None of what I tell you here should be done if you worry about the car being stolen, or your kids getting into it and messing around with the controls, and may involve you in liability problems if you sell the car to someone else.
The Escort steering wheel lock is easy to bypass. There is a pin that is pushed up by a spring. Its in the middle of the ignition lock assembly. With the lower half of the steering column clamshell removed you will see a shiny circle no bigger than a quarter on the bottom of the switch. It holds the spring that pushes up on the locking pin. Prying off the cover will let the spring drop out. Then the pin wont be pushed up anymore, and the steering wheel wont lock. If you want to be really thorough/safe about it, you could take the ignition lock assembly off of the column and get the pin to come out of the ignition switch entirely.
After this there are other interlocks you can also defeat. There is the electric interlock where you need to put your foot onto the brake in order to move the shift lever out of park. That is easy to overcome, using some utility wire to hold a little lever in the 'free' position. You would have to take the plastic console to see the little lever.
Another interlock is the one in the cars with an automatic transmission that keeps you from taking the key out of the ignition switch until the shift lever is in park. This interlock is vital to leave alone - until you defeat the steering wheel lock. This one is done with a small cable running between the shift lever base and the side of the ignition switch, the key lock side of it. You can unhook the cable where it attaches to the ignition key lock.
My problem with modifying my Escorts (I own 3 of them) is that my wife, my daughters, and sometimes friends may drive the cars - so it can't be tooo far different from what they expect. That is why I have left the clutch interlock on our 5-speed Escort. It means you still have to press the clutch down for the starter to work. I grew up learning to drive on cars that didnt have any interlocks, and I dont consider I need them. But I know my wife or my kids would eventually start that 5-speed Escort with the shift lever in gear - if I took away the pedal interlock.
Be aware there may be no place you can put a switch or switches that your kids wont eventually find & want to play with.
If your car still has the 'chime' when you have the key in the ignition and open the door, there is a white switch on the side of the ignition switch with two wires going to it. Cutting either wire will silence the key-in-ignition-and-door-open chime, but the chime to remind you that you left the lights on and shut the engine off.