My preschooler absolutely hates the smoke alarm. When she was a little over a year old, my husband burned some toast and the smoke alarm went crazy, scaring her terribly. She screamed and screamed for almost 30 minutes. Ever since then, she walks underneath it cautiously. The blinking light letting us know that it is there and ready to operate is something that she truly cannot stand. Now that she’s three years old, she knows what the purpose of the smoke alarm really is. She still is cautious around it but at least she also knows that it is there to keep us safe. That makes her a bit calmer about it.
Having a smoke alarm, or several, in your house can save many lives. Whether you’re asleep or awake, hearing the shrill alarm sounding can make anyone move a bit faster. So far, (knock on wood), we’ve been lucky. Whenever the smoke alarm has gone off in my household it is for some known reason. If you open our stove and a gust of steam exits, it can cause the smoke alarm to come to life. When the batteries are getting low, it has been known to fool us as well. I can’t say that we mind though, at least we know that they are working. I’m just hoping that it will work perfectly should the need arise.
Children should be taught at young ages to know what a smoke alarm is and what it is used for? And a house should always have at least one or two smoke alarms in them. Ideally, a smoke detector should be located in scattered areas. Perhaps you don’t want to put a smoke alarm in the kitchen because it could go off whenever you cook. Perhaps mount it in the next room or a different area of the kitchen. A smoke alarm should also be in a hallway near bedrooms. This way, everyone will wake up and can escape in a timely manner. If there is a family member that is hard of hearing or children that seemingly sleep through anything, there are smoke alarms and emergency devices that can wake them or alert them in other ways.
Depending on where you go and what your budget is, a smoke detector does not cost too much. Besides, isn’t a small investment better than losing your family members or a home? That is one of the best investments that you can make – security.
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