School Safety & Tips for keeping Latchkey kids safe

August 19, 2014 12:00 am Published by

As summer draws to a close, back-to-school season is in full effect. Safety should be a priority for every family as children return to classrooms this fall. It is important for parents to stay up-to-date on the proper safety precautions and share this information with their children to keep them safe throughout the school year. The National Safety Council has a great checklist here safety checklist.

Home Security Tips for Keeping Latchkey Kids Safe

For today’s households, it is not uncommon for both parents to work outside the home. When this is the case, many kids come home to an empty house at the end of the school day. With a new school year upon us, now is a good time to remind yourself, and your children, about staying safe while home alone after school.

We’ve put together some tips we feel are most important for helping your children stay safe while at the same time, giving you greater peace of mind:

Talk with your children.  Make sure you go over all your expectations with your children, so you are both on the same page when it comes to staying home alone and what they do while they’re there. Particularly, discus security practices like how to disarm and rearm the security alarm, what to say if they answer the phone, and what to do when a stranger comes to the door.

Display emergency contact information. Pick a central location where important emergency contact information will always be posted. Even if your child knows it by heart, having it readily available is a good idea in case they forget or emergency personnel need information your child isn’t able to provide.

Have a spare key. Kids misplace stuff all the time. Having your kids stuck outside the house is the last thing you want to happen. In the event your children come home and forget or lose their keys, make sure they know where a spare key is hidden.

Know your neighbors. If your child ever arrives home and feels unsafe going inside, it is a good idea to have someplace else they can safely stay. Find a neighbor you can trust and make sure your children know they can go to them if necessary.

Consider enhanced security features. Opt for additional security features like alarm notifications and video monitoring. These tools can provide you with confidence and peace of mind that your children are safe and behaving appropriately even when you can’t be there. With alarm notifications and video monitoring features, you can receive email and/or text alerts when your child arrives home from school and check in on them by viewing live or recorded video using most any web enabled device. (PC, i pad, iPhone, android, blackberry ) You can turn your security system on or off as well as operate lights, temperature and locks with zwave devices.

 

 

At Instant Alarm Security, we believe in putting your safety and security first. Contact us to learn more about our home security systems, monitoring and products.

 

Source- https://www.nsc.org/Safety_Home/SafetyObservances/Pages/BackToSchoolSafety.aspx & http://www.ackermansecurity.com/