Our House Was Broken into (Long)

Explain to them what you are doing for their safety.

Put a timer on a couple lamps and set them to come on at different times.
You also can do that with a radio.

Put a chain lock on the door. Most likely won't help but might make kids feel
More secure.

Riley, when you get broken into twice a week, are you on THIS planet?

I was robbed once so I know how it feels. You do feel like you have no security; that you were violated. And it is scarey to think that they might come back.

I think your best bets are to reassure them that the dog is now in the backyard and thieves really don't want to mess with a dog. They will now move on to the next house without a dog. You can also show them how the security system works once you have one installed.

It will take time for them to get a sense of security back. So sorry this happened to you!

Time. I had my car broken into and the only thing that helped was time.

My house gets broken into once or twice a week most weeks... But they generally don't take things. They just

- Take all the pictures off the walls...
- Or move the furniture around...
- Or turn on all the faucets...
- Or dump my garbage all over the floor

When stuff is stolen, its things like all my forks. Or every piece of tissue paper (toilet, nose, paper towel, napkin).

Even KNOWING its going to happen again (and again, and again)... After a few weeks I just relax.

Finite capacity for stress.

Meaning... Time.

My son freaked the first couple times, but I played it off as no big deal, after my first hit the ceiling... And, like in most things, he's followed my lead.

When mom & dad are afraid, that's a tually the scariest thing for kids. KWIM?

Our house was broken into when I was child. We were gone for the weekend and when we got back we were missing all our jewelry, small electronics, an antique scale, and a few pillow cases (they loaded everything into the pillow cases). And our dog. You DO feel violated. And scared.

The police told us that, most likely, it was kids who needed money for drugs. the chances of them coming back were very slim. And they usually do not go into houses with people in them.

I think that, in the end, I felt like the last thing they took when they come into my house was my sense of security, and I was NOT going to let them have it. I couldn't get anything else back but I could take that back. I was in no more danger than I was before we were robbed.

Each child is different, but you can try to give them a sense of control. Martial arts classes, security systems, or even just small fire safe where they can put those items that are precious to them are ways to regain control in an uncontrollable situation. I would also advocate having them forgive the thieves, it does help.

Very very scarey. But there is one thing you can remind them over and over again and that is that the robbers made sure no one is home and that is usually how they steal STUFF. So hard, but glad you are safe.

We put alarms and ringers on all the doors and windows. If any are opened a crack, it sets the alarm off and its soooo loud~ As for security, put the dog inside in their bedroom so they feel protected. Keep the light on and get outdoor motion detection lights for anyone outside after dark----If you work into the evening, do your porch light and other lights in the house on a staggered timer system so if someone is watching the house--they will think you are home.

So sorry this happened! I know what a huge violation this is to your sense of safety.

Oh man! I have no advice for you but I wanted to send you hugs! It must be a scary, frustrating, awful thing that you're going through right now. Sucks. I'm sorry this happened to your family. Hugs!

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. My kids would freak out, literally. I would be heartbroken about the pictures since photography is my passion. Try to reassure the kids that as long as no one his hurt, possessions can be replaced. When you get a security system, explain to the kids exactly how it works and tell them they'll be safe. It's awful that they used the kids' window, omg. I'm sorry I don't have helpful advice. Sending comforting hugs. Hope they find the thieves, and you can feel safe again soon. :(

I am so sorry to hear about what you're going through. I don't have any advice on how to help the kids since it's never happened to me. But friends of ours were robbed last summer and they were heartbroken when they found out that their huge collection of baseball cards was stolen. Some of the cards were very, very old - some were signed (so worth a lot), and some were just sentimental. My friend scoured Craigslist and sure enough, the baseball cards appeared! They were able to get some (not all) of their possessions back.

Hi,
First, I am so sorry to hear this happened to you. In 2011, 3 days after my son's birthday party, our house was broken into and ransacked. Same type of stuff stolen, including a camera with all of the birthday party pictures. We were lucky in that we have a network in our house, so everything is backed up to the main network computer that was well hidden. The laptops were stolen, so anything that had been put on within the last month was gone. Some irreplacable jewelry was also stolen. Unknowingly, my husband's passport was also stolen. We found out when the police contacted us about finding it at a house where they were called for domestic violence. We had high hopes that they might find the camera - couldn't they have just taken out the card? That's all we want, the pictures. But, no, nothing was ever found.

To put salt on the wound, we actually have an alarm system, but we both managed to forget to turn it on that day - even though we're able to do so from our phones! And, we forgot to close the blinds, so the thieves likely saw the laptops just sitting on the desk. It was a mix of many errors. Our very good neighbors found our chickens roaming in their yard, went to put them back and noticed our back door was wide open and window smashed out. Everyone came together to call us and wait at our home until we came home. Our daycare held a fundraiser to help replace items that couldn't be replaced with insurance. The sense of community was overwhelming.

With our son, we explained that there are bad people in this world who will try to take advantage of an opportunity. These types of bad people, look for when you won't be home, so it is very unlikely this would happen when we're home and he should still feel safe. We also taught him how to set the alarm and he helps to remind us if we forget.

It will take time for all of you, but communication and putting security measures into place will help to ease everyone's anxiety. You may also want to reach out to neighbors to talk about a type of neighborhood watch, a newsletter or phone tree. Anything to help with a sense of community and to show your kids that you are working proactively to not let this happen again.

Ugh, it's just such an awful feeling - so so sorry. I still put on an outfit and think about the jewelry with mine and my son's name in Egyptian hieroglyphs that I no longer have. The idea that it was probably melted down for the gold just kills me.

p.s., I second the idea about the Kensington lock. After we replaced our items, we did exactly that with our new computer.

pps: your SWH with the dog is just so awesome! they are so intuitive.

I'm so sorry you are going through this.

Show them how you care making your house safe:
-putting the dog back in the backyard
-putting thick rods in the trays of the windows so they can't be pushed open
-having them hear you call the alarm company
-lastly make a police report so if they recover stolen property, they will know to call you to come & see if it's yours. Check your camera & laptop box or manual to see if you have the serial numbers so you can easily identify YOURS. Next, go around your house & write down every serial number of items you DO have left (big tv, stereo, cameras etc). Put this info in a fire-safe box hidden somewhere in your house (keep a copy at work). Also, take pictures of your house so you can see what was there. Sometimes after a break in you will forget what was there because it's now gone. This is also good in case of fire so you can identify to the insurance company what perished in the fire & needs to be replaced.

Hi C.,

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I don't have any more sage advice for the kids than you've already gotten, but I do suggest that you buy a Kensington lock for your laptop. I don't know about you, but my LIFE is on my laptop -- all of my work, communications, pictures, etc. (but not financial information!). A Kensington lock allows you to lock your computer to another object that is immovable -- like a stair railing -- via a steel reinforced cable -- much like a bike lock. Sure, the cable can be cut with a pair of bolt cutters, but the thieves would have to find a pair or carry them with them, and then they would still have to deal with getting the locking mechanism itself out of the computer -- all of which makes the laptop a lot less attractive. Make sure to also back everything up to an external hard drive on a regular basis and either keep the drive in a well-hidden place when you go out or keep it in a safe-deposit box offsite.

My parents were robbed a few months ago and they are still getting their sense of security back. AND they were fortunate to get most of their items back as the police caught them at the tale end of their break ins.

Anyhow, now my dad has a security system, CWL and a gun, and his next thing is a wall safe to put his valuables in.

The thing is in life things like this happen. And I think its best to just try to reassure your children that these people do not mean harm to people as to why they do it when you aren't home. Reassure them that you are going to take the right steps in securing the house when you are gone. And perhaps you can allow them to hide their special items for now...at least until they start feeling more comfortable.

I'm sorry about the pictures (and robbery). :( If anything you've given me a reminder to back mine up tonight.