Teaching children what to do if they are at home when a tornado, earthquake or fire occurs are important lessons for parents to teach. Parents should also teach their children what to do if they are home alone and a burglar tries to break in. Hopefully they will never have to use this lesson, but two teenagers in Tulsa, Oklahoma had to.
A sixteen-year-old boy was in his home cooking when somebody knocked on the front door. His fourteen-year-old brother was still asleep, so he looked out the window to see who it was. Since there was not a car in the driveway, he decided to ignore the knock and went back to cooking.
The two burglars who had knocked on the front door decided no one was home, and they went around to the backyard. The burglars cut the power to the home and used a crowbar to break in through the backdoor.
When the power went out and banging from the back door started, the older teenager ran to his brother’s bedroom. From that room he could see the two burglars and one with a crowbar. He woke up his brother and they escaped through the front door. After running five blocks to their dad’s home, they called the police and then their mother.
The burglars were in the house for only four minutes. Security cameras caught one burglar carrying a 42 inch flat screen television out the backdoor. The other man carried a pillowcase full of electronics such as laptops, a Wii and I-touches. By the time police arrived, the thieves were gone.
The teenagers’ mom told the press, “I want other parents to know what to teach your kids. I don’t care where you live, it may happen.”
One of the things parents should teach their children is to never answer the door when a stranger knocks on it. Instead, they should make noise. Burglars want to break into an empty home, so if they hear children inside, they will hopefully leave. To make noise, your children can turn up the television or music, yell for their dad or mom or stomp around. Parents should also discuss an escape plan with their children. Children should know where they can run to if they need to call for help. If a burglar breaks in, the best option is to get out of the home like the two teenagers in Tulsa.
Sources:
http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12995947
