We all want to keep our kids safe, and a smart security system for your home is a great way to start. Kids won’t be as careful as their parents, so it’s important to teach them, remind them, and practice with them all the rules for home security. Here are three home security tips for kids.
Teach Kids to Work Your Alarm System
A smart home security system will monitor your home 24/7. Alerts can be sent to a central location, to the police, or to your own smart phone.
Teach your kids how to arm and disarm the security system and establish rules for when they are supposed to do this.
Warn them not to share the security code, and change it from time to time in case they slip up—not all kids are good secret-keepers!
Let the alarm ring once or twice so kids know what it sounds like and what to do if it sounds.
Run through a sample scenario when you’re away from home (or just outside) for practice.
Remind Kids to Lock Windows and Doors
About a third of burglaries are through unsecured entry. Teach your kids to set the security system and lock all windows and doors when they are home or when they leave the house, for their own safety and to prevent theft.
A smart security system will send you alerts if locks aren’t set properly when you leave the house, and you can set them remotely. You may want to send the alerts to your kids too, to remind them. As parents know, it’s usually only necessary to remind kids 1,000 times to make it stick.
Practice Emergency Events with Your Kids
From time to time, have an emergency practice day where you go through the motions of what to do in the event of an emergency.
Choose escape routes in case of fire. Also choose an outdoor site where the family will gather in case of evacuation.
Choose a plan for escaping a break-in. Kids can go to a neighbor’s house or hide in a designated spot indoors.
Choose an alarm protocol: Kids should call 911 and then trip the alarm system if it hasn’t already been set off.
Practice your emergency scenarios! Kids remember best when they have practiced often.
Connected Home Can Help Keep Kids Safe
Connected home is your professional installation company for home security to keep kids safe. We work with both new home builders and with home owners to add or upgrade home security. We provide support for smart home technology for family security, too.
Stop by our Leland showroom to get ideas about smart home security systems for your own household. For more information, call Connected Home today at (910) 317-0876.