Christmas time is over but Grande Prairie Safe Communities has shared some home-alone safety tips for kids and parents to ensure a secure stay for children left home alone.
Cindy Blinston, Executive Director for GP Safe Communities says the first step to take is ensuring your home and child are adequately prepared. She says simple steps like making a contact list and making a phone available for emergencies are key elements to ensure your child’s safety.
“Make sure you have your contact list clearly set out and on display for the kids to use if they need to call for help, knowing who’s close by they can go to for help if they need to leave the house for any reason,” she says. “We’re having a lot of parents rely on wifi and messenger and things like that and it’s not quite enough if you’re looking to start staying home alone.”
Additionally, Blinston says children under the age of 12 should not be left in charge of younger siblings, as home-alone is about “self-care and self-reliance” for your child.
Blinston says talking to your kids about home-alone safety is important even if they are not left alone for very long, or if a parent is still in the house as independence can be beneficial should a situation arise.
“Some kids are spending a little bit of time after school, [but] it can be as simple as if one parent is at work and one parent is mowing the lawn, we need to build up those skills.”
GP Safe Communities is holding a series of safety courses for parents and kids throughout 2024 and interested individuals can sign up on their website.
