit bulls are great protection dogs. The reputation they have for being aggressive, violent, and out of control is for the most part unwarranted. If they are trained to be aggressive or the owner is not a strong leader and lets them have their way, they can be a problem. Otherwise, they are great family dogs, very loyal, and protective. I have a female pit bull and she is great with my family and very friendly when people come over, but she is no nonsense if a threat to my family occurs.

While my daughter was jogging in somewhat of a reclusive area, she was almost attacked by a man until our pit bull stepped in between her and the attacker. She never actually bit the man but she let him clearly know that if he took one more step towards my daughter things were going to get ugly. One look at her and the man backed off and fled.

Check out my other post on owning a protection dog.  Dogs are an investment that will protect you and your family from some horrible experiences. No one with even the slightest brain wave who would carry out a plan of attack on someone walking with a protection dog. Let alone, if you had two. It's a beautiful thing when your dog does it's job.

For Your Safety,

Dr. Martin Wooten
      

4 Critical Things You Need to Know to Protect Yourself in a Fire!

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Dec. 28) - Fire tore through an apartment early Monday, killing six children and three adults, officials said."

1) How many times do we have to read about the tragedies of home fires before we find the conviction to take some defensive action? There is hardly a day that goes by without a headline reporting a home fire disaster. Whole families often die as a result of fire accidents that tragically could have easily been prevented. You need to take this problem seriously.

2) Smoke is the real killer in a house fire. Victims are usually dead from suffocation well before the fire ever reaches them. A good smoke detector will alert you that something is burning in your house and give you important time to either extinguish whatever is burning or exit the premises.

3) There are two types of fires: flaming and smoldering. Flaming fires result from flammable materials igniting from unattended portable heaters, cooking accidents, etc.  Smoldering fires occur when  materials, such as cigarettes fall into a sofa or a bed and produce a great deal of smoke before actually igniting. 

Because you don't know what type of fire you will have in your home, experts recommend installing both types of technology for optimal protection. Therefore, I strongly recommend dual sensor smoke alarms to give your family the best chance of survival.

I have done some research for you and I suggest this smoke and fire detector because of its capability to detect both flaming and smoldering fires.

4) It is critical to take the appropriate action. I can't imagine life without fire. I enjoy hot showers, cooked food, and a warm fireplace. Yet, don't let fire take your life or the lives of your loved ones. It's quite the contradiction to spend a great amount of time and money to plan for your family's future, and ignore the need to spend a few minutes and dollars to install a smoke detector. 

For Your Safety,

Dr. Martin Wooten

4 Ways to Prevent Rape!

1. Work On Your Defensive Mindset: As I mentioned in my Defensive Living Manifesto, defense living begins in the mind. It is a mindset which is aware and prepared for action if necessary, not a mindset of paranoia and fear. Fear, weakness, and vulnerability are what an attacker looks for in a potential victim. How you think transfers into body language. If you consider yourself weak and easy prey, guess what you will look like? 

2.Reduce The Risk: The best defense is not to have to defend yourself at all. There are certain risks in this life which are unavoidable. We all realize that. But, the risks which we can reduce or avoid all together should have our full concentration. 

For example, I see women all the time walk into shadowy parking garages unescorted. Dumb! That is the only way to describe it. Preventing rape means you have to learn not to assume anything. Wait until several people are going in the same direction. Ask to be escorted. Most men are by nature protective and more than willing to help you get in your car safely; grocery boys, waiters, parking attendants, security guards, etc. 

3. Be Careful What You Drink or Drink: For you girls who like to party, be careful. Drinks and food can be laced with date rape drugs. Pour or open your own drink, or at least watch as it is being poured. If you happen to set it down and take your eyes off of it, even for a few seconds, open another drink and keep it with you. 

4. Select a Weapon: Thats right, a weapon. Obviously, guns are the most effective but you need to be trained in how to use one.  A knife is also effective, but unless you know how to wield it, it will probably end up in the hands of your attacker. The best all around option is pepper spray, in my opinion. It establishes a "critical distance" from the attacker and, most importantly, renders him powerless. Check out my post on pepper spray for more details on what kind and size of spray I recommend and why.  

For Your Safety,

Dr. Martin Wooten

Let's Talk About Those Sliding Glass Doors: A Few Things to Consider

You gotta love those sliding glass doors. Its nice how they really open up a room, let all that sunshine in, nice curtains and all. You can just open those doors and walk right out and view your estate, the hills coming alive with the sound of music, the city lights, or maybe just your backyard garbage cans. 

1) There are doors out there that would be more difficult to open than other less expensive types, but burglars, rapists, and murderers usually come prepared. It is amazing how much you can do with a crowbar. I used to be an iron worker and I have used bars thousands of times to pry, separate, break open, and lift all types of steel objects such as girders, huge flat steel plates, and multi-ton loads of steel. 

You don't want someone like me standing at your sliding glass door with a crowbar and a plan of using your family as means to fulfill my sinister desires.

There is not a sliding glass door that I can't pry open, trust me.

Except, of course, one that can't be pried.

I know, sounds crazy. If there is not a door that I can't pry open, then how can there be an exception? It's a simple matter of physics.

The key, obviously, is to keep the sliding door from sliding. Some doors either come or can be fitted with pins. Pins can be either at the bottom or top of the door. You push them through a hole that goes through both doors to keep the door from sliding. The fact that it is called a "pin" should raise some serious questions. Why not a bolt or a steel bar? A pin against a pry bar? Go figure. 

2) When a sliding door is closed, if a security bar is placed in the sliding track it is impossible generate enough force to snap or bend it from that direction. It doesn't take a would-be intruder very long to realize that the door is not going to give way, and he will have to move on.

I've done some research and I want you to check out this patio door security bar. It's adjustable which is very useful because patio doors are not as standardized as you might think, and sometimes you like to slide the door open just a little to get some fresh air. The adjustable feature allows you to do that. 

Also, the alarm feature is always a good deterrent. It gives you important time to prepare for an intrusion by calling 911, and an intruder is not usually going to take the risk giving you more time to find your gun or some other weapon.  Notice the big red, "Alarm" painted on the side of the security bar. This lets the intruder see that the door has an alarm on it. Chances are he will move on. If not, the security bar will keep the door from being opened.

Hey, if you don't like my suggestion, then get an old broom handle and cut it to fit in the door sliding groove, and there you go.

For your safety,


Dr. Martin Wooten  

Defensive Living Manifesto