Tag Archive for: kids

Home Security System & Tracking Your Teenage Children

Parenting teenagers comes with a host of challenges. If your teenager tends to sneak out, come home late at night, or you suspect they hang out with the wrong crowd, you’ll want to keep a closer watch on them. A lack of privacy can strain the parent-child relationship. But smart home security devices can help parents look out for their kids, because:

  • Peer pressure can lead adolescents to make the wrong decisions.
  • Your teen’s best friends may not be people you want in your home.
  • Knowing what’s happening at home can avoid wild parties and protect your family.
  • If your teen is coming home from school, you’re working late, or they’ll be out at night, you’ll have some peace of mind.

How a Home Security System Keeps Your Teenager Safe

Your home security needs depend on the behavior of your child. In general, you’ll want a security system that protects your property day or night. The following home security tech can provide protection and help prevent safety issues.

  • Door and Window Alarms: Receive an alert when someone enters or exits your home. Some alarms require entering a code on a panel to enable and disable them; there are also remotely controlled systems, so your teen cannot control the door alarm.
  • Security Cameras: Outdoor security cameras provide the surveillance needed to monitor what your teenager is doing. An adolescent may find this invasive. However, it enables you to track them and protect them from danger. Cameras are also a good preventative measure if you suspect illicit behavior.
  • Motion Sensors: With motion detection, there’s a greater degree of flexibility. Your teen won’t arrive home or leave undetected, while you can know where they are in the house at any time and leave some rooms off-limits.
  • Video Doorbell: A secure solution, a video doorbell is less invasive than a camera pointing at your child. You can even see when your kids get home or who they invite via your smartphone.
  • Automated Features: Modern alarm systems let you arm and disarm them from your phone or set a schedule. They can alert you if your child is late or forgets to lock the door. Even give your kid their own passcode so they can get in the house when you’re not home.

Additional Solutions to Keep Your Teen Safe

Other tech-age tools you can consider include:

  • GPS Vehicle Trackers: If your teen has just started driving, you can monitor their location, speed, and braking and acceleration habits.
  • Parental Control Apps and Software: Use the app to control the content your teen can access as well as their location, which can ensure they’re safe if late when coming home from school.
  • Online Browser Controls: Install software that manages what your teen can access on the internet. These controls can also protect your child from tech-age threats like phishing and malware.

More Advice on Tracking/Protecting Your Teenager

Alarms are helpful and the sound of one can be useful in an emergency or when you have a misbehaving teen. But to maintain your relationship, including your teen in security plans can streamline communications and reduce stress. Letting your child know how you monitor them can encourage them to be honest. And, collaborating with other parents helps to extend the same measures to your teen’s peers, so there are fewer conflicts of interest.

Is Monitoring Your Teen the Best Strategy?

Close monitoring can backfire psychologically. But it can help catch your teen in a lie or let you call out sneaky behavior. Let them know you’ll follow up through the home security system. When things happen, you can have conversations about how to solve the problem and encourage your child to think about what they did wrong. For behaviors like stealing and sneaking out, you can take more urgent measures, so security technology can help you act in your child’s best interests.

Boost Your Home Security, and the Safety of Teenagers, with Boyd & Associates

Boyd & Associates offers video surveillance and smart video systems, as well as alarm systems and 24/7 monitoring services, that can help keep your teenage children safe. To learn more and request a free quote, call us today at 805-321-6664.

Security Systems: Why Install One If You Have Children

Security Systems: Why Install One If You Have Children

A home security system is primarily designed to help secure your home and keep it safe from intruders and burglars. But newer systems also have many different features that serve many other purposes. If you have children, a newer home security system offers many benefits associated with helping you raise and keep your children safe. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider one of these security systems.

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How to Keep Your Home Safe When the Kids are in School

How to Keep Your Home Safe When the Kids are in School

Now that the kids back in school, your home will remain empty during the day. Here are some tips for keeping your house safe when everyone has left for work or school, and when they return.

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How Home Automation Can Help With Back To School

If you have kids you know the chaos of getting everyone out the door on time or managing daily routines so chores and schoolwork get done. As the kids get older, the schedule gets even more demanding as they add things like extracurricular activities and time with their friends to the already taxed weekly schedule. Making sure everything runs smoothly and optimally is a near impossible task and would take a team of people to get done. Fortunately, smart home technologies provide some great ways to tame a monster school schedule.

No More Snooze Alarm

If you have a reluctant student, getting them out of bed can be a long and unhappy process and one that can make them and everyone else in the house late. Get them out of bed and moving easily by using automation to turn on lights, open shades and turn on music for a wake-up they can’t ignore.

Did You Forget?

One of the most common and stress-inducing parts of the morning rush is realizing that you forget to turn off the iron or coffeepot, or forgetting to lock the doors. Leaving it on or unlocked is not an option, but going back will definitely make you late—again. With smart home enabled devices, you can remotely turn off offending appliances or lock the doors from your smartphone or another internet connected device.

Make Areas Off Limits

If your kids get home before you do, they have time to get into things they shouldn’t. With access control, you can make certain places off limits and get a notification if anyone tries to gain access. This helps keep your kids, or their visiting friends out of harm’s way.

Unique Access Codes Let You know they are Home Safely

With unique access codes, you can know when each of your children gets home, and when. This prevents them from taking detours before getting homework done.

Know When or if They Leave

Are they leaving in enough time to make it to sports practice? Did they leave before their homework was done? Smart home technologies can help you manage the comings and goings by providing real-time alerts if any enabled door or window is opened.

Do They have Friends Over?

If you are away at work or running errands, it is easy for your house to become the place everyone gathers to play Xbox instead of getting their homework done. You’ll know if your home is a gathering place with alerts that tell you that your doors are being opened an unusual number of times.

No Gaming Until Work is Done

Use smart technologies to help you remove the distraction of television or gaming systems by disabling them until work is done.

Video Systems Let You Keep an Eye on Things

With real-time video, you can check in anytime and see that everything is on track. Are chores getting done, is homework finished? Access to real-time video helps ensure that your student is keeping academics a priority.

If you are interested in learning more about how home automation and access control technologies can help you manage the complexities of back-to-school, give Boyd & Associates a call today.