How to avoid gun accidents around the house

As soon as you bring a gun and plan to keep it in the house, you have an obligation to keep it in a safe place.

It is not okay to leave it in a hidden place such as under your bed or in a certain drawer; this allows unauthorized people in your family, and visitors to have access to a lethal weapon.

If someone handles a gun and doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing, a mistake can easily happen. This is not a risk anyone should be willing to take and therefore investing in safety is your top priority when you have a gun at home.

The issue with just hiding a gun

There are many flaws with just hiding a gun instead of keeping it locked.

Firstly, if you have small children there is no question that keeping it somewhere in the open is unacceptable. Children love to explore the new world around them and find out what things are for themselves. That means if they get their hands on your gun, there is no telling what could happen. The safety may be taken off, gun pointed towards someone or put in their own mouth, and there are just too many terrible scenarios and situation to run through in this case.

Making sure the gun is never within the reach of a small child is crucial to home safety. This doesn’t mean if you don’t have young children that hiding it is now okay; if friends or family bring their children over, having a gun in the open is a terrible accident waiting to happen.

Another reason is that in the event of a break-in, the gun may be stolen and that is dangerous for yourselves and maybe for your neighbors. Someone who is unstable in control of a gun is not a good sign, they could get panicked and fire it if someone arrives home early or if someone in the neighborhood confronts them.

However, these scenarios can be easily avoided with a simple installment of a gun safe in the home. This is something a trusted local locksmith can help you with; they will be able to guide you through the process of choosing a place for the safe, the type of safe that would best suit what you own.

The different types of gun safes available

There are so many gun safes that you can choose from, mainly because the style dimensions and placement of the safe can all be customized by a locksmith. There are small gun safes if you only own one small gun, ranging from much larger gun safes if you own bigger or multiple guns.

You can also choose from an electronic opening keypad or a manual one. Many people invest in the electronic one, even though it is a little more expensive because it opens much quicker, easy to see in the dark and it is user-friendly, unlike a manual lock where human error can be involved.

Getting in touch with a professional locksmith company can ensure that you choose a gun safe that is most appropriate for your needs and budget.

 

 

Home locks and the importance of installing a strong one

When it comes to keeping yourself and family safe inside your own home, your first step in protection is always how tough your home lock is.

This is the first means of protection you and your family have against the outside world, so why would you risk your safety by having a mediocre lock?

Not only can it enhance your safety but it also protects you from potential break-ins and having valuable items stolen from you. Home locks are definitely a vital part to any home, many people overlook this aspect of a home and do not stop to think that there are different levels of lock design and lock toughness that can be upgraded quickly and easily by many efficient locksmith services.

What do locksmiths do – Residential locksmiths & Commercial locksmiths

A locksmith can guide you through the process of choosing a home lock that you want and installing it for you. They will put you on the right path and give you suggestions and recommendations for what they think is best for your home.

They want to keep you and your home safe from intruders that do not belong inside your house. A home is a private sanctuary where you should feel you completely at ease about your safety; if you are not, then getting your home locks changed today could be the best decision you make.

How locks vary

There are three different grades of lock available; the quality of the lock is the most important thing to take note of.

Locks are given a rating based on the ANSI rating scale, of Grade 1, 2 and 3.

  • A grade 1 lock will provide you with basic residential security.
  • A grade 2 lock is a little stronger and can even be used for light commercial applications.
  • A grade 3 lock is the highest grade and is suitable for both residential and commercial use.

Instead of risking your safety, I highly suggest having every home lock be a grade 3 lock. It is definitely best to replace Grade 1 locks to at least a grade 2 in any situation. The ANSI rating system can be used for deadbolts as well.

Ideally, every exterior door should have both a high-quality doorknob and deadbolt.

So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch with an efficient locksmith service today and have that grade 3 peace of mind when you sleep at night.

Drug and alcohol Intervention in families

Substance abuse is on the rise among college-age students and adults across a variety of industries. Attempting to deal with the anxiety and stress of their daily life, it can become a crutch to deny any physical sensations, thoughts, or emotions that are otherwise hard to process.

The reality is though that using addictive substances like alcohol, drugs, etc. are extremely harmful and cause lasting debilitating effects on a person’s body and mind.

If you are a friend or family member of someone who’s experiencing an addiction, it may be difficult to address it at first and try to help them fix their problem.

However, it’s important to seek a professional instead who can give you the proper tools to succeed. Entering a rehabilitation program can arm you with methods to combat their addiction and begin their journey to take back their health.

Signs of an Addiction to Drugs

The first step to overcoming an addiction or substance abuse problem is recognizing that it exists and needs to be addressed. If you’re unsure if the person you know has a legitimate problem or not, watch for the following signs in their appearance and behavior.

A few key changes in a substance abuser, especially of drugs, is taking larger doses than before, searching for other people’s medications, and spending a lot of time obsessing over medications in general.

The person may also project more secluded behavior throughout the day, a more secretive or different personality, an unhealthier facial appearance, and eating or sleeping a lot more or less than previously known.

They may also hide any activity regarding their finances if they are spending much more on drugs or alcohol in the mean time. If you’re suspicious these signs many apply, set aside your fears and check out a professional drug rehabilitation program in your local area for help as soon as you can.

Family and Codependents

The hardest thing for a family member to experience is to watch someone they love to fall into the spiral of addiction and not know how to act as their support system.

However, they control a great factor of whether or not the addict can recover with their words, behaviors, and overall home environment. A lot of times people may try to force their advice on to the addict and end up feeling frustrated when it’s returned with a stubborn or rebellious attitude.

Anyone who is also codependent to the addict will feel these emotions in great volume, as they rely on one another to get through the day and may believe they are responsible for each other’s actions.

As a result, extremely close friends or family to the addict can often feel upset or guilty about their habits, will overanalyze their exchanges in search of the “right” thing to say, etc.

It’s critical to take a step back from that cycle and get educated about how to have an intervention that will be successful. This can be done with a professional who will make sure that both parties are on the same page to overcome the addiction and can create long-term goals and changes to establish in the household.

Why have an Intervention?

Unlike a friend or family member who knows the addict too well to provide effective help, a professional interventionist can observe the situation from a neutral standpoint and offer help based on their experience.

After working in the rehabilitation industry, they understand that addicts can be difficult to truly communicate to and ignite a change from. That’s why they encourage families and an addict to attend sessions together so that they can be united under one vision of working together to become healthier in lifestyle again.

If you’re struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction or have a friend or family member who is, seek a local interventionist in near you without hesitation. Feel free to take the free quiz from Family First Intervention. The program is managed by a former addict who found that binding someone with an abuse problem and their family is bulletproof to ensure their environment is changed to support their recovery.

Pursue an effective intervention today and help get the process of recovery started. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see results!

How to prevent common street drug use as a parent of a college student

While attending college there are many reasons why students turn to drug use. Some factors can include academic pressures which are brought on by exams, another may be the pressure applied by friends to start using drugs, or even just to abuse the freedom that has arisen from leaving home. Whatever the reason may be none are good enough to validate the use of common street drugs. Drugs are lethal substances that can do irreversible damage to major organs in your body, as a parent you want to make sure you do everything in your power to know what your children are up to. This can be extremely tough when they are away at college, however when they come home this is your chance to interpret any usual slang words or behavior to make sure they are staying clean and substance free.

Slang words for common street drugs

In today’s day and age there are more names for basic street drugs than you could ever imagine. Even something as simple as adderall can be obtained illegally on the streets and have many different ways of being referred too. Some of the names include ‘uppers’. ‘addy’, ‘zing’, “pep pills” etc . This can make it extremely tough for parents trying to detect substance abuse as these names have no resounding similarities to the drug they are using. Another example is marijuana being described as ‘weed’, ‘broccoli’, ‘green’, ‘kush’ etc. As you can see there are a number of terms you would need to be aware of as a parent. The battle against drugs is a tough one, but making sure you are up to date with the latest names for these drugs can definitely help when you are doing your detective work. A good way to do this is to find a list of illegal drugs and their street names, that way you will always be one step ahead!

Other ways to detect drug use

If you are suspicious of your child’s activity there are a few other signs they may be using if you can’t pick up on some of the terminology. For a start if they are stealing money from the house or household items and selling them for money, this is a very clear indicator that they are probably using the money for something they don’t want you to know about. Another sign that they may be using drugs is a change in mood or sleeping behaviors. If some of their behavioral patterns are different and change on a day to day basis it could mean that drugs are affecting these habits. Other than this the clearer signs are that if they continually going to get more and more of the drugs they have been prescribed, or if you have found them hiding drugs from you, it is time to confront them about this and address the problem head on. Many parents sometimes wait as they are scared what will happen if they start to tackle the problem right away, this is risky as drugs are dangerous substances and something can go massively wrong at any time. I would make sure to address it in the correct manner and maybe seek the help of a drug and alcohol rehab center if you feel it would be a useful asset to your family in this process.

Why it is important to pick up on it sooner rather than later

It was reported in 2016 that 1 in 16 high schoolers used marijuana daily, I know for a fact that had the parents of some of these children found out about this these high schoolers would have been severely punished for this behavior. The moment you decide to have a child it is your responsibility as a parent to keep them safe. This does not only mean safe from others but safe from themselves. Teenagers and young adults can easily be led astray for many different reasons, peer pressure is a typical example of one of these reasons, or a want to fit in, (maybe with the wrong crowd) thus starting these bad habits in high school is a bad sign for what’s to come. While at college they may be further away from home with easier access to drugs, making it much more difficult for you to detect and stop. Not only is using drugs an expensive and wasteful habit but an extremely dangerous one. Drug use can have lifelong affects and can have negative impacts on many brain functions.

Whatever happens, it’s never too late

Its always best to address the problem as soon as you find out, and start the recovery process right away. Drugs can be fatal at any point in a young adults life meaning there is no time to waste when it comes to getting them back on the right track. Hope this helped and good luck to anyone battling some of these issues, it can be a tough journey to become clean but definitely a worthwhile one.

About me

My name is Chris and I am a student here at Depaul. I have many ideas on different topics and would love to share them with you through this blog. Hope you follow along as I discuss a variety of topics.