Aibu to be pretty cross at my parents for keeping doing this

[nickiredcar]

My dd (11) and ds (7) occasionally have sleepovers at my parents.

They found the house a bit hot and all the windows were locked. They always do this and keep the keys hidden downstairs. I've told them not to do this as if there's a fire there is no way to escape if they can't get out of the room.

Aibu to think they are being pretty reckless and should take my concern seriously?

YANBU, the DC would be in a very poor situation if there were a fire.

Thanks that's exactly what I think, but they see no issue with it

Just tell them your children won't be having sleepovers whilst this practice continues.

That's not something I'd be happy about, really got to talk to them face to face about this.

No further sleep overs

Yanbu. My in laws keep the keys away from the windows and doors as they are worried about burglary. That bothers me as fire should be a bigger concern than burglary.

But your in laws keeping them on a different floor is totally unacceptable.

What is their reasoning? I wouldn’t like it either.

Are the windows big enough for anyone to get out of if there’s a fire? Or is it just the fact they could open and get fresh air in.

my parents do the same

well now it's just mum, I persuaded her to at least keep keys near the window, which she has done very reluctantly and only because I'm staying there a lot.

tbh I'd really expect your folks to have the windows unlocked with children staying there.

Hmmm, I am paranoid about the children falling out of their windows, so I keep them locked! I need to rethink.

No they are big enough to escape out of and there's a flat roof below so it's an easy escape.

Is locking them from the inside even affective at a burglary? Double glazing people seemed to get the glass out very quickly

I would think the reason is that generally as people get older, they feel more vulnerable and the possibility of burglary becomes more and more frightening. Locking windows and removing the key isn't unusual.

That said you are entitled to your concerns. Even though (at a guess) burglary is more likely than a house fire requiring evacuation through a window, it's not an impossibility. They should at the very least have the key in the same room. Even for their own safety.

If they don't listen, the consequence is their grandchildren don't stay over.

A window with a flat roof underneath is a burglary risk. We have been burgled and keep our windows above a flat roof locked.

We do keep a key in the same room though as it is a good escape route.

I keep window key hanging on a little nail in the door frame of each room, so well away from the window but I always know where it is.

I'd also say they can't stay again until this is sorted, fires are terrifying.

But is a locked and closed window any harder to get into than a closed window from the outside? It's thick new double glazing so no chance of breaking it unless you're really strong with a sledgehammer.

It’s a tricky one. My insurance specifies that windows should be locked and key removed. Any ingress due to an unlocked window will invalidate the insurance. When my DCs were little I kept their windows locked....even if I opened them I locked them in the “vent” position so they could fall or climb out. These days they have window keys in their rooms but they know windows must be locked if they aren’t in the room.

Our burgler got in through an unlocked double glazed window (barely damaging it in the process). I don't know how much more secure the lock makes them but considering many insurance companies stipulate they should be locked I would imagine it has to make a difference.

If they break the glass and then open the window they aren't crawling over broken glas in the window frame

So yes it's easier to enter if the window is open

But I agree the fire risk is higher and the keys should be kept near by

To be honest with insurance it's just a way for them to get out of paying.

Just say you don't have window locks and doubt the insurance will be any different

The insurance conditions are irrelevant. They can lock the windows and remove the keys without hiding the keys.

I’m worrying about this at the moment. DC sleep on 2nd floor, way up. We are on 1st floor, extension flat roof below our windows. Up till now we’ve used sash locks so the windows can be opened a few inches for fresh air but not enough for a body. The keys are kept fairly close but no way could the DC find and use them especially in a fire situation (they are 3 and 6).

Maybe we need those locks you unscrew? Or just thumb catches?

Anyone found a good solution for sash windows please... allows kids out in a fire but not burglars in ...?

OP that is a problem Sometimes parents just dont listen. Was over at mine on Saturday and their wall lamps were constantly flickering. Every two minutes. i mentioned it to my dad because it could be an electrical problem starting. His response was its the wind because they are on a hill. Hes more concerned about his bloody taxi though so dismissed what i said.