Do you and your family have a Home Defense Plan? What should a home defense plan consist of? Have you reviewed the plan with all of the family members? Have you rehearsed how the plan would play out in an emergency? Do you have a safe room? Do your family members know where the safe room is, and what their roll is in the plan?
Let's start at the beginning, in making a home defense plan the goal is the safety of your entire family in the event of a threat. Take the time to write your plan out and what every family member will do should an incident occur. Determine who is in charge. Where everyone goes. What each is responsible for once they get there.
Recently I heard a speaker use the phrase "RUN, HIDE & FIGHT" which I found easy to remember and great advice. You and your family should RUN to a safe place in the home. If you are able to exit the home, do so. You and your family should HIDE in what you have determined as a safe place or your "safe room". You should only FIGHT, if faced with an eminent deadly force threat. What is deadly force? A force likely to cause serious bodily injury or death. (Often we have lots of questions about the use of deadly force, we will not be addressing that specifically, as you should seek the guidance of an attorney. )
RUN: Are you able to escape without a chance of confronting the threat? If so, escaping would be the best option. Do you have a "bug out bag"? Is that bag where you would likely need it? Make sure all family members know the plan. If escape is not possible without confronting the threat, then you and your family should RUN to your "safe place" in the house. For example, perhaps Dad retrieves the little ones, while Mom calls 911 and receives the little ones in the "safe" location. Note: you are responsible for assigning duties to the family members based on their strengths and abilities, only you can define who does what. The key here is to quickly and quietly gather. Perhaps practice your plan at unexpected times as a drill.
HIDE: The best place to be is not in the home, if you can get out of the house leave and hide. If you have no way to escape the home, then hide in a room and try to barricade the door to the room with furniture or anything to block entry to the room. DO NOT GO OUT INTO THE HOUSE TO CONFRONT INTRUDERS, AS YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE HOUSE. I have heard some say be quiet, while others say to yell out to the intruders that you are on the phone with 911, the police are on the way and that you are armed. SEEK LEGAL ADVICE
FIGHT: Should the intruder attempt to try and enter your safe space, let the intruder know you are armed. If they continue, be prepared to fight but do not initiate the fight. Your safe space should be where your "bug out bag" is, along with your weapons and ammo. God forbid you have to protect yourself and your loved ones. Know the difference between cover and concealment. Cover, will hide and protect you from bullets, while concealment just hides you with no protection from gun fire. Have your loved ones tucked away, as far away from any potential danger as possible.
It's scary to think of these scenarios however, in an attack, an educated and well prepared family will fair far better than having no plan at all.