Home security is always a matter of serious thought and consideration. We want to keep our home and family safe and while security systems, alarms, and smart locks are great for doing the job, we need to make sure everyone in the household knows the security rules too. That includes the children too, especially the children.
All the security measures are pointless if your child just opens the door to allow a stranger in or gives away sensitive information over the phone. Our children’s security is always a priority and as parents, it is our responsibility to ensure their safety and teach them how to protect themselves. So what do children need to know to effectively protect themselves from dangerous situations?
“As an entrepreneur mom, it’s significant that my kids understand home security, especially that there are times I leave them at home. It’s important to assure kids that they are safe and having a security system at home will help for additional safety.” says Lynda Le, Nail Technician and Founder of Polish Perfect. She gives three security basics that children must be taught:
Basics of Alarm Systems:
“Start teaching the kids the basics of arming and disarming the system, and how to recognize different alerts. Let the sound of the alarm be familiar to the kids so the panic may be eliminated later once an incident has actually occurred.
Lock UP:
“Another basic safety tip that is easily forgotten is locking doors and windows. Parents must remind the kids to always lock the doors and windows when leaving and when they are left alone. Explain to them the threats of leaving those unlatched.
Emergency Plan:
“Finally, solidify an emergency plan by practicing it with every member of the family. Parents and children should be aware of where and how to exit the house and know the safe zones after several times of reenacting a specific scenario. Safety must be the top priority, so parents must not take away from children the right to know about it.”
Safety Perimeter
“As a life coach, I actually had a conversation with one of my clients about this subject a few months ago. He also was wondering how to explain the basics of home security to his children. I explained that in my opinion, it’s best to teach children the concept of what a ‘safety perimeter’ is. The safety perimeter refers to all doors, windows, gates, fences, and more in a home. In order to experience safety, children must learn to ‘lock-up’ the perimeter. Otherwise, a home isn’t safe. This is great for teaching children to get in the habit of locking doors/windows, closing gates, etc. You can even take your children room-to-room around the house and show them how to keep the perimeter maintained. Let them know that securing the perimeter is crucial for keeping the ‘bad guys’ away. I have taught this lesson to my own young children and it worked wonders.”
James Walsh, entrepreneur, financial advisor, sales trainer, author, life coach, podcast host, and public speaker.
Home Security System and Emergency Services
“The most important thing to do is make sure your children know how to operate the home security system, especially if they’ll ever be home alone. Whether it’s through the medium of song or classic repetition, it’s a must! Beyond ensuring they remember codes, they must remember or have access to emergency services and your cell number in such a situation. It’s a lot for our little ones to take in, so be patient and mindful of their reactions to learning this information and prevent fear by reassuring the security system is a just-in-case measure, not a definite occurrence in the future.”
Thomas Fultz, Founder, and CEO of Coffeeable
Practice Emergency Phone Calls
“Also practice (and have visible) phone numbers of close family members so that they can contact them in an emergency as well.” says Andrew Taylor, Director of Net Lawman
White lies -RE the phone-
Andrew Taylor also explains how kids need to respond to strangers when alone at home, “If they answer the phone and parents aren’t in (for older children this is), they should say that they are busy right now, not that they aren’t home. Don’t give details when asked about things, just hang up or pass the phone onto an adult if they are there.”
Don’t Open Doors to Strangers or Talk to Them
“Opening doors to strangers also should be actively discouraged. Talking to strangers, even teachers, friends, their parents, etc., should also be discouraged.
“You don’t want to scare children, but just bring to light a sense of questioning, there’s no real need to discuss personal matters at length – if people are asking questions that seem a little invasive, react to that feeling and stop answering questions. Home security is linked to self security, teaching children to be conscious of boundaries, listening to their common sense and understanding what’s right.”
Andrew Taylor, Director Net Lawman
Dennis has been a professional security consultant space based out of Chapel Hill for over 15 years. His experience runs the gamut between government and private organizations (specifically in the finance and insurance sector) with a specialty in consulting for executive and high-value protection surrounding Kidnap and Ransom mitigation.
