Children significantly affected by Burglary

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Here’s why you should never assume that burglary won’t have negative effects on your children.

2BVictim Support, an independent charity, and home security specialist ADT, have new research findings: Children who’ve experienced a home burglary are more likely to have problems at school and sleep difficulties.

Ten percent of the participating parents said their child’s school performance was negatively affected, and one-fourth of parents reported that their child had problems sleeping, post-burglary.

Bedwetting was a problem, according to 10 percent of the parents. One-third reported that their kids’ sense of personal safety was affected.

The investigation also turned up that the psychological impact of burglary can have a long lasting negative effect on children.

So what does this mean for adults, who, as children, experienced a home burglary?

One-third of the participants in the study, whose homes were burglarized when they were kids, believed that this experience was affecting them as adults. Thirty percent slept with the light on; 44 percent preferred to sleep with another person in the home.

Back to the effect that burglary has on children:

Forty percent of parents reported that their kids needed mental support after the crime.

There was a separate survey of 53 young victims of the crime, and the results indicate that the negative effects may be greater than parents realize.

About one-third of these young victims admitted they still have nightmares, and said that the burglary impaired their self-confidence.

Victim Support and ADT have launched The Take No More campaign. The purpose is to change the way people view and respond to burglary. The campaign calls for harsher sentences for criminals who target homes with children.

For the next three years, Victim Support and ADT will be working on this campaign, which will include free crime prevention schemes for members of a household. Also on the roster is increasing awareness of the support services that are available for victims of burglary, and the drive to get justice for victims.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.