Wireless Home Alarms – Top Ten Safety Tips for Parents with Children Home Alone

Earlier this year, when we were in the annual “back-to-school” frenzy, I was pleased to see our technology partner, Alarm.com, issue a Top Ten list of home security tips for parents with kids home alone after school.  After all, it was Alarm.com who developed the alarm industry’s safest and most interactive wireless alarm monitoring technology. These are the key elements of Alarm.com's offering:

• First, Alarm.com provides the digital GSM cellular radio that is built into every FrontPoint GE wireless alarm system.
• Next, they provide the GSM monitoring platform that makes every FrontPoint system safer: no phone line required, and no phone line for an intruder to cut.
• They also provide the interactive services that allow you to arm and disarm your system remotely, receive text or email notifications on your system’s activity, and even let you view live video on any web-enabled device from cameras in your home.
• Finally, Alarm.com also developed the patented “Crash and Smash” feature that makes your alarm system virtually undefeatable. You can read up on this feature here.

The great advice in this Top Ten list is relevant throughout the year. So, with a sincere “Thanks!” to the home security specialists at Alarm.com, here it is. I’ve edited the list a bit for this format – and here’s a link to the original article:

The good news for parents with daily work obligations and other commitments is the availability of innovative, easy-to-use and affordable home security systems and monitoring technologies to keep track of kids remotely when parents are not around. Below are 10 tech tips for you to safeguard your kids when they are home alone after school:

1. Install a security system integrated with remote monitoring technology. Not every activity that happens at home when you are not around requires police or fire response—but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t want to know about them. Use strategically placed motion-triggered sensors in your home to find out when the kids get home from school, if the liquor or medicine cabinet is opened, and more.
2. Utilize cameras to look in at any time. Security cameras integrated with advanced interactive technology will truly change the way you’ll see your home. Security cameras and video monitoring technology give you the ability to view live streaming video, receive motion-triggered video clips and control cameras remotely from your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android) or computer.
3. Take security with you. Whether it’s an iPhone app, BlackBerry app or Android app, you can check current system status, see recent events, view live video and update your security system settings from anywhere, at any time.
4. Don’t rely on the phone line or Internet to power your system. Many security systems today unfortunately still depend on unreliable telephone lines that can easily be cut by a burglar, or internet that can go down at any time. Try to find a security system that works on a wireless network, such as GSM. By using a wireless home security system, a signal can be sent to the central monitoring station faster and more efficiently for an immediate emergency response.
5. Set up real-time notifications via email or text message. Choose a security system that offers real-time email and text message notifications to be sent to you about events that matter most so you are always in the know.
6. Have more insight and control with home automation. Home energy management systems will give you the ability to make smarter energy decisions more conveniently, so you can stay up-to-date on what’s happening at home when you are not there. With these home automation solutions, you can, from your computer or mobile phone, remotely monitor and control temperature, lights and door locks.
7. Set up schedules and automatic reminders for your security system. Today’s home security systems don’t just allow you to set customized alerts when an activity does occur, but also when an expected event does not occur. You can now set up “no-show” alerts so that if a child does not arrive home from school within the expected time window you will receive an instant notification.
8. Be prepared and stay protected. Seek security systems that provide a higher level of protection. The best protection ensures that even if an intruder enters a home and quickly smashes your security control panel, a signal will still be sent to the central monitoring station for help.
9. Manage all security system users. It’s not just the head of the household that’s arming and disarming your home security system. What about the babysitter, the contractor, a cleaning crew or a pet sitter? Make sure to use a security system that allows you to set up multiple users and customize settings for each one.
10. Regularly review event/activity history. It’s important to install a security system that allows you to have remote monitoring and system control with interactive services and also makes sure you can view and save your event history. Why? To ensure your family’s safety, you should regularly access a searchable security event history and look for any unusual patterns. This will also allow you to look back at that history in case of a security breach and pull any information you may want or need to report to authorities.

There you have it, from the folks who know. Alarm.com “wrote the book” on interactive, wireless home security. FrontPoint is proud to partner with them – and also to pass on these valuable guidelines to parents. When it comes to home alarm systems that are safer, smarter, simpler, and more affordable, people look to FrontPoint – just as we look to Alarm.com for the technology that sets us apart from the competition.