A few months ago, my family and I experienced a very big event. We moved our oldest into her college dorm. Over the summer we created a plan on what to bring. It seemed that the list kept getting longer and longer. We started using our living room as a staging area to make sure we were all set for move-in day. The night before I packed up all the items in our van like we were going on a family vacation. I checked the list to make sure we had everything. The following afternoon was going to be a bittersweet day. Our child is leaving the nest for college, but at least we had everything for her dorm room, right?
One Safety Item That Your Child Needs For Their Dorm Room
After lugging all the heavy boxes and furniture up four flights of stairs on a hot day in August, I was relieved when we got her all moved in. The essentials were starting to find their place in her room. She couldn’t wait to decorate her room and set things up the right way for her freshman year at college. My wife, daughters and I were breaking down boxes and creating a bit more room for her to get an idea of where she wanted things to go. After a bit of time my wife, my youngest and I gave her some hugs and well wishes and we were out the door.
The following week I came across an article about how parents should make sure their child has a carbon monoxide detector in their college dorm room. “How did I forget that?” I thought to myself. I have worked with Kidde in the past here at The Art of Fatherhood. I check the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in my house in the spring and fall. With all the things on the to-do list, a carbon monoxide alarm for my daughter’s dorm room was not on ours. So, to all those parents putting a packing list for college together make sure that a carbon monoxide alarm is on your list.
One More Thing
While I have your attention about the packing list for when your child goes off to college, there is one more item that you should put on that list. A Kidde fire extinguisher is just as important as the carbon monoxide alarm. These two items are things that you never want to use, but you and your child will have better peace of mind knowing that they have those items in their dorm room. You have picked up that new laptop for them. You even got them a coffee maker for their room. We want to make sure we give all the right tools to our kids so they can have the best time in college. Safety should be a high priority on that checklist. To learn more about Kidde and their products, make sure to visit their website at kidde.com.
Please note: I am working with Kidde Fire Safety on a sponsored campaign. I am receiving payment for my work, but my thoughts are my own.