PROVO, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In conjunction with National Child Safety Protection Month, Vivint, a leading provider of smart home technology, is raising awareness of the benefits smart home technology can provide families in creating a safer home. With both parents working full-time in nearly half of all two-parent homes,1 it is more important than ever for homes to provide a controlled, safe environment for kids.
Currently, more than 40 percent of children are left home alone at least part of the time, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.2 This leaves millions of children home alone and raises safety concerns for parents who are unable to be at home with their children.
“The Vivint system is so simple to use that even my kids know how to use it,” shared Vivint customer Maya M. of Winnipeg, Canada. “I use my phone to check in on my home when I’m away, and I love being able to arm and disarm my system remotely. I use different codes for each child so that I can keep track of who’s coming and going. Plus, it’s so reassuring to know that if there’s a problem, my kids can speak to a live Vivint operator right away through our in-home panel.”
This fall, Vivint partnered with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the movie Home Alone with the message that it’s OK to leave Vivint Home Alone. Today’s smart home technology could have helped the McCallister family avoid the scenario that was the premise for the iconic film.
A Vivint smart home makes it easy for parents, like the McCallisters, to check in on their kids remotely from a smartphone, tablet or computer. This simple, affordable system helps parents address these top concerns:
- What are my children doing while I’m away? Parents with a Vivint smart home system enjoy mobile access to live HD video while they are away, allowing them to monitor when their kids come home, for instance. They can also program their system to record and save video clips whenever motion is detected to make sure kids are doing their homework or chores, and even set alerts so they can do this in real time.
- How can I let people into my home when I’m not there? If parents have a nanny or sitter coming to the house frequently, they can set up a limited-access passcode for their Vivint smart locks. They can then give nannies and sitters access to the house, while maintaining the confidentiality of their master code, and saving the hassle of exchanging keys. Parents can also program individual codes for their children. Alternatively, they can unlock doors from their mobile app to let visitors in, or to lock up after they’ve left.
- How can I keep my children safe? Vivint gives parents peace of mind with 24/7 monitoring of their smart home. The Vivint monitoring center responds within seconds to medical, fire, flood, carbon monoxide and burglary alerts.
“Two days after our Vivint system was installed, a radio on our back porch started an electrical fire that spread to our house. My son was awakened by the alarm and found that he was in a smoke-filled house,” said Julie C. of Kingwood, Texas. “Vivint dispatched help and called my husband and me. My son was able to get himself and our dog safely out of the home. The fire chief told us that had we not had a system like this one, my son might not have woken up.”
“Keeping watch over and protecting kids from harm is one of the most popular uses of a Vivint smart home system,” said Jeff Lyman, chief marketing officer at Vivint. “Every day millions of children are left home alone while parents are at work, running errands or just going out for the evening. At Vivint, we are committed to helping parents across North America enjoy the increased peace of mind that comes from having a smart home.”
To enter the Vivint Home Alone sweepstakes and enjoy videos, quizzes and more celebrating the family-favorite holiday film, visit: http://www.vivint.com/homealone.
About Vivint
Vivint is a leading provider of smart home technology. The company delivers services through a cloud-based platform that integrates a wide range of wireless features and components to provide simple, affordable home security, energy management and home automation. Dedicated to redefining the home experience with intelligent products and services, Vivint serves more than one million customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.vivint.com.
1 Pew Research http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/11/04/raising-kids-and-running-a-household-how-working-parents-share-the-load/
2 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Home-Alone-Children-046.aspx
