Does anyone else not feel safe at night?

[auntypurple]

I feel really stupid posting this, but thought some others may feel the same. I have 3 dd's aged 9, 5 and 13 mths. Have lived on my own with them for ages with no problems. But for some reason slight noises in the night scare the hell out of me. I was just dozing off the other night and a bag in my room fell over, and I couldn't get to sleep for hours after. Please tell me I am not alone on this, and what you do to make yourself feel safe at night. Thanks for reading

When I lived with xp I used to have this....weirdly not now im on my own.
Now I live on my own im ok
I have a truncheon next to the bed...and one night when my metal bin lid fell off(next to the back door, thought someone hd opened the back door and knocked it off) went down stairs with it and was quite prepared to rattle whoever was in my house over the head with it.
Lock the doors, rescue remedy?

do you have a UPVC door or an old wooden one like council houses?

I got my dad to fit some deadlocks (you know the ones with the stick keys that you just turn and turn - they are like internal bolts) to my rattly old doors - you can buy a set in B&Q and fit them yourself (or get someone else to)

Im terrifed on a night especially of xp turning up seeing as he's already kicked the door in once before. Ive got wooden doors and put a chain and 2 heavy duty bolts on the front and a bolt on the back and still don't feel safe. I'm really jumpy on a night when I hear cars in the street. Luckily Im moving in 2 weeks and a) ex p doesn't know where im moving to and b) there are 2 deadlocks on the front and 2 on the back and they're really good doors.

Never thought about keeping something next to the bed though.... hmmm what can I use

I nearly had a panic attack when that earthquake hit the other night. Had finally dozed off around midnight and woke up and the house was shaking for about 20 seconds. DD woke up and could hear her in her cot. Wasn't sure if I'd imagined it at first then realised people were out in the street. Took me ages to get back to sleep

I am exactly the same!

Worst thing was that my neighbours on one side (I live in a terraced house) were really noisy - they go to bed late and were always banging and crashing around - and I kept thinking I was being broken into.
Went round once at 2am in my PJs and (fairly politely)explained how scared it made me and they have really improved.

Sadly though I'm sure statistically you're far more likely to be harmed by a DH or DP (i.e someone already in the house) than by a stranger breaking in.

It used to scare the crap out of me, tbh. Not so bad now as kids have got older and bigger than me. Let them sort the intruders out

Thanks for the replies I will read and reply properly when I get back from school.

I get more scared of ghosties than people breaking in

I have to not read the scary threads on here because I couldn't go downstairs in the night for weeks after Lulumama's haunted house thread

This is why I need a husband!!

Ps. I never answer the door after dark as a policy - if I have someone knock, I either know I'm expecting them, sometimes I recognise the knock (one advantage to no doorbell!) or I shout 'who is it?' through the door before opening it/not.

Auntypurple, I admit I practically c**p myself every night and ive lived on my own for 9 years!

Back door is a rubbish council wooden one but it has a good lock and one piffling little bolt. I also have a bolt on the kitchen-to back porch door and one on the living room door (not huge, but would make a hell of a racket to prise open). I have window locks. The front door is a UPVC with four big deadbolt things and a chain. I have a metal bar under the bed and always take two phones to bed with me. I also have a burglar alarm.

I know new doors can be really expensive but you can get a really cheap burglar alarm these days, would that make you feel any better? Put some bolts on your internal doors? Outdoor lights?

Hiya, My doors are the rubbish council ones, as are the windows, downstairs windows have no working locks either. Would feel better if they all had decent locks on them. I already have my mobile and landline next to the bed. I had some outdoor sensor lights at my last place, used to scare the hell out of me when they came on in the middle of the night, because a cat had walked by. I live in a town, on a really big estate. I have been thinking about this alot today, and the last time I felt safe on my own by night was when I had a 8 and a half stone rotty sleeping on my bed, his breath stank, and he snored like god knows what, but I slept like a log, sadly I lost him almost 2 years ago
Thanks for all the replies, I will see about getting better door and window locks. Not sure about keeping some sort of weapon by my bed, one of the kids would probably clobber me with it lol

Could you not get a burglar alarm? The company I had mine from (DO NOT ASK ME HOW MUCH I PAID 10 YEARS AGO), now do the same for £150 fitted, and I think many do. You can buy window locks too quite cheap, whack a few little bolts on the internal doors.

If you know someone who can fit (or do it yourself if you're braver and more competant than me), you can get an alarm system from argos or wickes etc? Is that possible?

I am like you, I go to bed fine, but then something somewhere in the house will make a noise, or the floorboards in my room will creak and my heart starts going like a train.

I take my mobile up to bed with me and have a hammer under my bed. I did consider getting a dog too tbh.

I didn't realise alarms were so cheap now. Might ask my dad to fit me one, although round here they'd probably think I had something worth pinching if I suddenly had an alarm fitted.

Im so with you all on this one! Its just me and dd whos 3. When me and xp split she was in my bed with me for a year or so and this wasnt too bad but i was still scared. Now iv got her in her own bedroom again, her rooms by the front door, its the first room of my flat and i crap myself someone is going to come in,...i think mainly because in November last year i was broken in to, they took my pc, laptop, playstation and other bits.

But yeah,. ..i need some sort of proctection by my bed not that id prob ahve teh guts to use it lol but i take my mobile with me and a cuddly bear,..how sad is that hahaha

I have an old axe somewhere. Also a replica gun.
I think I might be able to scare off pretty much anyone by wielding those about.

birky, the police actually came round to my house to check it was secure and couldnt be broken into.
They then went further and offered to change the locks for free (but I'd already had it done), and make further changes and add things that they felt were necessary to make my home secure for me and my children, all for free.
I've also got a violent ex, and the police in my area appear to have a domestic violence team dedictated to this sort of thing (very thankful about this actually).