There comes a time in your child’s life where you face the great debate of whether or not they are ready to stay home alone. Whether that be when you go off to work or maybe just out for a date night. When exactly is the right time to trust your kids to stay home alone and whether or not they are mature enough or not. Today I am going to be talking about a few of the basic rules that you should probably teach your kiddos before you let them stay home alone.
No Friends Over
It is important not to invite anyone over to the house when kids are home alone, make sure they know this. If they want to have a friend over while they are home alone make sure that you are fully aware of who the person will be and have them come over before you leave the house.
Don’t Open the Door for Anyone
Make sure your kids know that they should not open the door for ANYONE. Regardless of what the person on the other side of the doors says, they could be anyone and they could be lying. It is best if they know to just not let anyone in.
Lock the Doors
Keep all doors locked at all times! Make sure there is no way of entry for intruders or robbers. This way, you can ensure that you can protect what means most to you. When it’s just kiddos at home you don’t want to take the risk of anyone walking through that door that isn’t supposed to. Of course, their safety is the most important thing but you also need to do what you can to protect your possessions. So, always make sure you have good coverage when it comes to home insurance, just in case an intruder does manage to gain entry and proceeds to steal from you.
Leave Lights On
When the kids are home alone you want to make sure that it doesn’t look like they are home alone. Maybe try leaving a few lights on throughout the house and if you have more than one car, leave one in the driveway. This makes it look as though an adult is home and there is less chance of an intruder.
Don’t Tell Anyone You’re Home Alone
Make sure your kids know to refrain from telling ANYONE that they are home alone whether that be on the phone if someone calls, in text messages, or even through social media. A kid home alone putting a big target on your house for robbers and intruders.
Do Not Leave the House
Make sure the kids know that they should NEVER leave the house when you are not home. It is dangerous for them to leave the house even if it is just to go outside in the neighborhood. The safest situation is simply for them to stay inside until you are home.
I know it may be really hard to leave your kids home alone because you don’t want to admit the fact that they are growing up. You have to trust them eventually and know that they are mature enough to stay home alone. If you’re feeling apprehensive about the whole situation, do a basic trial run where maybe you just run to the store really quickly while they stay home alone and see how it goes. Work your way up from there and they will be more and more trustworthy.