Windows are a problem, children love to look through windows, and mostly by sitting on the window sill - which scares the life out of me.

I have this 'thing' about keeping the windows in the house, especially upstairs, locked. I always remove the keys and store them away. Why? because one of my biggest fears that has plagued me over the years, is the kids falling out of the window.

I always remember from when I was a child, a friend, fell out of his upstairs window and was badly hurt - broken bones but he was very lucky. Since then it has stayed with me, and well, I have this huge paranoia about the windows and the kids.

If they want the window open, I will open it on the safety latch, where the window is slighty open (half an inch gap) but you can still lock it. 

Until the past year.

Now my teens don't want their windows locked, they want to be able to open them and keep them open if they get too hot in their bedroom etc. Which I struggled with. I had to respect their request and put my fears aside and trust the kids to be sensible around the windows - yes they are teens, it's not them I worry about, but it's the younger 2 where I still worry. But, if the younger two go into their big brothers bedroom, I ask him to lock his window.

However, I've only gone and lost the window keys! Can I find them! No. So I need replacement keys, before I go into meltdown. 

My kids sarcastically call me the 'health and safety officer' for a reason. 

But my window fear is real - even if my parents or my sister is looking after the younger two, I will often ask them to make sure the windows are locked (without sounding too much like a complete health and safety control freak).

Lock those windows.