Having a teenager brings a whole new host of worries to parents, and teen safety is always top of mind when you give your kids more independence at home. Even if you’re not worried about your teen sneaking out or throwing wild parties, you may have concerns about leaving your teen home alone for extended periods of time. Is he staying out of trouble, using the appliances safely, inviting people over you don’t know, or locking up when he leaves? You may trust your child to act responsibly, but it can be nerve-wracking thinking about all the what-ifs and maybes.
How can you keep an eye on your teen’s activities while allowing the independence that all teens expect and crave? While it’s impossible to keep tabs on your child 24/7, Xfinity Home can help ease some of your anxiety and help ensure your teen is staying safe, even when you aren’t around.
Cameras help you keep tabs
Picture this: you leave for an overnight business trip or a weekend away. You think your teen is mature enough to stay home alone, but you want a little extra peace of mind. With Xfinity Home’s live video recording feature, you can check in on your teen in real-time, any time of day or night, right from the Xfinity Home app on your smartphone. Use the camera’s livestream footage to make sure that she made it home from practice or that she made it out the door for school on time. And if you need to double check that she’s not hosting too many friends, you’ll have that insight as well.
Cameras are recommended to be placed in open areas of the home, but cameras placed in strategic areas can help tell you if your teen is home and staying safe. Consider putting a camera in high-traffic areas (like the front door), in addition to strategic areas (like windows and garages). It’s easy to manage the cameras right from your smartphone or tablet.
For added protection, consider cameras as part of a home security solution. Nothing makes a parent more on edge than thinking about what could happen during an emergency. With a full Xfinity Home security system, your cameras can be connected to live professional monitoring; so you’ll have peace of mind knowing the authorities will be alerted immediately should any alarm be triggered. You can also arm and disarm alarms remotely from your smartphone.
Door and window sensors can detect unusual activity
If the thought of recording and live-monitoring your child seems too invasive to you, door and window sensors can also be an easy way to track movements. You can place sensors in high-traffic areas like the front door (or even your child’s bedroom door or window) to detect when he comes and goes. Real-time alerts can be sent right to your phone when a door or window is opened, so you’ll know that your child got home from school on time, made it out the door for work, or came home after curfew.
Sensors can also detect unusual activity and act as a safety mechanism when you leave your teen home alone. Motion sensors can be personalized based on your family’s schedules and preferences. If a door or window is opened unexpectedly, at an odd time when you know everyone is either away or sleeping, you’ll receive a real-time alert to check in and make sure everything is ok.
Control your home’s security remotely
Even the most responsible teens can be forgetful sometimes. If your child is the last to leave the house in the morning and forgets to set your home’s alarm, the Xfinity Home app allows you to do that conveniently from your smartphone. In addition to arming and disarming your system, the app also allows you to control the thermostat or turn on lights, so your teen won’t come home to a dark and cold house if nobody else is home.
Raising teens comes with a whole new host of worries, and teen mischief is par for the course. While your teenager is bound to test your limits and push boundaries, Xfinity Home can help remove at least part of the stress by keeping close tabs on your teen and acting as a second set of eyes when you aren’t present. Find out more about how Xfinity Home security systems can help keep teens safe while maintaining their new-found independence.
