Home Alone After School: Is Your Child Ready?

August is here and you know what that means – it’s time to start thinking about the kids heading back to school!  It’s been a fun summer, and my kids and I have made lots of great memories.  We enjoyed lazy afternoons by the pool, popsicles and summer vacations, but as the August heat starts to soar and vacations come to a halt, it’s clear that we are all ready to get back into the swing of our regular routine.

Once the school supplies have been purchased, new school clothes are picked out and teacher gifts have been made, it’s time to start thinking about the daily school routine.  I have the morning rush covered with a Back to School Morning Checklist, and we even have one to help keep us on track with homework in the afternoon, but we haven’t discussed or made plans for those unexpected moments that inevitably pop up after school.

Whether it’s an unexpected business appointment that ran too long, or a childcare arrangement that fell through, there may be times when situations arise and you have to leave your child home alone.  Rather than having to panic in the moment, I want our family to be prepared for these situations in advance. This was just one of the many reasons we decided to switch to a smart door lock with Security By Reliant.

While it’s not an ideal scenario, if my kids do have to be home alone after school I can rest assured that they won’t have trouble keeping up with keys or getting into the house. With the smart door lock, all our kids have to remember is their own access code. They can simply come home and enter their code, which will automatically disarm the alarm, so they are able to get inside with no hassle at all.  Not only does the smart door lock make getting into the house easier, it offers more security and peace of mind for me.  Once they punch in the code, I will receive an alert letting me know that they have arrived.  I can also lock the door using the app on my phone, which ensures that they are safe once they are inside.

As an extra level of protection and peace of mind, we also have the benefit of being able to monitor their activity with the indoor camera and live streaming video.  The indoor camera can upload HD clips on a schedule or when triggered, and can send alerts when new clips are captured to streams it live to your computer or mobile device.  Now, not only will I be able to keep my eye on them for safety’s sake, I’ll also know the truth when it comes to the tattling or arguing they tend to do.

In addition to having an incredible security system in place, that will help us monitor our kids activity in the event that they do have to be home alone, it’s also important to make sure they know the rules and feel safe.  To ease your stress levels, here are some additional suggestions:

• Set clear rules for what they can and cannot do when you are not home. For example, our rules include no eating, no playing upstairs, no having friends over , and playing outside. It might be helpful to set up a schedule for them to follow, like our After School Routine Checklist.
• Be sure to provide important phone numbers and where you can be reached. List numbers for fire and police, neighbors and relatives. Make sure your child knows how to call 911. This Home Alone printable and checklist is a great resource to keep on the fridge.
• Try a “test run.”  Plan a day before school start where you leave them home for an hour. See how comfortable they feel while you are away. Talk to them about any concerns they may have and make sure that they are ok with being home alone should the need arise during the school year.
• Rehearse different scenarios. What do they do when the doorbell rings; what should they do if they have a question and can’t reach you? What would they do if they got hurt while home alone?

Parents need to be sure that their children have the skills and maturity to handle being home alone safely. It’s also important to note that every state has specific laws or guidelines when it comes to leaving children home alone, in most states you can find these details through the Department of Health and Human Services or other child protective agencies, please check with your state before leaving your children home alone.

We are looking forward to another great school year and I feel confident that, should the need arise, my kids are prepared and equipped to stay home alone. The benefits of having a Reliant Security System have offered us peace of mind when the Texas summer heat started to soar, when we traveled on vacation and now it will help make sure that our children are protected and safe when home alone from school!

Do you want peace of mind? Security by Reliant wants to give you your first month of service FREE when you update your security system, just use offer code “Giggles” when you sign up with Security by Reliant. Choose from the advanced package with an included smart door lock (at no additional cost) or the premium package to get a free doorbell camera!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Reliant through my partnership with Security by Reliant. While I was compensated to write a post about my experience with Reliant Security and automation, all opinions are my own.