How much do your kids know about safety? Do they use social media or are your kids ever home alone? Here are some general home safety tips to teach your kids that can help protect them from predators and keep them safer.
- Stranger Danger. It’s not just a saying for out in public. It is a something that kids need to remember at all times; even when they are home alone. Remind your children that if a stranger comes to the door, it is best practice to ignore them.
- Lock all of the Doors and windows. This is simple but remember to tell your kids that when they are home alone all doors and windows should remain locked.
- Men in uniform tend to look more trustworthy to us. Whether it be as a technician, postman, or any type of tradesmen, sometimes “bad guys” dress the part of a respectable person. It is important to remind kids that it’s ok to not open the door even if the person looks trustworthy and harmless. If they don’t know them, don’t open the door.
- Most door viewers are at adult eye level. They aren’t very useful for kids unless they drag a chair to the door every time that they need to look out. What’s the solution? Install door viewers at your child’s I level. It will give them quick access to the outside and enable them to make a decision regarding who is at the door.
- As kids, most of us liked to brag about our new stuff. While it might have been the latest roller skates when we were kids, today “cool” purchases usually have a higher dollar amount. Big TVs, X-boxes, play stations, iPhones; the list goes on. These are expensive items that kids like to brag about. Remind your children to be careful how much information they share, because they wouldn’t want someone to hear them talking and then try to break in and steal their new “toys”.
- Some burglars cut phone lines in order to disconnect an alarm system or minimize the chances of someone calling for help. For this reason alone, it is very important that children left alone at home have a cell phone in order to call out in case of an emergency.
- For non-emergencies, like figuring out how to lock the door when they get home or how to arm the alarm, leave a couple family members’ phone numbers written down in an accessible location.
- If a child is home alone and receives a phone call asking if their parents are home, remind the child to say “they are busy at the moment” (or something similar). Kids need to remember not to ever let a stranger know that they are home alone.
- Posting too much personal information online is not a wise choice. Facebook, twitter, instagram; nearly all social medias can track wherever you make post from. For example, if your family is out shopping at Wal-Mart and your child posts “Shopping at Wal-Mart with the family” they could also select for the GPS location to be posted as well. This is cool and many people do it, however the danger is that someone could see when you are away and know it is a good time to pay your home a visit.
- We are all forgetful, kids even more so. So what is the solution to them forgetting to lock the doors and arm the alarm? Home automation is the answer. If your kids get home and you’re not sure if they armed the alarm and locked the door, hop on your app and check for yourself. With Security Alarm’s door locks and Remote Safe app, you can arm and disarm and control locks from anywhere. Fell peace of mind knowing that your kids are safe.
