Home Alone Summer Safety Tips for Kids

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Home Alone Summer Safety Tips for KidsBefore you know it, school will be out for the summer and you’ll be trying to figure out if your child is old enough to stay home alone during the day while you’re at work or out running errands.

Many states, including Massachusetts, don’t have laws on the books indicating at what age a child is old enough to stay home alone. However, the Washington, D.C.-based Safe Kids Worldwide says that developmentally, children are typically ready to be home alone around the age of 12 or 13.

Despite your child’s age, only you can determine if he or she is ready to stay home alone this summer.
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6 Spring Cleaning Tips to Make Your Home Safer and Healthier

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

6 Spring Cleaning Tips to Make Your Home Safer and HealthierAfter a cold and snowy – OK, very snowy – New England winter, spring is the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and give your home a top-to-bottom cleaning to get it ready for summer entertaining. In addition to spiffing up your house, there are some things you can do during your spring cleaning to make your house healthier while promoting home safety.

Here are six spring cleaning tips to get you started, courtesy of MedicineNet:

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Fire Safety Tips For Holiday Trees and Ornaments

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Fire Safety Tips For Holiday Trees and OrnamentsWhen it comes to lighting your holiday tree, the number one holiday safety tip from fire officials is “never use lighted candles as decorations” — so imagine our concern when we saw this blog post, “How to Put Real Candles on Your Christmas Tree Safely.”

“Real candles on a Christmas tree can be stunningly beautiful, moving, but if you don’t know how to do it safely, it can be very hazardous. If you know how to do it right, it can be a very good and safe experience. Think it’s crazy?” the authors of the post ask.

Yes, here at American Alarm where home and family safety is our top priority, we think it borders on crazy and substantially increases the risk of fire damage or disaster.

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’Tis the Season for Giving and . . . Taking

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

’Tis the Season for Giving and . . . TakingAfter scouring the Internet for months you’ve finally scored that hot – not to mention super expensive – electronic gadget all the kids want this holiday season on Amazon. However, one look at your child’s face when he rips off the wrapping paper will make all your efforts worthwhile.

That is, if your package doesn’t get stolen before you even know it’s been delivered.

Here are some tips courtesy of the Boston Police Department to keep thieves from making off with the packages filled with the holiday goodies you buy online:

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4 Tips to Protect Your Retail Business During the Holidays

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

4 Tips to Protect Your Retail Business During the HolidaysThe period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is often the most profitable time of the year for retailers. Unfortunately, it’s also a profitable time for thieves as well.

Of course, you should always pay attention to your business security and thwarting shoplifters, but you need to be extra vigilant during the busiest time of the year.

To help you protect your retail business, we want to offer you four tips courtesy of the Business2Community website to help you protect your business against some of the most common holiday scams.

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Three Winter Heating Safety Tips

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Even though you might be doing your best not to think about it, we’re in the trenches of autumn and even colder weather is right around the corner. For those of us living in New England, that means soon it will be time to turn up the thermostat and kick on the home heating system for the first time since the Spring.

Many homes across America are equipped with oil-burning furnaces or wood-burning stoves, each of which come with their own specific set of safety concerns that should be dealt with on a yearly basis. Let’s take a look at a three of the things you should keep in mind before firing things up this winter.

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Tips for a Frighteningly Fun and Safe Halloween

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

The witching season is upon us. A magical time for ghosts and ghoulies – or princes and princesses – to scamper through their neighborhoods in search of Halloween sweets and other treats.

We here at American Alarm love this spookiest day of the year, but before we head out to a local thrift store to put together our perfect costumes – we’re leaning toward superheros or any of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – we want to offer some helpful tips to ensure that you and your children have a spooktacular All Hallow’s Eve.

Some of these tips are brought to you by the police department of the city known throughout the world as Witch City – haunted Salem, Massachusetts.

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5 Steps to Stay Safe While at College

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

You’ve seen the headlines. Every year it seems a new act of tragic violence erupts on one of our country’s college campuses, renewing the fears of both parents and students.

But according to national statistics and campus safety experts, campus crime prevention is improving and incidents of major crimes are in decline.

You can help prevent crime as well by taking a few simple precautions.

Watch the video below for our five steps to help you stay safe while at college:

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Summer Safety Tips

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Summer is here (finally) and that means spending more time outside enjoying pool parties, outdoor barbecues, fireworks and all kinds of fun activities — it shouldn’t mean treating burns, bandaging cuts, icing bruises, or trips to the emergency room.

Follow our summer safety tips below to help you and your family have a fun and safe summer:

1. Don’t let the heat spoil your fun in the sun.
Drink lots of water and don’t work or play too hard in the hot weather. Take some breaks in the shade or inside your home.

2. Protect yourself from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
Limit exposure to the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when UV rays are most powerful. Wear sunglasses that block 100% of UV rays. Wraparound frames work best because they protect your eyes and the sensitive area around them. Wear hats with wide brims and slather on the sunscreen — SPF 15 or higher.

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Five Tips to Protect Your Pool and Keep Loved Ones Safe

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

It’s summertime, which means more and more families will be out enjoying the warm weather and playing in pools. And while the water can be a lot of fun, it can also be dangerous.

According to the Center for Disease Control, in the United States about 10 people die in accidental drownings every day; two of those people, on average, are age 14 or younger.

So before you invite your friends and family over for a quick swim this summer, consider these simple tips to help protect your pool and keep loved ones safe.

Watch the video for our Five Summer Pool Safety Tips:

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