Anyone who grew up in the '80s or '90s more than likely was a latch-key kid: a child left at home while their parents went to work, to run errands, or just in general to have fun, after locking that front door.
The rules were simple: Don't invite anyone over, don't tell anyone you're home, don't open the door for anyone, and if someone knocked, stay quiet, and they'd leave eventually.
But crime reporter Lori Fullbright argues that this was not a lesson that parents should have been teaching their children, no matter how much more convenient it was than taking their kids along or hiring a babysitter. The worst part is that these children have grown into adults, with what Fullbright views as some pretty unsafe habits.
As a crime reporter, one of the key aspects of Fullbright's job is interviewing incarcerated or otherwise "former" criminals, specifically to get a peak into the criminal psyche. Her TikTok channel is dedicated to educating the general public on safety precautions they can take, and why, based on the minds of the criminals she's interviewed.
One of Fullbright's most recent videos, "Why You Shouldn't Get Quiet and Pretend You're Not Home When Someone Knocks," went viral with more than 2.5 million views, with Millennials and Gen-Xers side-eyeing each other for being called out on one of the key unsafe behaviors of their generations.
You can watch the video here:
Fullbright stressed the fact that criminals who are interested in stealing someone's possessions will specifically approach someone's home when they believe they are not home. This is why daytime, business-hour break-ins, and weekend break-ins, are so common.
The crime reporter explained that most criminals will knock on the front door first to see if anyone answers or if they otherwise hear sounds inside the home. Most will move on to another property and not continue to pursue the house if they discover someone is home.
However, if a person remains totally quiet in the hopes that the knocker will go away, the criminal will then break in, and if they discover someone waiting inside, tragedies may occur. Making noise will actually lead to far fewer incidents than hiding.
Fellow TikTokers felt called out by the video, largely based on how they were raised.
@lorifullbright/TikTok
@lorifullbright/TikTok
@lorifullbright/TikTok
@lorifullbright/TikTok
@lorifullbright/TikTok
@lorifullbright/TikTok
While many of us were raised to stay quiet and not answer the door, it's clear we should have taken a page from Kevin McCallister instead. Even though the Sticky Bandits broke in, expecting a child to put up no fight, Kevin's idea for setting up a fake party to make the house appear full was exactly the right kind of idea to keep the bad guys away.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter