How Parents Can Use Technology To Keep Kids Safe On Halloween

As a parent you have your work cut out for you during Halloween. The most important task you have is ensuring your child’s safety during trick-or-treating night. Trick or treating is normally a harmless expedition, but there can be some risks. Sometimes tweens and teens do bad things and some of it could be from the anonymity created by costumes and masks. You can rest assured Michael Myers isn't roaming the streets, but there is no denying you should always take extra caution and technology can help. Here are some apps and devices to help protect your child and your family during Halloween.

1. Apple Air Tags and Samsung SmartTags. These devices have gotten a lot of negative press lately because of criminals and abusers using them to track their victims, but when used right these devices can actually keep your little trick-or-treaters safe when they are out and about. You just need to place these devices on your child and you can use Apple and Samsung's location services to know where they are at all times.

2. Alexa Show/Google Nest Home. If you keep up with me, you know how much I love smart home hubs such as the ones made by Amazon and Google. These devices allow you to do a variety of things like stream spooky Halloween music from Amazon Music, Google, Pandora, and Spotify. You can also use them to monitor wireless cameras and smart doorbells to check for Trick or Treaters and to monitor for bad activity. An added bonus is you can control any smart lights connected to your smart home which leads me to .....

3. Philips Smart Lights. Phillips is the leader in smart home lights indoors or outdoors. When connected to your smart home, you can control the color of the lights (think spooky red or pumpkin orange), and you can set timers to control when your lights turn on and off. Use these lights to illuminate the area around your home to keep your property set. Not home, set up timers to make the lights turn on and off, tricking strangers from thinking you are at home.

4. Ring Video Doorbell. If you're handing out candy this year, a video doorbell can alert you when trick-or-treaters are approaching your home. These devices come in handy especially if you have sporadic goblins that show up at your door for treats which means you don't have to hang out by the door all evening. You can also use this gadget if you have troublesome goblins who want to wreak havoc on your home. Video doorbells like Ring can save the video to the cloud, allowing you to review footage and share it with law enforcement if things get out of hand. Also, consider Ring's Wireless Video Cameras for complete home or office coverage.

5. NextDoor App. The NextDoor app can keep you alert to what's going on in your neighborhood and this includes who's handing out candy in your area. If you want to map out your child's route before they head out, use this app to help plan a safe course for your little ones when they venture out for candy this year.

I hope you can use these tips to get the right devices for you and your family for a safe Halloween this year. If you need further assistance, please reach out to me with any questions you might have. I am always happy to help.

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