Raising kids isn’t always easy, especially when you’re dealing with the ultra tech-savvy generation Z. Chances are your kid probably knows how to unlock your iPhone before he or she even begins to speak. Living in a smart home has its perks. By outsourcing mundane tasks to machines, you won’t have to worry about switching off lights not in use, turning off the dishwasher, or readjusting the thermostat.
So the question is how do you make your smart home a safe place for your intelligent, hyper-active kids? Take a look at some of the ways to make your smart home kid-friendly.
Ensure Adequate Lighting
Many children are afraid of the dark, and they often have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. By installing nightlights, you can easily help your children overcome their fear of the dark.
There are various sensor lights that can be controlled through smartphones or smartwatches. Consider putting up these lights along the hallway between the bathroom and the bedrooms. Next, you’ll need to connect these lights to a central hub so that they can automatically turn on whenever your child opens the bedroom door.
Invest in Smart Assistants
Amazon Alexa is a wonderful invention that has simplified the lives of adults all over the globe. However, the device may not be suitable for children, who often end up accessing mature content or compromising their own security.
Despite the pitfalls of smart assistants, it is still important to get your children acquainted with this technology. Typically, a high-quality kid-friendly child assistant is capable of:
- Recognizing whenever a baby wakes up
- Soothing a baby back to sleep by playing lullabies
- Assisting children with their homework
- Offering assistance in multiple languages
- Monitoring kids with the help of an in-built camera
Purchase Smart Toys
No smart home is complete without a few smart toys, and these toys don’t have to be fancy electronic helicopters or hover-boards. Some smart toys, such as Mattel View Master Deluxe VR, rely on virtual reality. These devices can easily transport your child to a trip on a space shuttle or an exciting wildlife safari. Other smart toys play an important role in helping children develop their cognitive skills. They offer various mentally-stimulating activities.
Consider Home Security
Despite having the best technology in place, you should never compromise on your child’s safety. There have been many instances of smart toys secretly recording a child’s video and logging their activities.
Before buying any home security product, make sure to read its reviews and understand its features. Are the construction materials safe? Are there any stories circulating about the dangers of using the product? Does the system offer sufficient parental controls? These are some of the questions you should consider before purchasing any home security system.
Assess the Quality of Air in Your Home
When it comes to making a smart home kid-friendly, you’ll have to go the extra mile and consider things you may have previously ignored. The biggest environmental threat children face comes from the quality of air they inhale at home.
Excessive carbon monoxide buildup kills several Americans every year. By investing in a home automation safety system, you can receive regular updates on the quality of air in your house and the presence of any irritants. These systems are also helpful in identifying toxic molds.
Install Door Sensors
Toddlers have an adventurous side to them, and they love to explore their environment. It’s almost impossible to stop your little one from climbing out of the cot and crawling around the room. However, it is quite easy to keep a check on your toddler using smart tech.
There are various door sensors that can help you monitor if your child is entering an unsafe place. These sensors send notifications to your phone as soon as they sense a toddler approaching a no-go area.
Use Geofencing
Geofencing has been making headlines ever since the concept of smart homes was first introduced. The technology uses GPS to keep your child at home safe, by creating a virtual boundary every time you step out of the home.
You can easily instruct a geofence to switch on your home security system as soon as you step outside and turn it off whenever your kids return home from school. By installing a geofence, you won’t have to worry about locking the doors or turning on the security system every time you go out.
Some geofencing systems come with a child proximity alarm. These systems create a virtual boundary and alert you every time your child steps out of this boundary. Child proximity alarms are quite useful at homes, and they can also be used safely in public places.
Put Up Smart Fire Alarms
Conventional fire alarms are great, so long as they don’t run out of batteries. Once the battery weakens, there is no way to tell when a fire breaks out until it is too late. Even if these alarms are operational, they’ll go off over something as trivial as cigarette smoke.
Smart fire alarms don’t work that way. These alarms identify the type of fire as well as its source of origin. In the event a fire breaks out, these systems will send you a notification on your cellphone. The sooner you know about the fire, the easier it will be to stop it from spreading.
Smart homes are becoming a norm nowadays, and more and more companies are designing groundbreaking technological innovations to keep the home secure. It is expected that most of the homes in the United States will turn into kid-friendly smart homes with a safe and secure environment.
by Bobby J Davidson
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