Ensuring the safety of your children is as simple as ‘ABC’- ‘Always be Careful’. A child’s maturity, judgement and ease in troublesome situations can only be judged by a parent. To leave a young person at home alone makes parents anxious due to two main reasons. Firstly, as to how a child will react to a hostile situation and the second as to how long can they be left on their own? However, if your children seem bent towards trying it out, instil a sense of responsibility in them first and then go over the following basic rules to ensure that he/she is safe alone:
1. To never leave the house unattended: Make sure that your child knows to never leave the home unattended. In case a situation demands, always brief them to clear it out with you first. At the same time ensure that he is apprized with the risks of leaving the house.
2. Always have an Emergency Plan: This is imperative when you leave your child alone. You must make check all the smoke detectors before leaving. Draw a map and go over the emergency exits with them as well. And as a thumb rule always keep them updated with emergency numbers to call apart from yours.
3. Decide upon the same way to travel back to home: If your child takes the bus to school make sure they know the way back like the back of their hand. This is essential even in cases where they commute by other means. A child must always be able to find his or her way back home.
4. Instruct them to not attend unknown phone calls: If the caller ID is unrecognizable, make sure your child knows better than to attend it. In order to ensure the same make sure you keep the phone off limits in cases other than when the number is recognizable. Instruct them to let such calls go to voice mail rather than attending each one of them.
5. Teach them basic First Aid: Before leaving the child alone in a house make sure he knows where the first aid kit is. The child should be able to distinguish between a situation he/she can handle themselves and one which is an emergency.
6. Always have a plan that keeps them busy: An empty mind is a devil’s workshop. Make sure your child is engaged in some activity when he’s home alone. Thus, always keep them occupied.
7. Make a habit of checking in: You must ensure that your child inculcates a habit of checking in with you. This in fact should be the first thing that they must do when they are home alone.
Rest assured if the above is guaranteed you will feel at ease when you leave your children alone at home. We at Cheetah Locksmith understand your concern and offer Residential Services which assist parents in such situations. Known for the fastest service in town you can find out a plan that works best for you!