DURING school holidays working parents are faced with tough choices of what to do with their children.
“Some older and responsible teenagers may be able to stay home alone and younger children may play under the watchful eye of a domestic worker, but it’s important to remind the whole family of security tips to stay safe,” said Blue Security managing director Henk van Bemmelen.
Don’t entertain fake meter readers. “There have been several cases across Durban where criminals have targeted homes during the day when a domestic worker has been present, so it’s vital that staff are briefed not to allow any unexpected visitors onto the property,” he warned.
He advised homeowners that if a plumber or electrician was expected to call, they give the domestic worker his name and ask her to confirm his identity before opening up. “The same goes for water and electricity meter readers, as criminals have again recently been posing as municipal contractors to gain entry and rob unsuspecting victims.”
Van Bemmelen said children should also be briefed not to open the gates without checking who is ringing the bell.
“Especially when it’s almost time for parents to arrive home. Children tend to rush to open the gates in anticipation, and they could unwittingly unlock for opportunistic robbers who have been known to target homes in the early evening,” he said.
Van Bemmelen advised parents to keep emergency contact numbers including the number of their security company, 10111 and their local police station, on the fridge and near the telephone and to teach children how to make an emergency call.
“Teach your children how to operate your alarm system. When you test your alarm system regularly, involve your children, let them press the panic button to familiarize themselves with the process so they will know exactly what to do if they ever need to call for help,” he said.
He advised parents to also leave their children with a cellphone enabled with the ICE (In Case of Emergency) service, which would enable them to alert their security provider to an emergency at the click of a button.
“It’s also important to teach your children not to divulge sensitive information to strangers who visit or call, such as the fact that they may be home alone or the time that you are expected to return home from work,” he said.
Van Bemmelen added that parents should also remind their children about online safety and ensure programmes were in place to prevent children from stumbling on unsuitable sites.
“Children tend to spend several hours playing on tablets, phones and laptops during the holidays. Parents who take an active interest in their children’s online activities will be able to avert their attention away from dangerous sites and behaviour, such as speaking to strangers in chatrooms designed for children, but which also host predators who pretend to be children,” he said.
Van Bemmelen advised parents to empower their children to be security conscious in a responsible manner without installing panic or fear.
