AIBU to consider methods of self-defence?

[ElleDubloo]

Ever since I became a mum I've become very concerned about my children's safety - same as all parents. Particularly worried about night-time intruders. We have good locks and a good alarm, but what if someone can get past these? Sometimes I can't sleep because I'm thinking of possible scenarios where people come into our house and hurt the children, and what I could do to protect them.

Hand on heart, I wish I could keep a gun. I know that's not a popular opinion at all. Let's forget I said it.

Knives - possible, but intruders would likely be armed with knives too. I need something better than that.

What about keeping a bow and arrow in the bedroom? Pros would be:

• it's legal to keep a bow and arrow
• archery is a legitimate hobby and fun to learn
• DC wouldn't be strong enough to use it even if they came across it

Maybe I've been watching too much GoT but it just strikes me as the perfect self-defence weapon. Has anyone considered or tried it?

Just get a baseball bat OP. I have my trusty one next to my bed and one just behind the front door.

Don't put a nail in it though, tempting as it may be.......

And get a dog as well, wonderful deterrents

Great idea! Then someone can beat the shit out of you with a baseball bat while you're asleep and turn your house over undisturbed!

CorbynsBumFlannel

There is always a risk that you will be overpowered and a weapon is used against you. However in my opinion I would rather fight back to protect my kids and be injured in the process, than do nothing.

In all reality what you really want is a few fireworks to scare the crap out of a intruder and create a diversion which will allow you and your family to escape the situation. Without direct confrontation.

No, there really isnt a risk of that Corbyn, they'd have to find it first, I hardly have it hung up in full view with a bow round it fgs

I wonder how these wannabe Charles Bronsons with their Pepper sprays and Baseball bats would actually respond to this situation. I rather suspect for all their bravado, they'd do what I would do, remain silent and call the police once they've left. I'd be too petrified to do anything else.

BoysofMelody

Right, our local police officer recommended a shotgun for home defense, because you are going to be too scared to take the time to aim! A shotgun you gab just point in the general direction......plus the shot won't go through walls and hit other family members.

I have no idea how id respond to the situation, but I do feel a bit better having something around that I can try and use if I needed to.

Right, our local police officer recommended a shotgun for home defense, because you are going to be too scared to take the time to aim

Thankfully I live in a civilised country where access to such weaponry is outlawed for 'defence' purposes.

Some of this reads like ideas from Home Alone!

In the nicest possible way ElleDublo you sound unwell.
Is it unreasonable to worry about your children's safety? Of course it's not.
You've taken some reasonable and good precautions to guard yours and your children's safety.
But Any weapons you have to hand are more likely to be used against you than to help you. It is unreasonable therefore to keep a stash of weapons at home.

Have you talked to anyone in real life about how you feel?

Thanks for everyone's replies. I really appreciate it. And I will take on the advice to try not to dwell on my fears. I've spoken to DH about this issue and he didn't appear as bothered about it as I am, but also didn't say I was being irrational. He thought that a bow and arrow would be a rather awesome way to take someone out, in the worst case scenario.

Point taken though. I'll stop worrying about it and won't put a weapon in my bedroom

Many years ago whilst on holiday in Kenya we saw the security guard there one night, he actually had a bow and arrow well a whole quiver full of them. Said that's a bit old world don't they give you guns?.

He said let me demonstrate, he pulled an arrow took aim at a coconut in a nearby palm tree and in less than a second the coconut hit the ground!.

Then he said bow work much better than gun, it's quiet we don't want to frighten the guests with the noise of the shooting;!.

Maybe move? Somewhere like this...

You could spend your daylight hours on the upper section and be all safe and secure at night? No windows to worry about!

Kuk Sool Won us both your and your kids friend ...look up your local Dojang and get started !

Gahbuggerit burglars do tend to be looking for stuff. And if it wasn't semi-handy it would be no good to defend you.

A policeman told me that it's a good idea to leave your handbag in the living room and your car keys (if you drive) there too. If someone does break in they're looking for valuables - don't make them come upstairs for it.

A friend who lives alone does this and leaves another bag at the top of the stairs so that when she comes out of her bedroom for the loo at night, she knows that if the bag is there, nobody's been upstairs.

Perhaps you should get an alarm instead?

Lay landmines in neat rows outside all your external doors and Windows. Problem solved.
On the downside, if they go off, Billy burglar won't only be missing various limbs, you will probably be missing half of your house too.
😀

Not to mention being plucked smoking from the ruins of your house... and then being arrested Teut. So many downsides, I'd suggest you leave it OP.

I can't tell if you are A. Joking B. Very anxious and mentally unhealthy or C. Piss taking a little?

I hope it's A or C, but if it's B, I would try and get your anxiety sorted as it's not going to make you happy carting on like this.

If it's A or C, I'd suggest you invest in smart home technology, where you can keep an eye on each room via your phone, and play a loud burglar alarm right at any intruder. Turning on lights and even locking doors remotely will make your home burglar unfriendly.

Corbyn you have no idea of the layout of my house and where I have the bat. Trust me, I could get to it if I needed to and my bottle didn't go and no burgler will be looking in the place I have it.

The one next to my bed is obviously even handier to get to

I read somewhere that as of the 2000's police rarely come if you ring in saying you've been burgaled, as it happens so so rarely nowadays. I'd be more worried about credit card fraud ☺️

From my experience with Dungeons and Dragons (don't laugh, please) bow and arrow are suited for ranged attacks. The average assailant, if this were to become an issue, will be too close for you to use a bow and arrow. Not to mention the action of fitting arrow to bow, aiming, and firing will all take precious seconds, seconds he can use to go across the room and take it from you.

At the end of the day, and logistics aside, I feel the same way about this bow and arrow nonsense that I feel about guns in the house. It's ostensibly to protect yourself with, but the chances are, it's just going to be taken off you and potentially used on you.

There are good infosheets out there about better ways to protect yourself. It sounds like you've made a great start, having alarms and locks and such. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the next thing you need to do to protect yourself and your kids, is to take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Maybe look into therapy, and I say that with all the compassion and sympathy that I can get across to you in an internet forum post. The fact is, if you are this panicky when nothing is happening to you, the chances of you going to pieces if God forbid something should actually happen are exponentially greater.

So. Take a deep breath, and try to stop catastrophizing, and look into some therapy. You are fine, and your kids are fine. You are safe, and your kids are safe. You have done everything that you can reasonably be expected to do to protect them, and well done for being proactive. But there's proactive and then there's Doomsday prepping, and none of us need to be playing that.

Noise is mentioned often as the best deterent. Keep an air horn or a pot you can beat with a spoon. A loud whistle.

Clubs/bats are pretty useless in confined spaces. I would suggest never attempting to physically engage with an intruder.

Noise. Lights. Don't corner them. An old DVD player/laptop is not worth getting shoved over for and breaking a wrist.

I read somewhere that as of the 2000's police rarely come if you ring in saying you've been burgaled, as it happens so so rarely nowadays. I'd be more worried about credit card fraud

Firstly sadly it's still very common.
Secondly yes police will still attend all domestic burglaries, if you're shed is done over no you're probably not going to get a response but that's because there's now less police than in 1985.

No, just no. The thing about having weapons in the house is that you are far more likely to cause some kind of awful family accident than you are to use them on an intruder.

DO, however, take some martial arts lessons with the kids. Not actually for the defence part, but because knowing some absolute basics works wonders for settling nerves, calming anxiety, and putting worries into some kind of proportion. Many clubs welcome parents and children into their classes.