What images do you conjure when thinking about your kids being home alone?

By Jaime Siminoff, founder and chief inventor at Ring

In the 1990 movie, 8-year-old Kevin is accidentally left alone as his family heads to a vacation destination. His mother has a completely different reaction to Kevin. While his mother grows wide-eyed and wrought with fright, Kevin is gleeful, jumping on beds, using his dad’s shaving products, and enjoying domestic solitude as only an 8-year-old can.

That is Hollywood, but in reality, the potential dangers related to kids being home alone are real, leaving little room for comic relief. However, when considering solutions and advancements in technology, the notion of leaving children home may not be so scary. Actually, it may make a lot of sense and seem more practical compared to traditional alternatives.

Traditional solutions

* Afterschool programmes – Afterschool programmes are not cheap. Moreover, some programmes charge added fees for late pickups, same-day cancellations, and transporting kids. Afterschool programmes and centres, only open during the week and working hours, pose a problem for parents who want to leave home in the evenings or enjoy personal time on the weekends.

* Babysitters and nannies – Due to the limitations of afterschool and preferences of parents, some decide to hire babysitters and nannies. However, likewise, the cost of a qualified sitter is steep. Additionally, it requires effort and energy to find, research, and trust a stranger. Nannies and babysitters with great experience and references may provide a service similar to day care centres, making a portion of their homes a care centre. Driving to the nanny’s home creates an additional inconvenience for parents, and a sitter handling additional children limits one-on-one care.

Modern solutions

* Track your kids – An in-between solution entails allowing your child to stay at home in conjunction with going to local homes of friends and family members. While it may be awkward and costly to lean on a friend or member of the family full time, parents can leverage the community. There are also a number of apps for paranoid parents. These can track a child’s movements throughout the day, logging waypoints. Parents stay aware of their child’s location at all times.

* Monitor your front door – Child researchers urge parents to balance nurturing kids with encouraging maturity. There is no set moment a child becomes mature or old enough to be trusted at home alone, yet security solutions let parents give children the opportunity to earn trust. Video doorbells alert out-of-home parents of visitors. Also, it’s easy for kids to check in with parents when they get home, or for parents to see when their children arrive through the front door. Even better, with the free Ring app, parents can see and speak to visitors who remain unaware that unsupervised children are inside. Parents stay vigilant while kids don’t have to be afraid of who is at the door.

* Keep your keys – Handing over house keys to a child or hiding a spare along the property causes anxiety. While giving kids more responsibility can be a good thing, it’s too easy to think of mishaps involving lost or misplaced keys. Technology makes it easy for parents to grant kids access to the home, and ensure the doors stay locked and secured. Though parents may be reluctant to hand over house keys, they may feel comfortable enough to allow kids to access the house via a handheld control pad.

* Control your appliances – Knowing where your kids are, who is at the front door, and when the door is locked are incredible solutions. Yet some parents feel tense about what may take place inside the home. What if a child puts too much detergent in the washer? What if they try to use the oven? What if they leave all the lights on? A WiFi-enabled switch allows parents to control home appliances. Alternatively, put your devices on a schedule, allowing kids to have partial control over the home while you protect them (and your devices) from afar.

When it comes to children, achieving peace of mind will always be essential, but today’s solutions make it more practical and much safer for kids to be home alone. Today’s parents don’t have to settle on costly afterschool programs or babysitters. Wi-Fi-enabled and remote-controlled house elements give parents the integral peace of mind along with plenty of safe and smart options.