To get cameras for one DS is home alone?

[Twinkiebinkieseven]

Hi all,

My DS is 11 and will be in secondary school in September. 2 days a week he'll be home before I am for about 2 hours. I'm thinking of whether I should get a video doorbell and internal camera for a bit of peace of mind. It would be great to hear from anyone who had them for this reason or, anyone who would have a reason to decide against it?

I wouldn't have let my child go to that house at all

Me neither. Being watched over while you sleep at 9 years old. Fucking weirdos at best

Nor me. That is truly disturbing.

By telling your kids that they need to be tracked by phone, or filmed at home, you're telling them that they're not safe and not capable. It's no wonder that anxiety in young people is higher than ours ever been.

Building confidence and independence in our lord's used to be our aim as parents. Now it seems to be to terrify them as much as possible and encourage them to have no belief in their ability to manage the unexpected things in life.

No. No need.

A ring doorbell will do so you know he's got in the house safe.

Please don't spy on him inside. No good will come of it.

Definitely no cameras. Just remind him to text you when he gets home and not to answer the door unless you're expecting someone he knows and you're happy for him to answer the door to. It'll make him feel a bit independent and empowered to let himself in and settle in.
To be honest all your cameras would show you is that he's raiding the fridge because he's starving, has dumped his coat somewhere rather than hang it up and has left his bag in the hallway for everyone to trip over - all that while he walks around staring at his phone.

My nearly 17 yr old has life360 on his phone. He's autistic with few street smarts and although he can take public transport, he would panic if say the trains or buses were off or he needs saving from something he can't navigate yet. He needs his street smarts to develop and likes to know I'd be able to find him easily. This was the simplest way.

It's not all black and white.

@gamerchick that's why pp said "unless they've asked for it".

What we're seeing here is parents following their kids, filming them, spying and tracking them just because they want to, to ease their own anxieties. It's not right.

Good idea.

Ring doorbell is fine but not internal cameras

Door camera yes, inside the house no that’s just creepy

A ring doorbell yes but I think at that age getting indoor ones is over the top extreme.
There's a point where they need privacy and also you to trust them..I would feel so uncomfortable in my own home at that age if I knew big brother was watching.

Why would you want to watch teenage kids in their bedroom?
How odd.

literally just had a ring doorbell installed this week. Mainly because our last doorbell broke and it was an obvious upgrade replacement and I think it’s handy to see who is at the door when WFH and deciding whether to leave a meeting for a parcel delivery. Plus there was a distraction burglary up the road recently so it does add a bit of security.

My eldest started secondary this year and occasionally has to let herself in. She has her own key but we do have a key safe on the side of the house because someone (me) has a tendency to lock themselves out and it’s handy to have.

Wouldn’t have cameras in the house though.

@Magicmama92@Lemonyyellow now that is weird to have cameras in bedrooms😳 When I was (I'm not at all now) thinking an inside camera I was thinking the hallway to check he'd come in rather than wanting to watch him when here. Glad I posted here because I wasn't really thinking about the wider implications of indoor cameras and would hate to think any of our guests thought they were being watched. Don't think I'd want to know what happens in my son's room as he gets to those teen years either😂

Just viewed a house with internal
camera in every single room - even the bathroom. Very very creepy.

My daughter and son in law bought a house that had cameras all over the place, and a laptop in what had been the airing cupboard, that monitored them all.

That was kind of freaky.

Why not get a device that you can drop into? (With or without camera) Like an echo show in a public place, ours is in the living room.

Ring doorbell sure, that's useful in any case, but definitely not the indoor camera.
Try and get himto practice unlocking door, coming in and putting key in the right place etc. now so its become habit by September.

When my daughter first started going home alone I gave her a GPS tracker that she could call me on, and it would alert my phone when she arrived home or arrived at school (or left home or left school), was really good for reassurance.

@saraclara at least we didn’t find a laptop! But if we did buy it the first things to go would be those cameras, before the first cup of tea to be made!- god knows who could still have remote access.

We use a blink doorbell, which would give you a notification when it is activated. I personally think that would be reasonable option.

You can also share your locations with others by setting it up on Google maps on your phone. Although, that is a bit more invasive potentially. So would depend on your relationship with your son as to whether that would be a suitable option.

Absolutely not . Total intrusion of privacy. Just ask him to call once home .

@Twinkiebinkieseven

nope. He'll do it once, then won't forget both his key & his phone. He can knock on an agreed neighbour or sit on the doorstep until you get home. Or you could put a key safe up.

you're supposed to be teaching him independence not babying him more.

My DM had this attitude. It was my fault (at 11) that a key got lost and I was stuck in the garden for 2 hours. Alone. Cold. Hungry.

I have trauma from my childhood now.

OP, get the doorbell. They're a Godsend for many reasons, and this is definitely one of them.