As parents, we never want to leave our children home alone, but sometimes it is unavoidable. When your child walks home from school, lets himself or herself into the house, and spends time in the house alone, it can result in sleepless nights for parents.
\nWith a few rules and reminders, you can help keep your child safe at home until you get there, and sleep a little better, too. Here are a few basics to keep in mind when your child must be alone at home:<\/p>\n
1.<\/strong> Start by talking to your child honestly about how they feel about being home alone. Your child\u2019s fears may be calmed with information about simple safety procedures in the house, such as locked windows and doors.<\/p>\n Sometimes it\u2019s the unknown that frightens a child. If your child knows he or she won\u2019t have to answer the door or the telephone, that may be enough to put their mind at ease. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to get to the bottom of your child\u2019s fear by discussing what\u2019s behind it.<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong> Make it clear to your child right off the bat that you are still in charge even when you are not at home. Rules must be followed to the letter or there will be consequences. Lay out rules and consequences that cannot be mistaken, argued, or misunderstood.<\/p>\n 3.<\/strong> Be sure your child knows how to contact the police and fire department in case of emergencies. Have all that type of information right by every phone in the house and on speed dial. Explain to your child what constitutes an \u201cemergency\u201d as kids have a wide range of emergency-like situations that could crop up, at least in their mind.<\/p>\n 4.<\/strong> Make sure your child knows his or her full name, address, and phone number. Also teach your child your full name, your work phone, your cell phone, and the name of your place of work. Include the names and phone numbers of other people who are your back-up support, such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends.<\/p>\n 5.<\/strong> Discuss the rules of the house that your child will need to follow when you are not home. Talk about simple things like what snacks to have, doing homework, and TV time. On the more important issues, be very clear.<\/p>\n Are any friends allowed in the house while you are gone? If some are and some aren\u2019t, be precise about which ones. Do you want your child answering the phone while you are gone? Is your child allowed to answer the door? Why do either when voice mail is available or someone at the door do can come back when you\u2019re home. Make your rules crystal clear so there are no excuses for mix ups and confusion.<\/p>\n 6.<\/strong> Going from school to home is probably the scariest part of this discussion for most parents. Before you allow your child to walk home alone, go over the route with him or her a few times. Remind your child never to deviate from the route. No matter how tempting it may be to visit that little puppy on the next block, if it\u2019s not on the route, it\u2019s not allowed.<\/p>\n Walk the route together and pick out safe areas both on the route and near your home where your child can get help if needed. These safe areas could be places such as stores or office buildings, or the house of a trusted friend or family member. Be sure you are perfectly clear about where these safe places are.<\/p>\n 7.<\/strong> Decide whether your child will carry a key or you will have one hidden at the house. If you hide one, be sure it is somewhere safe where your child won\u2019t be seen when the key is retrieved. If your child carries a key, be sure someone who is available has a spare. Be sure to teach your child to lock the door immediately upon entering the house.<\/p>\n Your child should then immediately call you to let you know he or she has arrived home safely. You can then ask your child a few questions about his or her day while your child walks through the house with the phone just reassuring you and himself or herself that everything appears to be in order.<\/p>\n 8.<\/strong>\u00a0Make sure you explain to your child that before they enter the house, be aware of anything out of the ordinary in the driveway, at the front step, or anywhere in the surrounding area. If something doesn\u2019t seem right, your child should go to the safe area in the neighborhood you picked out and call you.<\/p>\n If your child is in the house and spots something that seems odd or out of place (a broken window, a leaking pipe, an overturned chair, a fire alarm going off, etc.) your child should go to the safe area you have agreed on and call you.<\/p>\n Be sure your child understands the difference between calling you and calling the police. The most important thing is that your child is aware of his or her surroundings and that there is a safe area to go to where there are people who can help.<\/p>\n In a perfect world you would always be there for your children when they get home from school. But, there are times, either on occasion or more often, when this just won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n Preparing your child, and yourself, for this situation is important both for your child\u2019s safety and for your sanity. When you lay out the rules and give your child a clear explanation of what to do in all situations, everyone can rest easier.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this post please share with others and leave a comment below..<\/p>\n Lock arms with our team here!<\/p>\n Gregory Hall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As parents, we never want to leave our children home alone, but sometimes it is unavoidable. When your child walks home from school, lets himself or herself into the house, and spends time in the house alone, it can result in sleepless nights for parents. With a few rules and reminders, you can help keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1683,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4,5],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-empower-network","category-encouragement","category-family-and-kids","category-safety","tag-child-safety-after-school-alone-at-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1683"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/youwillwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n9.<\/strong> Last but not least, one of the first thing most children do after arriving home, is get something to eat. Make sure you have foods that can be easily prepared microwave ready so that your child will not have to turn on the stove.<\/p>\n