There are times when it might be necessary to leave your kids at home alone while you are working or traveling. You want your children to be as safe as possible. That requires a little work and planning. Here are the steps to take to keep your kids safe while they are home alone.
Talk To Your Kids about Staying Safe
The first step is to talk to your kids about staying safe when home alone. Talk about how to avoid strangers and what to do if an emergency occurs. Develop a detailed plan for your kids. Teach them where to go, who to contact and what to do if there is a break-in or fire. This talk can go a long way towards keeping your kids safe when they are on their own.
Ask Friends or Neighbors to Check on Your Children
If you will be gone for a very long time, then ask friends, family members or neighbors in the area to check on your children. This just has to be a quick visit to ensure the kids are home, safe and behaving. An added benefit of having someone check on your kids is that it can prevent bad behavior. Your children will have to always be prepared for an adult to stop by.
Use an Alarm Monitoring Service
A sure way to know that your kids are safe when you are away is to use an alarm monitoring service. A service like Alarm Relay will be constantly monitoring your house looking for problems. If anything goes wrong, then the service can contact you and the proper authorities. You could also use the monitoring service to check that your kids got home on time.
Keep First Aid and Safety Supplies in Your Home
Emergencies can happen at any time in your home. Something unexpected could cause injuries. A fire could start in an appliance. Keep first aid and other safety supplies in your home to protect your children. Your kids might be able to put out fires, deal with injuries and save the home if the right equipment is available.
Maintain Regular Contact
Do not just forget about your children while you are away. Maintain regular contact with them even if it seems a little inconvenient. The best idea is to contact your kids every hour while they are alone in your home. Just a fast call will give you a good idea about what is actually happening in the house. This also gives your kids the opportunity to ask questions if issues start to arise during the day.
Stop Boredom
Children who are bored are more likely to get into trouble when left alone. Stop boredom by coming up with a clear schedule your kids must follow while home. That schedule can include playtime and meal times. It should also include chores like cleaning and homework. This will give you kids something to do so that they do not get into trouble.
