Maintaining a strong level of home security becomes even more of a priority when you live with children, as protecting them out trumps one’s desire to protect even their most expensive valuables. However, something that many homeowners don’t understand is that children can sometimes compromise one’s home security infrastructure due to their innocence and lack of understandings of the systems that are in place in order to protect them. Here’s a guide on some valuable home security tips to teach your children, as prepared by the home security experts here at Top Locksmith.
Home Alarm Systems
Make sure to teach your children to operate your home alarm system. Home alarm systems automatically notify authorities when suspicious activity or entrance is detected, ensuring that rapid response will occur in events like break-ins or burglaries. Make sure to explain exactly what the home monitoring system is, why it’s in place, and how to activate and disarm the system. Demonstrate how the alarm sounds to the children to eliminate potential fear if it does go off accidentally, and make sure to do some practice runs with them of arming or disarming the system so you can be sure they understand how to do so. Ideally, come up with an arming/disarming code that’s both complex enough to not get guessed by criminals, but easy enough to remember to make it easy for your children to memorize it.
Locks on Windows or Doors
It’s estimated that over thirty-five percent of burglaries occur due to unlocked windows, doors, or garages. Make sure to teach your children to lock the door when they exit the home, and to understand the importance of not leaving accessible windows unlatched. Consider installing a smart home system that can notify you when windows or doors are unlatched.
Emergency Preparedness
Parents should teach children exactly what to do in the event of an emergency. These events include house fires (set multiple escape routes from the house and a meeting location outside the home to assemble,) burglaries (an area at a neighbors house or a secure hidden area in the home to meet up in that an intruder isn’t likely to find.) Teach children to find a safe area first, and then to call 911 in the event of an emergency.