When you have children, the security of your home becomes even more crucial. As they get older, you’ll have to strike a balance between your family’s security and their wants and responsibilities.
It is critical to secure your home’s entrance. Unfortunately, the days of leaving our front doors unlocked so that our children could come and go whenever they pleased are long gone.
As a result, all new parents face a difficult decision: when to give their children the keys to the house. What considerations should be made, and what is the best course of action?
When is the best moment to do something?
Many parents consider starting high school the best time to give keys to their children. It is an important moment as it represents a shift towards adulthood in terms of responsibility because they become much more self-sufficient, going to and from school and organising their own after-school activities. Typically this is when children also get smartphones as additional sign of trust.
The age of 11 or 12 seems to be a popular choice for the handing over of keys. However, allowing children to have keys as soon as they were obliged to be at home alone was a more common option.
Keys being lost or forgotten by children is a common worry but show them that there are consequences – being forced to wait outside the house because you forgot to grab your keys is a useful lesson in responsibility.
The rule of law
When it comes to leaving your children alone, keep in mind that while there is no specific age limit for when a child can be left alone in the UK, it is an infraction to leave a child alone if it puts them in danger.
Children under the age of 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for an extended period of time, according to the NSPCC, and children under the age of 16 should not be left alone overnight. They also recommend that toddlers, and very young children should never be left alone.
When it comes to older children, you must use your best judgement as a parent to determine whether or not it is OK to leave your child alone. Examine their comprehension of the responsibilities you’re considering entrusting them with. Run through several “what if” situations with them and do so a few times over a period of time to evaluate if their logic is sound and they will do the right thing.
Doing things correctly
What’s the best approach to proceed once you’ve decided to give your children a key? How can you make sure they get the most out of their newfound freedom and responsibility while keeping your home safe?
If you don’t want your child to carry a key about with them all the time, leave one in a secure location, such as a neighbour’s house. However, no matter how neatly disguised your keys are, we don’t recommend leaving them outside. As an alternative, you may put a key box outside your door and encourage your youngster to return the key there once they’ve let themselves in.
Of course, there will come a moment when you’ll want your child to always have a key with them. The goal is to make it as difficult as possible to lose the key. One popular method is to attach a key to something less likely to get lost, like a school bag or wallet.
At first, some parents are apprehensive about not knowing when their child will return home. With the smart key reader, Ultimate Alarms provides a smart key card alternative to traditional keys with added security. With personalised key cards, you can place the reader at your front door and use your phone to track the admission and exit times of individual family members.
Looking for a home security company in Glasgow for your smart access & door entry requirements? Your home’s security is an investment, so you need a reliable, established installer. Ultimate Alarms has got you covered across west central Scotland. Call Ultimate today.
