Avoiding Regrets: 5 Ideas For Protecting Your Children From Harm
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As a parent, you want to do everything in your power to keep your kids safe and out of trouble. While setting rules, limitations and other guidelines is a good way to do this, it’s also important to take more proactive measures. After all, there are many things other than disregarding rules that can land children in danger. Here are five additional ways you can protect them from harm.
Home Security System
According to the FBI, roughly 200,000,000 burglaries occur every year. When a burglary happens at home, more than just your belongings are at stake. Children who are home at the time may also be in danger. Even if no physical harm comes to them, however, there is ample opportunity for lasting psychological or emotional damage. One way you can protect your children is to contact security companies like Vivint Home Security and have a home security system installed. A home security expert in San Bernardino CA suggested, “Besides helping to deter would-be burglars, [a home security system] can also enable faster response time by police and emergency personnel.”
Maintain Contact
It’s important to always have some way to stay in touch with your child. This can be critical in case of emergencies, if they get lost or if there’s a change of plans. Consider a pay-as-you-go cell phone for this purpose.
Monitor Internet Usage
With kids today learning to use computers before they can even speak in complete sentences, parental guidance is more important than ever. If there are certain websites or types of content you don’t want your child exposed to, consider installing parental control filters. Unfortunately, even these don’t offer full protection. There are ways to get around them, and once your child is older, they can learn to temporarily disable filters with ease. You should also make sure their computer is in a heavily-trafficked area so you can keep an eye on what they’re looking at. Don’t be afraid to view their browsing history, either. If you see something that concerns you, talk with them about it.
Know Their Friends
All parents should know their child’s friends, as well as those friends’ parents. When your child spends time with them, you want to know what kind of people they are, how they parent their child and how they behave around yours. Many children end up in trouble simply because they were with the wrong people at the wrong time.
Chaperone Parties
If your older children are invited to a party or similar gathering, ask whether a responsible adult will be present. If not, volunteer yourself for the task. A group of teenagers, when left to their own devices with no adult supervision, is a recipe for trouble. Having an adult presence there will act as a deterrent to most irresponsible behavior.
