Quite often, I end up in discussions about both home- and self-defense with friends and even strangers because of where I work. This is obviously not a problem as these are passions of mine. Well, not long ago, I was discussing self-defense tactics with a friend and I asked him about his home-defense plan. The basic idea was: What would you do if?

He spent a few minutes describing in good detail his plans for various situations, and for the most part, he had good, well-thought-out plans for defending his home. However, I stumped him with a single question that he had never even considered before. What is the rest of the family doing during these planned situations?

It never crossed his mind that every family member plays a role in a home-defense plan, which might be as simple as your spouse calls the police while you assess the situation, or he or she could back you up as you clear the house.

All this depends on the skills and abilities of family members, but they shouldn’t be an afterthought. Every member should know his or her role during a situation, including the children. Of course, the children’s role is to stay out of the way and hide, but you have to explain, in full detail, what they should do if an intruder is in the house. You teach your kids what to do in a fire, why not teach them what to do in the equally unlikely event of a home invasion.