Guest Post:
Keeping a defiant teen safe in today’s high-tech world presents challenges many parents never dreamed of. While most parents consider their home to be the safest place for all members of the family, it can also be a teen’s strongest accomplice in bad behavior. The good news is that parental supervision coupled with home design elements can trump a teen’s energy and ingenuity nearly every time. Let’s review some proactive strategies to make your home work in your best interest and not your teen’s.
Monitoring Your Teen’s Home Internet Usage
Home is no longer the castle it used to be. A teen can use the internet to push what were once well-defined boundaries between home and the outside world and invite negative influences through the proverbial front door. While a teen’s friends are often just one click away, he can be exposed to cyber-bullying and sexual predators via email, chat rooms, instant messaging, and social networks. This is an area of risk where your home can become your ally. Don’t allow your teen to access the internet from a private room like the bedroom. Bring the teen’s computer out into a common area—in your kitchen, den, or study, for example—so you can monitor online activities. Familiarize yourself with the lingo like “POS” (Parent over shoulder) and “LMIRL” (Let’s meet in real life), so you know what you’re looking at. A specialized computer cabinet with a lock adds another layer of parental oversight and control.
Keeping Your Teen at Home
While you don’t want to create a punitive, detention-like atmosphere, a well-designed home can be a powerful ally in controlling your teen’s whereabouts. The classic escape route for a grounded teen is through a window, back door, or basement door or window. Identifying escape routes is a first step towards keeping your teen safe, and this is where a security expert can be invaluable. You can’t stay awake 24/7 to monitor who sneaks in and out, but a home security system never sleeps. An alarm system, motion-activated lights, and cameras are all useful tools that will ensure your home is not acting as your teen’s accomplice, but as your eyes and ears instead.
Taking these proactive steps will help minimize unwanted teen behavior and ensure that your home is maximized for a very important parental goal—keeping your defiant teen safe and secure.
Author Bio
Hayley is a home security specialist, author and blogger. She recommends securitychoice.com for the best ADT home security alarms.
