Keep your kids safe offline and online during the holidays

During the school holidays working parents are faced with tough choices of what to do with their children, as not everyone can afford to take a break. Some older and responsible teenagers may be able to stay home alone, and younger children may play under the watchful eye of a domestic worker, but its important to remind the whole family to be security conscious during the school holidays.
Help keep your kids safe with these security tips.
1. Don’t entertain fake meter readers. There have been several cases across Durban where criminals have targeted homes during the day when a domestic worker has been present. It’s vital that staff are briefed not to allow any unexpected visitors onto the property. If you are expecting a plumber or electrician, give your domestic worker or older children his name, and ask her to confirm his identity before opening up. The same goes for water and electricity meter readers, as criminals have again recently been posing as municipal contractors to gain entry and rob unsuspecting victims.
2. Never open gates without checking. Children should also be briefed not to open the gates without checking who is ringing the bell, especially when it’s almost time for parents to arrive home. At these times, children tend to rush to open the gates in anticipation and they could unwittingly unlock for opportunistic robbers who have been known to target homes in the early evening.
3. Do keep emergency numbers handy. We advise parents to keep emergency contact numbers, including the number of your security company, 10111 and their local police station, on the fridge and near the telephone and to teach children how to make an emergency call.
4. Teach children how to use the alarm system. When you test your alarm system regularly, involve your children, let them press the panic button to familiarize themselves with the process so they will know exactly what to do if they ever need to call for help. Leave your children with a cellphone enabled with the Blue Security mobile panic app, which would enable them to alert their security provider to an emergency at the click of the button.
5. Don’t divulge sensitive data. It’s also important to teach your children not to divulge sensitive information to strangers who visit or call, such as the fact that they may be home alone or the time that you are expected to return home from work.
6. Insist on online safety. Parents should also remind their children about online safety and ensure programs were in place to prevent children from stumbling on unsuitable sites.
Children tend to spend several hours playing on tablets, phones and laptops during the holidays. Parents who take an active interest in their children’s online activities will be able to avert their attention away from dangerous sites and behaviour, such as speaking to strangers in chatrooms designed for children, but which also host predators who pretend to be children.
Keep your kids safe by empowering them to be security conscious in a responsible manner, without installing panic or fear. What security tips have you shared with your family that have proved helpful in an emergency?