What to do when you have to leave kids alone at home

There is no legal age-limit for children to be left alone in the house, but sometimes parents have to leave their little ones alone without supervision.

“My three-year-old boy is alone in the house for at least 5 minutes when I drop my older one to the nursery which is just across the street,” said a parent living in The Springs area. “I take her along when she’s awake, otherwise I leave her in the house,” she added.

This mother, who doesn’t wish to be named, believes just walking across the street doesn’t take long and she is with the baby before he wakes up.

But as some unfortunate parents have found out in the worst possible way, it takes a split of a second for accidents to happen.

Still, there are times when parents have to leave their little ones alone alone, as in the case of this mother. In such cases, being prepared and child proofing your house can minimise the risk of any untoward happenings. While there is no substitute to 24/7 adult supervision of kids, below are a few things that can help in case of an emergency.

Kid-friendly gadgets

First and foremost, a baby monitor should be in place when the parent/caregiver is not in the same room with the child/infant. These days, baby minitors come loaded with a host of features, which make it easier to track the kids' every sound and movement.

Besides the very basic monitors, talk-back facility monitors are a good option. These devices let you talk to your baby by speaking into the parents' unit. The sophisticated ones also come with a sensor pad that goes under the mattress and sounds an alarm if the baby stops moving or breathing. Many good baby monitors some with a video function, which lets you see what exactly the baby is doing. Some very good monitors can cover up to 600m of distance, as per claims by manufacturers.

Baby monitors are good when it comes to little ones who sleep in their cribs and cannot come out without help. For the older ones, video security cameras, including many wireless models, can be used. With the right set up, you could even hook up a wireless camera to your smartphone to see your child sleep/play over your home wireless network.

Etisalat’s Kids Safety Mobile is an integrated safety solution that makes it easy for parents to contact their children and to find out where they are. The system uses advanced GPS technology. Parents can use the secured website to look up the position of the child.

If your child is with a babysitter but you are still apprehensive about leaving your loved one alone with her, you can also have cameras as a hidden in-home video surveillance system to monitor babysitters. These are called nanny cameras that can be hidden in a stuffed animal or clock, you can use a regular wireless video camera.

Child-proof homes

Besides cameras, basic childproofing the house can go a long way. For those who live in high-rise, childproofing a balcony should be a top priority.

Installing the fence or any protective covering over your balcony is a good option. Many people these days use a transparent balcony shield. A plexiglas or lexan is a type of protective shield that can be used but may not be readily available. The parents may have to order this. All doors and windows should have child locks in place.

For people living in villas, basic child safety gates should be installed at the staircase. Baby locks for cupboards and kitchen drawers are easily available. For bigger houses with pools, a pool child safety alarm can also be a good idea.

Swimming pools in the house should not be left open and in order to ensure adequate safety, a fibre glass fence can secure the area properly. The normal iron grill doors and fencing is not too safe and children can slide through them.

Parents can also opt for installing a pool safety alarm on the swimming pool gate. This alarm will sound whenever the child opens the gate or door of the swimming pool. Another child safety alarm comes in the form of a waistband that produces a loud sound, whenever it is immersed in water. So if your child manages to reach the swimming pool, you would immediately be alerted about it.

A similar car safety alarm can be used if you are apprehensive about kids playing in the parking area. These alarms can ward off accidents by alarming you when your child comes too close to your car.

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