When it comes to keeping your family safe, installing a home security system is one of the most important steps you can take. It gives you an early warning if it senses smoke or carbon monoxide. It can help deter would-be burglars. Should someone break in, your home security system will send the police right away. People with home security systems rest easy knowing that whether they’re at home or away, their houses and families are much more secure.
Although many people don’t realize it, home security systems are also useful for solving another common family safety conundrum. Specifically, they provide peace of mind if you are wondering how to keep your teenager from sneaking out, inviting unwanted guests home with them, or engaging in risky behavior. During a period of time when many kids take every opportunity to break rules and push the limits, a home security system can help you keep tabs on them.
Keeping Tabs on the Teens
Today’s home security systems are nothing like the burglar alarms of the days of yore. Modern home security systems do much more than simply sound an alarm if the front or back door is opened while the system is armed.
Video surveillance, for example, gives you a way to check in on your teens from wherever you are. Remote video feeds accessed via your smartphone or computer will show you that your kids are safe at home, as well as let you know who all has returned home with them. Say goodbye to unauthorized visits from no-good boyfriends or impromptu parties while you’re away for the weekend!
Your security system can also allow your latchkey kids to send you a check-in report when they get home from school. All they need to do is simply enter their user code on the system keypad and you’ll be notified of their safe arrival home via e-mail or on your smartphone, depending on how the system is programmed.
Stop Sneaky Behavior In Its Tracks
For some parents, the biggest concern is how to keep your teenager from sneaking out. While video surveillance is helpful for monitoring their whereabouts when you’re away, what about when you’re at home in bed? Most of us can remember being that wily teenager creeping out the back door or climbing out a window. Not many of us want our own teenagers to recreate our youthful adventures!
That’s why a home security system that includes door and window sensors will not only help keep bad guys out; they’ll also help keep your teenagers in. With your alarm secured and set before bed each night, you can rest assured that when your kids are in for the night, they’re truly in for the night. As an added measure, exterior motion lights will ensure that no one can creep away from your house (or up to your house) unnoticed.
Secure Alcohol and Medication
What if your concern isn’t what your kid is doing away from your house, but the trouble they can potentially get into while at home? Teenagers have been sneaking into their parents’ liquor cabinets for years. We all remember the tricks we used to try to escape notice: drinking just a little from each bottle or refilling each one with a bit of water so it looks just as full as it was before. What seemed like harmless fun then looms as a huge worry now that we’re parents, ourselves!
Sadly, today’s teens are at risk of more than just alcohol. Young people are more likely than ever before to abuse prescription drugs or over-the-counter cold medicines, putting them at the risk of addiction or death. In addition to security sensors on your doors and windows, installing sensors on liquor and medicine cabinets will help you make sure that your teens and their friends are truly safe when they’re under your roof.
As complex as it can be to raise teenagers, knowing when they come and go and keeping them away from dangerous substances doesn’t need to be part of the puzzle. A comprehensive home security system can help take some of the guesswork out of raising your kids as they navigate through the moodiness and turbulence of the teen years.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 30 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.