The sinister reason why children should always sleep with their bedroom door closed

Children might prefer to sleep with their bedroom door open, but there’s a disturbing reason why you should always keep it closed.

The warning comes from a US fire department, who explained exactly why keeping your children’s bedroom door closed at night could mean the difference between life and death.

Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department shared a post on Facebook, which read: ‘As a parent it’s hard to convince little kids to sleep with the door closed, they always want it open just a little. I do a lot of fire prevention at schools, so one thing I try and stress to the kids is, how important it is to sleep with the doors closed.’

https://www.facebook.com/CSHFD/posts/2301360923254324?__tn__=H-R

The post was accompanied by two pictures of the same door, side by side – one from the exterior of the bedroom, which was burned after a house fire, while the other side remains intact.

Highlighting the importance of sleeping with doors closed, the fire department said the door protected the bedroom and what was inside – and could have saved a life were there anyone inside.

It continued: ‘This morning members of New Fairfield’s Fire Departments along with mutual aid departments responded to a residential structure fire. The homeowners and family dog are all doing well.

READ MORE: The shocking reasons your duvet could be making you ill

‘The photos below are a great example of the importance of keeping bedroom doors closed while sleeping. The door pictured in both photos is a hollow core door to a bedroom. While the front of the door is severely damaged the closed door protected the bedroom and its contents. If this were an occupied bedroom the closed door could have saved a life.

‘The first picture is the hallway and the second is from inside the room!’

Did you know about this? Do your kids sleep with their doors open or closed? Head over to our Facebook page and join the debate!