If you have kids that are old enough to be home alone, you need to be sure that they know how to react to several situations in regard to home security. Before you ever let them stay home alone, you need to be confident that they know the best way to understand key tasks to undertake in case of a situation.
Answer the phone
Teach your kids to always ask who is calling once they answer the phone, and to never let the person on the other end of the line know that they are home alone. If they ask for mom or dad, tell them they are busy and can’t take a phone call. If someone asks for mom, you could even teach them to say “Sure, one minute. (wait for 10 seconds or so). Sorry, she can’t take a call right now, can I take a message?”.
Answer the door
Teach your kids to always ask who is at the door and to never unlock the door if they don’t recognize the person on the other side. Teach them to also never indicate that they are home alone is important in overall home security education.
Lock the doors and windows
Make sure that you kids know all of the doors and windows to be sure are locked and make sure that they know how to properly work the lock.
Operate a Home Security System
Be sure your kids know how to activate and deactivate your home security system properly.
React in a real emergency situation
Make sure your kids have a list of emergency contacts available and know that it is OK to call 911 in an emergency situation.
Insuring that your kids know how to react to a variety of possible situations that they could encounter while home alone is the best way to prevent accidents. This should be something that is visited on a regular basis to be sure that your kids remember what you tell them (especially if they are teenagers!). Educating your kids on home security is important to their overall safety.
