Written by: Emily Joswiak • January 18, 2022• Lifestyle

What To Do Before Letting Your Child Be Alone at Home

Leaving your child alone at home for the first time can be pretty scary for both of you. These tips will help you and your kid feel much better about it.

As a parent, you might often wonder what to do before letting your child be alone at home. There is a lot that they’ll need to know how to do, and it’s not always easy to remember it all when you’re in a rush. Hopefully, you’ll think back to this article when that time comes and go through this checklist of simple preparations.

Explain Why They’ll Be Home Alone

One of the most important things you can do is talk to your kids about why you’re leaving them at home. Let them know that you have confidence in their abilities and explain what they can expect to happen while they’re home alone. This will help set expectations for you and your child and give them a sense of security.

Establish Some Ground Rules

This is where you share with your child the rules they should keep in mind while you’re away. Some examples may include no playing outside, no having friends over, and checking in every couple of hours to let you know what’s going on. You want to make sure these things won’t be too difficult for them to follow, and they understand the importance of following them.

If you want to make the checking-in process more manageable, you should get them a child’s smartwatch. They can help make parenting easier in a few ways, but they’re the handiest when you’re not around.

Make Sure They Know How To Contact You

In case of an emergency, your child must know how to get in touch with you. Give them your phone number and the number for emergency services. If possible, you should also leave them a list of other contacts they can reach out to if something happens while you’re away and they can’t reach you. This will help give them peace of mind in case something goes wrong.

Provide Them With Things To Keep Them Occupied

Another thing you’ll want to do is provide your child with a list of activities they can do if they get bored while you’re away. This could include watching TV, playing outside, or quietly reading in their room. These are all safe options for them when you’re not around.

Check In on Them Yourself

Finally, be sure to check in on your child while you’re away. Your kid won’t always remember to call you, so you can call them every hour or so to see how they’re doing or stop by the house to make sure everything is OK. The most important thing is that you stay connected with them and let them know that you’re always there for them if they need you.

Leaving your child home alone can be a scary experience for both of you. Fortunately, with these tips, you know what to do before letting your child be alone at home. You can rest assured that they’ll be safe.

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Last modified: January 18, 2022