To think it's ok to leave the door open for 15 minutes each weekday?

OP do you know the difference between open and unlocked?

We leave out house door unlocked all day every day and most of the night, in fact it is only locked when we go to bed. Never had a problem in 40 years. If your family are this paranoid get a key-safe.

If it was unlocked but closed, I wouldn't have an issue, but I wouldn't want the door open for 15 minutes (more for pet containment and weather reasons than fear of intruders tbh).

Get a key safe. You don't need to keep the key in there permanently if you're not comfortable with that, just put it in at the point you'd hypothetically open the door.

If you're in the house I can't see why that would be a problem? I only lock my door when I go to bed. If im only nipping out for 10 mins or so I wouldn't look it either.

Same. I only lock it at night.

We got a key safe from Amazon for about £10. Works really well.

You and me both @DeedsNotDiddums.

Goodness where do you live that you are afraid to leave your front door unlocked? We never keep our front door locked during the day and my husband frequently doesn't lock it at night. Doesn't worry me at all.

I’m baffled at the refusing to carry a key thing to be honest. My year DD seems to manage fine.

I'm shocked at the number of people leaving their doors unlocked.
do you guys not read/watch any true crime

If he's able to catch a bus he can carry a key. Keysafe?

You could just put a key under a stone by the door. Or your DS carries a key and if he's not prepared to do that, then he needs to wait outside the front door until you're meeting is over - and no continually ringing the door bell.

Let him wear a key around his neck on a chain or string.

I never have the door locked when I’m at home, unless I go for a shower? You are in, I don’t get it?

I would leave it open, no concerns at all x

sellotape an old credit card, or what ever, cut to the right size over where the locks connects to stop it from locking. Push the door to so it looks like it's shut but really it's unlocked. Obviously you'd need to demonstrate to your son so he knows to just push it open....hope that makes sense

Just attach one of these with a house key to his school bag. He won’t be able to lose the key and can still use it whilst attached to the bag. Tbh at secondary school age he should be responsible enough to have a key

https://amzn.eu/d/21dAzpu

Can some posters really not think of any reason why people might lock their doors whilst they're in their house?

I came out the bathroom a few years back to find a man half way up my stairs. Luckily he made a run for it out the house as soon as he saw me and didn't manage to take anything, but it still shook me up. For most people, your home is your safe space and knowing that someone has been in it is awful.

There were other houses in my street who were also broken into and when we checked door bell footage and CCTV, nobody recognised them, because guess what? It's not necessarily your neighbours who are going to be breaking in. So those comforting themselves with the belief that this could never happen to them as they live in a safe area may be in for a rude awakening one day. The police told us after that a huge number of burglars are opportunists who will just go around trying door handles. Judging by this thread, they wouldn't have far to go until they find one that's unlocked.

YABU unreasonable to even think this is an issue. Of course just leave the door open. We never lock ours until bedtime. Although he should have a key anyway.

Can you leave it in the snib?

I don't lock the door when we're home, so I'd just leave it open. However, it's also completely reasonable to tell your son that he can take a key (with some options for how to keep it safe) or wait outside for 15 minutes. Winter will probably hurry up his willingness to carry a key.

For what it's worth, at that age I carried a key. On the many times I forgot it at home I had to wait outside. No one's fault but mine.

Tell him he's carrying a key whether he likes it or not. Find a way to attach it to his wallet or phone or the inside of his school bag.

Most run down inner cities I am afraid. We don't all live in villages or nice middle class suburbs; in fact even my friends who do live in the latter always keep their doors locked as just because the area is ok it does not mean that everyone who is passing through is a fine upstanding member of society. Have you ever been burgled? I have, twice and once was in broad daylight when a man tried to smash his way into my home when I was in the bath. It is traumatising and I never want to go through that again, hence I keep my doors and windows locked.

put a key under the mat. then progress to a key safe and then move on to a key in ds wallet

give him the plan and the time line, or sit down and make the plan with him and come up with a time line for doing these things

As OP’s DH and DS are resisting her idea but have no solutions (or so it seemed to me when I posted) I thought I’d come up with some - tongue in cheek: note my last two sentences and exclamation marks.

I’ve had someone enter my home twice.

Both times they were elderly and had dementia/confusion.
One was at midnight.

Even though there was no real threat it was still scary and I tend to lock my doors now, especially in the evenings.

My postman also used to open my door to put packages in which I used find really inappropriate.

However, if I was OP I’d be happy leaving it unlocked for 15mins for this situation.

I always thought burglaries tended to happen during the day on a weekday when the home was empty, rather than in the evening when everyone is home.