6 Home Security Lessons Kids Should Know

When it comes to our family, we do all that we can to love, provide, and protect them. With endless stories about burglary all year round, we must never compromise on giving our homes enough security.

This responsibility is primarily for the adults in the home. We need to be aware of crucial steps we need to take to ensure our home and family members are always safe. This requires diligent research on our part so that we can be aware of the potential dangers out there.

One way to keep our loved ones safe is through an effective security system. If you are looking for an alarm monitoring service in Perth, make sure you engage a company that has a tried and tested expertise. It would help if the service provider would be able to give you a wide array of options so you can choose what’s best for you and your family.

In addition to such a system, one way to ensure safety in your home is to have everyone participate in the process. Yes, the adults are primarily responsible, but the kids must also know how to care for the home. When you empower even the young ones in this area, it also builds their character.

Here are some ways to get kids involved:

• Remind them to lock the doors and use the alarm system.

This seems like a simple and obvious step for everyone. But kids can sometimes take this for granted. Some also tend to minimize how important this is because they assume that their parents would always have their back.

But they need to realize that locking doors and double locking them is also their responsibility. This protects them and the house from intruders, so they should take this seriously. It would also be helpful and will give you peace of mind if they know how to activate the alarm system.  

• If possible, use access codes.

The thing with kids is that they are still kids. So we cannot really blame them if they lose their keys. Aside from being a hassle, this can also be dangerous if a sketchy person takes hold of your house keys. 

One way to heighten up security that will also benefit your kids is to have smart locks. You can just help them come up with access codes that they can easily remember. The trick here is not to make it easy for strangers to guess what the code is. 

Once you settle on a code for them, reiterate the importance of keeping it a secret no matter what happens.

• Teach them not to answer the door when alone in the house.

Depending on your family’s preference, some allow kids at a certain age to stay home alone. This is normal, and many households are comfortable leaving children at home for a short period.

But do this only when you have already set clear rules for them. Tell them that they are not to open the door to strangers, no matter who they are. Even if they say they are friends of their parents, repairmen, or delivery guys, they should not let them in the house.

It would help if you could role-play about this to test them beforehand. Burglars often have the most creative excuses and reasons to convince kids, so you must help your children prepare for such.

A video doorbell will be helpful for them and you so you both can monitor whoever is at the door at any given time. You can connect this with your smartphone for more accessible and more convenient monitoring.

• Keep personal information private.

In today’s digital age, where all information seems to be online already, kids need to understand the importance of privacy. Whether they are on Tiktok or FB live, constantly remind them not to share videos of private information. Tell them not to show their route going home, the front door, or where the valuables are inside the house.

• Always be aware.

Teach your kids always to be aware of their surroundings. This does not mean they can no longer text or listen to music while on the street. 

But once in a while, they need to pause and observe if someone is following them. If they are at home, have them occasionally check suspicious people around the property.

Empower them with the correct actions they need to take when they think something is amiss. Are they to call you immediately? Do you want them to report to the police right away? Should they go to the neighbours?

Make sure you give them clear instructions, as kids can sometimes get lost when they are in panic mode. Give them emergency numbers for the police, hospital, fire department, and the like.

• Give them incentives for following safety precautions.

 

Since children respond well to positive reinforcement, setting up a rewards system will make safety rules more fun for them to follow. This will help create routines for them even if it seems like they are initially only following because of the incentives.

Give them small prizes for locking the doors or following the designated curfew. You can give them points or stars to work their way to small and big prizes. Often, it’s not about what they actually get. What some kids are after is the excitement the process gives them. Of course, another bonus here is the additional quality time they spend with their parents.