When you think of summer safety, most people think about swimming, sun, and fireworks safety. But we’d like to talk about neighborhood safety and welcome you to our monthly Safe Neighborhood section.
Whether you’re spending the day at the beach, traveling for a longer vacation, or enjoying summer in your own backyard, it’s important to be diligent about safety.
Here are some tips to help keep your home – and your family – safe.
- Ensure all doors and windows remain locked
- Keep lights on at night (timers help)
- If you are going to be out, don’t advertise your absence on social media
- Talk to your neighbors (get to know them, their schedules, and expected visitors
This may feel like you’re being nosey, but communication and connection with your neighbors is an important step to help minimize risk and keep your entire neighborhood safe. Using an app, like the Safe @ Neighborhood app shared below, can help tremendously. Think of it as the modern-day version of the Neighborhood Watch to help keep your home and family safe.
Ensure kids and the people they are spending time with know your expectations and rules around safety.
Speaking of family, it’s important to think about protecting children and teens during the summer months as many kids are exposed to new faces and strange places when they are out of school. Ensure kids and the people they are spending time with know your expectations and rules around safety, such as:
- No one-to-one alone time (adult to child time)
- No accessible firearms, alcohol, or drugs in the home
- No secrets kept from parents (surprises are okay but not secrets)
And because they have more free time during summer months, kids inevitably will spend more time on technology, exposing them to increased digital dangers. Educating and empowering youth to use technology and social media safely is a key safety concept for all ages.
Visit safeatneighborhoods.com for more tips on how to talk to your kids about technology safety and for additional safety resources.
