A Smart Home Fit For A Teen!

Having a 16 year-old son myself, I know what a powerful aid my smart home is to help monitor and keep my family safe.

When reviewing our camera footage, we caught our teenage son going to the basement at 1:30 am, but not coming back upstairs. This was a red flag that made us think he was sneaking out of our basement window in the middle of the night. Without our smart cameras we would have never known.

But, now that we do know; what do we do about it? Well, home automation had a solution for us! We installed sensors on our basement door and windows that not only alerts our smartphone after 9:00 pm if opened, but also generates a loud alert over our Sonos speakers, “The basement door has been opened. Please check it out.”

Alll I can say is I’m really glad my parents didn’t have a smart home when I was a teenager. But seriously, such smart technologies are changing the way we live and parent. And in my opinion, changing it for the better.

Smart sensors are perfect for parents who also want to keep their teens out of liquor cabinets. Not a bad idea for mom and dad to put one on their bedroom door as well. If you think your kids aren’t snooping through your bedroom; think again! It’s not just toddlers who get into things they’re not supposed to, and sensors are proving to be a valuable asset to make sure kids of all ages don’t get into things they’re not supposed to.

Smart locks are another fantastic way to monitor when your teen comes and goes. Every family member has their own personal code. You can monitor who uses that code and when with an alert that goes to your smartphone. We went the extra step by making our Sonos speakers loudly greet our teen when he uses his door code. “Welcome home …” And, it also gives him the current time and temperature. We made sure the greeting is loud enough for us to hear in case he comes home after curt view and we’ve already gone to bed.  And, as long as your kid doesn’t have the password to your smart hub; no need to worry about them turning off your alerts.

Video monitoring in our main rooms is another obvious benefit to smart parenting. You’ll know if they have friends over when you’re not home. Best thing is you can watch remotely in real-time from anywhere on your smartphone. No Project X parties going on here!

Also, if your teen leaves for work you no longer have to wonder if the main door and/or garage door is closed and locked. And, if it’s not you can close and lock it from wherever you are. Your smart home can allows teens the opportunity to be responsible with none of the risk.

Bottom line is smart home technology is helping families stay safe and is allowing them to be more connected to one another than ever before. Home automation is taking some of the stress out of parenting, and keeping our kids safe. Well worth the investment! A beneficial, watchful, smart eye for parents who have kids (and pets) of all ages!