Best After School Home Monitoring

When kids reach an appropriate age, it’s not uncommon for them to make their own way home from school and let themselves into the house when parents are still at work.  They are home alone or perhaps with a younger or older sibling but there aren’t any adults present at this time.  It’s believed that most kids today can do well in these situations, but during this “home alone” time, problems can occur which could be beyond their scope of reasoning.  They might not know how to take the proper actions in certain situations.  They may need your help.  This guide on the Best After School Home Monitoring Cameras and Safety Devices helps you find simple and safe solutions to help prevent a possible tragedy.

Why Monitor Kids After School?

Security cameras for kids just sounds strange right?  Well chances are they have already facetimed their friends, or video called the grandparents.  Plus today’s kids have quickly gotten used to being near cameras.  So internet based video is nothing new.  IP cameras are simply web cams.  Security cameras (the IP kind) are basically web cams we can easily access on our smartphones or computers.

Piece of mind so you are free to focus on what you’re doing.

Ease any worry when it’s the end of the day and you are not able to be home yet.  See what’s happening and who’s doing what.  Know who’s home yet and see if the house is in order.

Life seems to get busier year after year, and sometimes kids are granted opportunities for increased independence.   Parents may work more hours, or have night schooling which may leave kids home by themselves.  Having a communication method, between home and a parent or guardian, is a great way to aid in those independent moments and stay safe.  Not only can you know they arrived home, but you can be there for any questions or issues they may have.

There are many influences facing kids today and it can be very difficult to stay clear of bad situations.    Having a surveillance camera, or safety monitor device at home can let the parent(s) in on what activities are occurring at home.  Anything from a stranger coming to the house, an appliance or plumbing that is malfunctioning, or even unwanted parties or friends can be viewed, and allow the parent(s) a heads-up as to what is going on.

By this point you may be thinking why not just give them a phone to call when they get home?  That’s a good idea.  Now what do you do when they “forgot” to call?  Or “I didn’t see your text”.  I’m sure they will always keep you in the loop, right?  Handing over a cell phone or smartphone might not be the best choice for some children.  It could be misused, confiscated for having it at school, or simply lost somewhere.  Having a dedicated system or device in the home is a more permanent method for security.  Plus it’s cheaper.  Much cheaper in the long run.

Communication between family members is one aspect, but making your home safer to live in, is easier than ever.  It doesn’t take a large fancy camera system, it can be done with a few small devices around the home.   A temperature sensor for example will keep a lookout for any high heat situations, where glass sensors can send an alert if windows are broken.

Safety for the Home

Keeping the house secure and safe is up to you, and how ahead of the curve you can be.  Locking cabinets that contain harmful cleaners or maybe alcohol, keeping hallways and stairs clear to prevent falling, or having smoke alarms in the correct locations are all simple things to accomplish that make a positive impact overnight.   More on these things later in the article.

Best After School Cameras

Let’s cover home security cameras first and later we’ll cover safety devices.  The best camera is one that fits your needs and budget.  The market today has almost every type of camera at every price point you can imagine.  There is a camera that will do just what you want it to (within reason) and priced right for you.  The market has so many brands, there is a perfect camera for you somewhere.

The parents of this deer family added a camera to there wood and look, all the neighborhood kids are over late at night!  You never know what your camera will pick up!

Types of Home Security Cameras

It was once an analog camera world, where all you could really buy for a house security system was a nice 600TVL DVR and handful of cameras.   Then as technology progressed what was once a sophisticated advanced feature, take “night vision” for example, is not a standard feature of any decent security camera.  So most have an array of features such as night vision, IP connectivity, cloud services, and most importantly, HD quality images!

Indoor vs. Outdoor Cameras

Outdoor cameras are typically larger and more robust in structure than indoor cameras.  Although sizes are shrinking every generation of design, but expect a unit that will fit in both hands.  Outdoor cameras need to be weather resistant.  Generally they carry an IP rating of a number between 65 and 68.  This is a weather repellant rating regarding the dustproofing and waterproofing of the camera chassis.   Many cameras are capable of being both an indoor and outdoor camera, its just up to you which type serves your needs the best.

The indoor cameras are much more cute and smaller in size than the outdoor surveillance cameras often are.    These will be easy to stand on a shelf or tabletop, and the wires are typically fashioned down the back of the furniture.  Smaller units from Arlo or Blink for example, blend into the room very easily and are hardly noticeable.

Even mama’s baby has a camera to communicate…

Features such as nigh vision, and PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) are common for both indoor and outdoor models.  Powering an outdoor model may be a bit more involved, as you need to access an outlet either in or out of the home.  With a small amount of planning this can be overcome thou.

Wired Cameras

Wired cameras are just that.  Everything is wired.  There will be a cable for the video signal and one for the power.  Sometimes cameras will use what is known as a combination cable,  or an all purpose cable that can handle both the video signal and the power to the camera.  This is known as POE or power over ethernet.
Wired security cameras, like Wireless, or Wire Free have their own pros and cons.  Also both varieties, IP and analog cameras are within the ‘wired security camera’ family.  Find the best home NVR in our NVR guide here.

• One major pro to the camera is a good reliable connection for video transfer and a steady power signal.  The video signal does not have to rely on ‘over-the-air’ transmission to relay information such as a Wi-Fi camera would.  Also the lag time for the signal between the camera and the viewer is reduced by not depending on a network connection over the air.
• A second advantage would be the power supply is a constant AC wall outlet, unless there is a power outage it’s never interrupted.
  As a result of having wires or cabling to run, this ultimately leads to one of the bigger cons of the cameras, which is they need a solid location for mounting and a suitable way to conceal the wiring into the home.  Wired home security cameras are generally more economical than the wireless counterparts.

Home security has an endless river of features and chassis styles to pick from.  So you will find something that meets your needs.

Wireless Cameras

Wireless camera must mean there are no wire at all right?  Eh no, there is most likely still a power wire.  The ‘wireless’ part simply applies to the video signal.  On many camera models there is an actual plug for an Ethernet cable to be connected, but the main function of the camera will be Wi-Fi based.  Today 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is the standard for many wireless security cameras, but there are some that take advantage of 5GHz..

• The absence of a video cable can be a major benefit for the installation of the camera, as only an outlet near by is needed.  The majority of web cams on the average everyday network is powered by a simple 5+ VDC adaptor, which means there is not a high voltage connection at the camera, and more importantly there is very low current draw, so small gauged wires will do just fine for installation purposes.
• The con side of these cameras is the video transmission can be interrupted by Wi-Fi issues or weather.   Too many wall between the camera and the router will affect the performance.  It would be wise to test the camera in the area you plan on installing it to be sure it functions strongly over your network.

Wire-Free Cameras

Now on the market, we have ‘Wire-Free’ cameras.  They have been around for a few yeas but the category has been set in stone now.  The wire-free camera yes, finally, has zero wires.  Many have an optional wire pigtail for connecting an actual cable.

• What this means is it only needs a Wi-Fi connection, and a battery.  Well plus a good mounting location.  The batteries offed in many wirefree security cameras are lithium ion based cells that offer months of charge time while being rechargeable at the same time.  This all depends on how active your camera is of course.
• The cons associated with the wire-free class are signal transmission loss due to the network thing remember, and power issues due to weak batteries.  These days there is a lot of power stored in the lithium ion cells as a result of improved technology.  A typical camera circuit will not draw much juice, but it is all dependent on the activity of the home security camera.

Hidden Cameras

A completely camouflaged appearance keeps these cameras out of sight.  Basically no appearance at all.  They are typically not as high of quality, or user friendly as the full outright security camera brands can offer.  But the advantages are no one will notice they are on camera.

Hidden cameras are basically designed for strangers or visitors.  It’s not much of a practical situation if the whole family knows the book on the shelf is fake.  But it would serve it’s purpose to unknowing visitors.

Doorbell Cameras

As for the front entrance of the home, a video doorbell security camera can be very practical.  Doorbell cameras offer a friendly way to monitor visitors.  They don’t have the presence of a large bullet camera glaring down at you from above, and allow communication between the homeowner and visitor.  It’s simple to install as well because it’s just goes where your current doorbell is located.

Every month the market for home security video doorbell cameras expands.  The features and cloud services offered make owning and using them fast and easy.  These products work well and do their job, unfortunately some bad apples have nothing better to do, see the Ring report here.. so be careful with any device you may use around the house.  Everything is vulnerable to hackers, it’s just there are more honest people than bad, so a small percentage of us will ever encounter something as this.

Drone Cameras

Yes that’s right drone cameras are here, and more are coming.  Do you ever hear of the robo-vacuums that drive around your house on autopilot, faithfully cleaning all the little crumbs everywhere.   Well the next generation of security cameras will do the same, only without the cleaning part.  Flying drone cameras will be motion activated and fly to where it needs to go to track the activity.  Don’t laugh now,  you’ll have neighbors with one flying around  in no time.  Maybe watching you take the trash out!

Here is the Amazon ring expected to be out this year on a Forbes article.  I thought Forbes was about financial stuff?  Until then here are some really nice drones that are user-friendly after initial setup.

Facial Recognition Cameras

This is not for every home in the heartland.  The feature of facial recognition is a new area for residential security and it probably only becomes necessary when there is a lot of traffic from non-party or non-family members.  Situations such as a backyard cookout, or a neighbor walking up the sidewalk may benefit from AI (artificial intelligence) FR.

Here is an economical model for home use that can detect people and pets.  Yes that’s right.

Best After School Safety Devices

Cameras are only one category of home security.  Many gadgets and devices are available to increase the safety of your home.  If a smart home is something you are interesting in, then whole home monitoring systems are very user friendly.  While adding a single device is also a possibility.

Home Safety Devices

Door and Window Sensors

These sensors are easily installed and offer some piece of mind for very little work.  A sensor of this type will activate an alert or notification when activity is sensed.  Door sensors will activate when the door is opened.  And window sensors will activate when a large vibration is detected.

Many ‘smart’ sensors can listen for loud noises with the home or near an outside location.  It’s common to have a test mode plus low battery indicators for a weak power source.

Clean Mudrooms and Stairs

Nothing can make a dash into the house when the days over worse than tripping over a bookbag, or slipping down steps, because jackets or bags where left laying around the floor.  Get those items picked up and out of foot traffics way.  There are lots of great coat racks that will accommodate 30lbs. or more.

Smoke Detectors and Fire Safety

Every home should have a few of these and you probably already do.  Smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher in the garage and in the home (most likely kitchen) are a brilliant investment in safety for your family.

If you get one especially for the kitchen, make sure it is the correct type for that use.  Grease fires are different than say electrical fires, and you will want the right type should you ever need it.  Here is an awesome site describing all the specific grades of extinguishers here.

Two Way Communication Devices

Fun gadgets exists too.  Not every safety device has a heartless appearance.  Maybe you like the idea of a robot making its way around the house allowing easy Wi-Fi communication?

Away From Home Safety Devices

Yes even monitoring family away from home can be done for a small monthly charge, but it’s world wide.  Keep track of loved ones, not just in your house, nor the yard, but yes the entire globe can be monitored with some of todays user friendly apps and gizmos.  Try the Tracki GPS device paired with mobile app and locate anything, nearly anywhere.

Home Monitoring Final Thoughts

Where To Place Home Cameras

There are many options for the actual camera placement and where you plan to use it can relate to what type you need.  Determine where the most traffic is and start from there.

The front door is of course the main entry point of the home for many families.  Although at our childhood home the back path and backdoor was where we entered after coming home from school.  Where ever your traffic resides, it may be a perfect placement point.

The living room can be a location with high traffic and the place where the most activity happens after school since the TV is probably there too.  This can show snack time and general activity so it’s a prime spot.

The kitchen…of course that has traffic.  One thing to note about the kitchen is it’s home to appliances that can generate high amounts of heat.  A water source is also near and that can get out of hand if not careful.  Plus the possibility of choking is high in the kitchen.  This may not be something to prevent with any device, but it is worth mentioning as it is one of the top most fatal accidents around the home.

How easy is it to use a smartphone for home security?

It is a little more involved than just getting a text.  You may have a notification showing 10 seconds of video, when what you need to see is what just happened…somewhere past that 10s point… meaning you need to jump through your camera’s app and find that time in the timeline, then wait for it to load.

Application features as this example are what you will need to do some homework on to find what works best for you.  Maybe a subscription will give a longer notification, solving the above issue.  Little variables like this are what you and only you are going to be best at overcoming.

Do your homework and you shall have a useful tool to aid in daily life.  The Best After School Home Security Monitoring and Safety Devices article thanks you for making it this far.